As the world of work is evolving, so is the role of HR leaders. One such leader is Rukmini Divakar, who discusses how the pandemic accelerated shifts in engagement, making flexibility, belonging, and continuous dialogue the basic expectations for employees.
In this Quick 5 Interview series, Rukmini emphasizes that culture is not built through policies but through small, everyday behaviors. From the role of AI as an enabler in HR to the rising influence of gamification and the challenges of leading a multi-generational workforce, she highlights why adaptability, inclusivity, and experience design will define tomorrow’s workplaces.
Here is the excerpt from the candid conversation with Rukmini Divakar, a seasoned HR professional with over 13 years of experience, dedicated to building inclusive, engaging, and high-performing workplaces. Recognized as a trusted advisor to leadership, she combines HR analytics, workforce planning, and compliance expertise to deliver sustainable results. A passionate advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), she has spearheaded initiatives that shaped organizational culture across industries.
Rukmini is also the recipient of the Most Admired Women Award 2025 in the Champion category.
Read below
Q1. In your career, you’ve likely faced challenges that tested your resolve. What’s one piece of life’s lesson that has helped you overcome difficult moments?
A1. So I think each of us has different ways of coping mechanisms and approaches when we face challenges.
So I think one of the lessons as an HR that I have learned is that difficult moments are opportunities to demonstrate fairness and empathy in action. When there are restructurings, mergers, acquisitions, workforce reductions, policy changes, and leadership changes, what I have learnt is to be transparent, communicate clearly, and handle those conversations one-on-one because every change initiative succeeds or fails, and it’s all based on trust. I think HR is the custodian of trust, whether it’s management or whether it’s the employees. And I think through all this, we build resilience over the years with our experience and perspectives.
But as an HR, I think culture isn’t built by policies. I always believe it is built by those daily and small behaviors we reinforce as an organization with employees, with leadership. I think those define and become culture. That’s my take on it.
Q2. As someone who plays a crucial role in shaping company culture, how do you keep employee engagement dynamic, especially when teams are adapting to new ways of working?
A2. I think when COVID happened, the workplace just flipped. I think it was a 360-degree turn that it took, and it made all of us realize so many things. We realised that something that was happening in a particular way could be done in so many ways. There were many things happening personally and professionally. We needed to have business continuity plans and ensure technology is there to support.
We needed to ensure that there is insurance support, there is support for family, personal support, and professional support. And if you see it, those changes are here to stay. I think that has become a major factor shaping culture now. Engagement is not treated as an add-on now. It’s like a part and parcel of your day.
Nowadays, we work remotely and in a hybrid environment. And when we were trying to adapt to all that change, I think we did a few small things like checking in with your peers, doing those quick wellness checks, having small unfiltered conversations, taking that virtual coffee break with your teams or with your leaders. And if you see these continue to stay, whether you’re in a hybrid or a remote work, these still continue to stay because they have become so part of the system right now.
And more so, I believe, what has also flipped is annual surveys because you don’t wait for that one survey to listen to your employees, to your leaders, to your stakeholders, I think that’s a continuous thing. And that actually brings you to continuous dialogue because every day there are different places from where you get feedback, from where you understand things, and it’s become more dynamic. It’s not okay to just let me have the annual survey and then figure out what needs to be done. That doesn’t happen. So yeah, that’s my take on it.
Q3. With the rise of AI in HR, how do you preserve the human touch in a world of smart nudges and predictive analytics?
A3. I think AI is the hot topic, but I would say AI is a great enabler. It can’t replace anything, but it will act as an enabler by predicting risks for you. But who’s going to take action? It’s the people who are going to take action.
It’s we who’re going to take the action and convert that to experiences through compassion. Right. Because I think today’s HR, I see that we balance it so well, the empathy and analytics. Predictive tools can highlight a lot of things like disengagement risks, identify high-potential talent or performance issues, and automate a lot of things. But the result of it, the interpretation, and the action part of it, come from humans. It comes from us. And we need to understand that.
So I think for me, preserving the human touch means remembering that the role of HR is shifting from process execution to experience design. How do you want to go to your customers? How do you want to go to your employees? How do you want to action out things with leadership and management? Because, as always, technology has given us data, but we, as people, have to translate it into experiences. I think that’s my take on that.
Q4. Gamification is on the rise in employee engagement strategies. What role do you see gamified rewards and recognition programs playing in the future?
A4. I think they’re already here, if I have to say. So gamification taps into psychology, competition, as well as recognition, and also gives you a lot of fun. But this recognition needs to be frequent, visible, and authentic because technology can amplify this. But it is the people who make it meaningful.
So let me give you an example. In one of the programs that I led, we had this point system, or the kudos points and badges, enabled through gamification. Employees were very excited, but the excitement died down after a few months because the points were coming, okay, badges were coming, but how much are you going to amplify that on LinkedIn?
But what changed it and made it sustainable was when leaders picked it up and when leaders started announcing it, amplifying it, putting personal notes of appreciation, saying, “This person got these many badges”, “This person topped this month”. That’s how you can actually amplify it and use it better.
And that became part of a culture, like a cultural norm. That was my experience. I see gamification evolving further because I’m sure a lot of organizations are integrating gamification not only into rewards but learning, health, and wellness. You have these points where you do walkathons, marathons, you do a lot of these things, and it’s just not for rewards and recognition.
So, say you use it in L&D where you nudge employees, saying you complete your learning journey, participate in friendly competitions, and then you get these badges or you get these points, and then you can convert them, right? So it is still a part of culture, but just not based on points and badges alone. It’s also those behaviors that come along with it from everybody, all the stakeholders, whether it’s your employees, leaders, or management.
Q5. What’s the biggest shift in workplace culture you anticipate in the coming decade, and how are you preparing for it today?
A5. There’s so much happening already. But I think the biggest shift we see, already emerging, is the blended, multi-generational workplace with baby boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z, and there’s so much happening. And along with all of this, the nature of work itself is evolving, right? We are blending it with AI. It’s just not a hybrid, or it’s just not going to the office. It’s just not remote work.
We have AI to look at, a multi-generational workforce to look at, and we need to look at these human-AI collaborations. How are these going to collaborate? How will we create workflows for these different generations? And I think this is one of the biggest shifts. It’s already happening. We’re already seeing how organizations are adapting to this.
According to my experience, we can prepare for this by having a strong mentorship program because you’ll be able to have different age groups talk to each other, have those platforms where you can allow diverse voices to speak, to talk so that we are able to hear people talking from all generations and see what we can do.
And with all of this prioritizing employee experience, it’s not going away; it’s still there. It’s here. And that’s a part and parcel of your day’s job. And through this, I think that in HR, we look at creating more inclusive policies, more personalized well-being initiatives, more transparent recognition, clearer communication, and amplifying all of this.
Communicating that all this is happening, the things we are doing, this is what is getting plucked in, and having frameworks that support autonomy, skill-based advancement, and fluid growth. I think that’s what everyone’s looking at these days.
Because at the end, with all of this happening, we also have to learn, right? With AI around and all these skills embedded in it, I think championing the ethics of AI, human-centric design, and enhancing all of this together would actually prepare us, because it’s a combined effort. So I think ultimately the role of HR is evolving over time, as always. I think what was there 10 years ago is not there today.
So the role of HR is shifting from being process-oriented. It is no longer a process execution. It’s a more experienced design. How will you ensure and support leadership management? And the evolving workforce? And it’s only by designing these experiences, making it personal, creating those inclusive, safe spaces where everyone wants to learn, grow, and enjoy what they do. I think that’s going to be the future of work.
Conclusion
Rukmini’s perspective underscores the critical role of HR as the custodian of trust and architect of culture. She reinforces that while AI, gamification, and hybrid models are shaping the workplace, the foundation of trust, empathy, and inclusivity remains irreplaceable.
We have many more such interesting conversations lined up for you. Stay tuned!
