Creating an equitable workplace culture with Suman Gopalan, Chief HR Officer at Freshworks

Episode 21
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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.

Simpplr Podcast Ep 21 with Suman Gopalan, Chief HR Officer at Freshworks

Playlist

  • 01:50
    Suman’s career journey
  • 03:50
    Segment: Story Time
  • 04:01
    Suman’s passion for women in the workforce
  • 08:41
    Suman’s definition of employee experience
  • 12:06
    Segment: Getting Tactical
  • 12:31
    The key elements of a good workplace culture
  • 15:45
    Hiring to fit the culture vs adding to the culture
  • 19:33
    Segment: Ripped from the Headlines
  • 23:38
    How the pandemic affected women in the workforce
  • 26:25
    Freshworks’ pledge for equality
  • 33:47
    Asking 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.