Meet the Logwardians - Anshu

This month we had a cheerful chat with Anshu, Head of People & Culture at Logward. Discover what attracted her to the field of Human Resources and the lessons she has learnt during her career. And if she could job swap with someone else in the company, what would her role be? Read below to find out.

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Hi Anshu, thanks for this chat. Firstly, what is your role at Logward?

I am part of the HR department and I make my contribution as Head of People and Culture.

My main responsibilities are recruitment and hiring for various positions across the globe, stakeholder management, and employee wellness and engagement. I also curate HR policies and execute them and help Mousumi and Umesh, who are also part of the HR team. On top of that, I work with our leaders to help them strategize and improve. ‍

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When and how did you realize that this was the career that you wanted to pursue?

It happened by chance. I am a graduate engineer, and after graduation I cracked an interview at a recruitment consultancy. I worked there for almost two years, and I realized that helping people find a job that they love is something that makes me happy. I am an extrovert, therefore, I can easily connect with people emotionally. As I grew in my career, I understood that listening to people and helping them grow is something that I love. And that is how I am here. ‍

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What is the most important lesson about people that you have learnt in your career?

The most important lesson that I have learnt is that there is no one-size-fits-all formula that applies to everyone. Every company and every individual are different, so you must talk to every individual, go deeper, and understand them to be able to build a strong culture. ‍

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And a lesson on establishing a great organizational culture?

Hiring the right people and having a strong founding team is key to building a strong culture. It is essential to hire people who are passionate about the same goals and share the same values and to build a strong founding team with people who have each other’s back, are ready to challenge each other, are open to feedback and for whom it is okay to make mistakes and fail.

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‍What do you love most about working as Head of People and Culture at Logward?

After I joined and spent a few days at Logward, I realized that my core values are aligned with those of the management team. I did not have to change much about how I operate as an individual, I can apply my values in my day-to-day work and be myself. Another aspect that I would like to highlight is that I work with people with diverse backgrounds and countries, and it feels so good to bring all those people together, and, for example, celebrate festivities together. This makes my job even more interesting.

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‍But if you could change one thing about your role, what would that be?‍

I would say that I would like to automate some current processes. Sometimes I must do manual work, like adding data to Excel sheets. I would love to automate that in some way like Logward is automating processes in supply chains, so that I can focus more on employee development and growth. ‍

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What are the key elements defining the organizational culture of Logward?

People. People here are smart, honest, and eager to learn. And the transparency with which we operate is unique. Transparency means that whenever we are planning or deciding something, we try to keep people in the loop. We take different perspectives into consideration, and make sure that a democratic decision is made via a core committee.

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‍How do you see organizational culture impacting Logward’s business?

Great organizations are built on great cultures. If we look at companies that are successful, their culture is what plays a key role in it and what has been praised for a long time. At Logward we operate based on our core values: people, growth, tradition, and innovation. And culture is how you operate on a day-to-day basis. We know that everything we do is for the people and by the people, this is one of our core values. We are extremely focused on growth too, we always want to do better things; and if we talk about innovation, we know that there can be several diverse ways to solve a problem. Finally, tradition is one of our values because we are trying to solve an age-old problem in logistics. These elements are helping us build a strong product, and this is how we can make a difference in the industry. ‍

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Regardless of the skill set, if you could job swap with someone else in the company, which role would you like to take over, and why?

I would like to try Sales because that is something I do not know much about, only on a broad level. I know about the sales funnel, but I would like to understand how that works exactly. And because I am an extrovert and I like to talk to people I think I can be a good salesperson, and that is why I chose this one.

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Now, more about Anshu outside of work – how do you like to spend your free time?

I love hosting people and calling friends and family. I enjoy treating them to tasty food, and if someone loves something that I have cooked, that makes my day! Furthermore, I enjoy watching shows – I like drama. Pakistani drama is something that I have recently started watching, and it is remarkably close to my heart because they show the real side of the world, like challenges that women face every day. I also like to travel and explore different restaurants.

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If you did not live in India, where would you live? Why?

Switzerland or Austria. The reason is that there everywhere you are the view is picturesque, and you get to experience nature and city together. ‍

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What is something you have always wanted to learn, but haven’t yet?

When I was a kid, I started learning Kathak, a traditional Indian dance. I went to classes for a few days, and I even had the anklets that are required for this dance, but then my father didn’t want me to continue, and I recently found out that he just wanted me to focus on my studies. Recently, I have reached out to a teacher, and I might join the course. It is on my wish list. ‍

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Rapid fire:

Summer or winter? Summer

Photos: Black and white or color? Colors

Coffee or tea? Tea

Cinema or theatre? Cinema

Time or health? Health

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Logward is a Hamburg & Bangalore based logistics technology company.

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We build software, move containers, and change mindsets.

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If you have any questions or just want to say hi, reach out to mail@logward.com. Or you can book time with one of our logistics experts here.