This episode features an interview with Suman Gopalan, Chief HR Officer at Freshworks. Suman has spent her entire professional career in HR, holding positions at publicly traded companies like The Nielsen Company, Dell Technologies, and Whirlpool. At Freshworks, Suman pilots the global people strategy to develop and engage their employees.
In this episode, Amanda and Suman examine diversity in the workplace. They discuss Suman’s passion for women in the workforce, key elements of workplace culture, and why it’s better to hire people that add to that culture versus fitting in.
Playlist
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01:50Suman’s career journey
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03:50Segment: Story Time
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04:01Suman’s passion for women in the workforce
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08:41Suman’s definition of employee experience
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12:06Segment: Getting Tactical
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12:31The key elements of a good workplace culture
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15:45Hiring to fit the culture vs adding to the culture
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19:33Segment: Ripped from the Headlines
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23:38How the pandemic affected women in the workforce
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26:25Freshworks’ pledge for equality
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33:47Asking for a Friend
Suman Gopalan
Suman Gopalan is the Chief HR Officer at Freshworks, where she guides the company’s global people strategy to engage, develop and care for its worldwide employees.
Suman and her teams oversee culture, talent and organizational development, employee relations and experience, benefits, compensation, and diversity and inclusion. Previously, Suman led the global and regional HR teams for The Nielsen Company, Dell Technologies and Whirlpool. She holds an MBA in Human Resources from XLRI Jamshedpur, is an active mentor for young women leaders, and the co-founder of the ACT Women initiative.