Surbhi Srivastava: A Dynamic Leader Developing & Leading High-Impact Talent & Learning Initiatives To Upskill Professionals
Surbhi Srivastava
Director - Talent & Learning International, Vontier
Surbhi Srivastava, Director-Talent & Learning, International at Vontier, brings a wealth of experience in fostering growth and development within organizations. She has an illustrious background of leading human resources teams in Fortune 500 companies across diverse industries such as Industrial Technology, FMCG, Telecom, and IT.
"Talent management has always been my area of passion, and I love how my role enables people to develop clarity of purpose and realize their professional and personal aspirations"
Her passion for driving inclusion and diversity initiatives has led her to conceptualize and lead sustained efforts in this area for many prominent companies. Surbhi's expertise in business partnerships, change management, talent acquisition, and organizational development has enabled her to spearhead successful integration and acquisition efforts as well.
As a visionary leader in the field of human resources, Surbhi is committed to creating a culture of continuous learning and development at Vontier. Her innovative approaches to talent management and leadership pipeline building have enabled the organization to thrive in an ever-evolving industry. She has led various organization design and capability interventions leading to sustained long term business results.
Below is an excerpt of Surbhi Srivastava’s exclusive interview with CEO Insights magazine.
You possess vast professional experience. How has your path to success been and what is your success mantra?
I have immense gratitude for what I have achieved. My parents made me believe that I can be whatever I want. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
My journey has been filled with diverse experiences. I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the most renowned companies and leaders, globally as well as locally. Here are few learnings that keep me focused and grounded:
Respect feedback-Something I learnt in the first decade of my professional experience. The fact that some one is investing time in
you is the greatest gift. You should be worried if you aren’t getting any feedback.
Take people along- I have realized in my corporate life that the most wonderful idea is not the most useful one if it does not solve a real life organization problem. It is a gift to develop strategy, but the real gift is to get people to believe in that strategy and get them to act upon it. This realization has helped me prioritize getting voice of customer and employee for any new initiatives.
Be an active endorser-I have seen so many of my bosses and colleagues being such a big promoter at places where I had limited or no access. They show cased my work much better than I could. The more you give, the more you get is what I believe now.
I am grateful for the opportunities that came my way early in my career, where alongside managing the union, I was also forging educational tie-ups with reputed institutes to upskill the workforce. Later, I spear headed diversity and inclusion, young talent onboarding initiatives that became one of the best practices and left a lasting impact on the organization even after my departure. In another stint, I had to find ways to integrate a career pathway for high potential commercial talent and create general managers who could take on bigger roles, both in and outside India.
Throughout my career, I have navigated through different roles as an HR Center of Excellence leader, HR Business Partner, and HR leader with zeal, curiosity, and a learning mindset, even when I was not sure of the opportunities coming my way. Talent has always been my area of passion, and I find joy in helping people realize their professional and personal aspirations.
My journey at Gilbarco Veeder-Root (GVR) has been humbling as I played many roles for the first time, from setting up the entire HR function grounds up in India to integrating back-to-back acquisitions and managing new geographies. All of these have been challenging yet rewarding experiences.
How would you define GVR and Vontier as an organization and its position in the market?
Vontier is a global industrial technology company at the forefront of solving next generation mobility challenges, and Gilbarco Veeder Root (GVR) is the largest operating company in the Vontier portfolio and the global leader for integrated retail and commercial fueling solutions.
We’ve helped our customers adapt to new regulatory requirements, evolving trends, and economic change for more than 150 years, and now we are helping our customers prepare for the future with cleaner fuel choices, secure payment solutions, and safer, more reliable equipment.
What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to clients?
Our strong position in traditional fueling means that we, more than any other player, can continue to help the fueling industry become more sustainable through innovations like emissions limiting dispensers and hightech sensors that prevent leaks, reduce corrosion,
Take people along- I have realized in my corporate life that the most wonderful idea is not the most useful one if it does not solve a real life organization problem. It is a gift to develop strategy, but the real gift is to get people to believe in that strategy and get them to act upon it. This realization has helped me prioritize getting voice of customer and employee for any new initiatives.
Be an active endorser-I have seen so many of my bosses and colleagues being such a big promoter at places where I had limited or no access. They show cased my work much better than I could. The more you give, the more you get is what I believe now.
I am grateful for the opportunities that came my way early in my career, where alongside managing the union, I was also forging educational tie-ups with reputed institutes to upskill the workforce. Later, I spear headed diversity and inclusion, young talent onboarding initiatives that became one of the best practices and left a lasting impact on the organization even after my departure. In another stint, I had to find ways to integrate a career pathway for high potential commercial talent and create general managers who could take on bigger roles, both in and outside India.
Helping our customers prepare for the future with cleaner fuel choices, secure payment solutions, and safer, more reliable equipment
Throughout my career, I have navigated through different roles as an HR Center of Excellence leader, HR Business Partner, and HR leader with zeal, curiosity, and a learning mindset, even when I was not sure of the opportunities coming my way. Talent has always been my area of passion, and I find joy in helping people realize their professional and personal aspirations.
My journey at Gilbarco Veeder-Root (GVR) has been humbling as I played many roles for the first time, from setting up the entire HR function grounds up in India to integrating back-to-back acquisitions and managing new geographies. All of these have been challenging yet rewarding experiences.
How would you define GVR and Vontier as an organization and its position in the market?
Vontier is a global industrial technology company at the forefront of solving next generation mobility challenges, and Gilbarco Veeder Root (GVR) is the largest operating company in the Vontier portfolio and the global leader for integrated retail and commercial fueling solutions.
We’ve helped our customers adapt to new regulatory requirements, evolving trends, and economic change for more than 150 years, and now we are helping our customers prepare for the future with cleaner fuel choices, secure payment solutions, and safer, more reliable equipment.
What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to clients?
Our strong position in traditional fueling means that we, more than any other player, can continue to help the fueling industry become more sustainable through innovations like emissions limiting dispensers and hightech sensors that prevent leaks, reduce corrosion,
and secure fuel supplies. GVR plays a unique role in helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals and move the fueling industry forward.
Elaborate about the learning & development framework built within the company and which are the latest technology trends used to achieve the L&D goals.
The company is at an interesting juncture where we have a great legacy which we carry in the form of our Vontier Business System (VBS). The foundation of our company success is based on the continuous improvement mindset embedded in VBS which helps us achieve consistent results to solve real life problems. As we became Vontier we also realized that as a business we are changing and with that how we were looking at learning and development needs to change. As a result, we are now embracing an evolving mindset that includes flexibility, joint accountability, and a safe space for people to learn the way they want to and when they want to.
Furthermore, Vontier has launched a new performance management tool called “Accelerate My Success,” which integrates performance with learning and development goals. This is a departure from the traditional approach of discussing performance and development as separate exercises. The new tools enables frequent, objective, and real-time feedback, which helps our employees make changes to their performance or learning growth goals. The program has yielded positive feedback, and there is joint accountability between managers and employees. Employees are encouraged to think and ask for help on what will make them successful transparently and document it in the tool.
There is again a big departure in the way we learn through training programs. We are moving away from dependence on classroom training programs and encouraging self-paced learning. Vontier has provided access to technology enabled learning through LinkedIn courses. There are more than 18,000 courses which have the most contemporary topics catering to the varying needs of each employee. We are also supplementing functional skills with more focused in person training and coaching programs when necessary. This is a big shift from traditional approaches to learning and development, and the company is focused on staying contemporary and experimenting with new learning ideas.
In addition to the above, we also run fast-paced, intense leadership development programs like VBS Ignite, where people get experience beyond their operating company and regions and solve reallife business problems. We also have some very innovative programs like Company and Campus Innovathons, where we encourage employees and students to provide alternative approaches to solve business problems.Overall, we ensure that we encourage in building a learning culture with every thing we do.
Surbhi Srivastava, Director - Talent & Learning International, Vontier
An alumnus of symbiosis institute of business management pune, where surbhi completed her mba with a specialization in hr. Furthermore, in her professional journey, surbhi has been part of various renowned companies such as vedanta resources, infosys, idea cellular, and mondelēz international, inc.
Elaborate about the learning & development framework built within the company and which are the latest technology trends used to achieve the L&D goals.
The company is at an interesting juncture where we have a great legacy which we carry in the form of our Vontier Business System (VBS). The foundation of our company success is based on the continuous improvement mindset embedded in VBS which helps us achieve consistent results to solve real life problems. As we became Vontier we also realized that as a business we are changing and with that how we were looking at learning and development needs to change. As a result, we are now embracing an evolving mindset that includes flexibility, joint accountability, and a safe space for people to learn the way they want to and when they want to.
Furthermore, Vontier has launched a new performance management tool called “Accelerate My Success,” which integrates performance with learning and development goals. This is a departure from the traditional approach of discussing performance and development as separate exercises. The new tools enables frequent, objective, and real-time feedback, which helps our employees make changes to their performance or learning growth goals. The program has yielded positive feedback, and there is joint accountability between managers and employees. Employees are encouraged to think and ask for help on what will make them successful transparently and document it in the tool.
There is again a big departure in the way we learn through training programs. We are moving away from dependence on classroom training programs and encouraging self-paced learning. Vontier has provided access to technology enabled learning through LinkedIn courses. There are more than 18,000 courses which have the most contemporary topics catering to the varying needs of each employee. We are also supplementing functional skills with more focused in person training and coaching programs when necessary. This is a big shift from traditional approaches to learning and development, and the company is focused on staying contemporary and experimenting with new learning ideas.
In addition to the above, we also run fast-paced, intense leadership development programs like VBS Ignite, where people get experience beyond their operating company and regions and solve reallife business problems. We also have some very innovative programs like Company and Campus Innovathons, where we encourage employees and students to provide alternative approaches to solve business problems.Overall, we ensure that we encourage in building a learning culture with every thing we do.
Surbhi Srivastava, Director - Talent & Learning International, Vontier
An alumnus of symbiosis institute of business management pune, where surbhi completed her mba with a specialization in hr. Furthermore, in her professional journey, surbhi has been part of various renowned companies such as vedanta resources, infosys, idea cellular, and mondelēz international, inc.