Commentary on
culture, health, and insurance

In plain terms, indemnity is security or protection against a financial liability—often a contractual promise where one party agrees to compensate another for losses or damages that may arise. 

In a world full of contracts, services, and shifting risks, we all need guardrails. That’s where indemnity comes in. 

It shows up everywhere: between individuals, businesses, even governments. In this post, we unpack what indemnity means, trace its roots, explain how it works in contracts and insurance, outline types and exclusions, give real-world examples, and flag special considerations you should know in India.

What is Indemnity

Etymology & common usage. The word “indemnity” comes from Latin indemnis—“unhurt” or “free from loss”—which is why indemnities are also called hold harmless agreements. The idea is simple: keep one party “unhurt” if certain losses occur.

Core concept. Legally, indemnity meaning centres on a contract where the indemnitor (the party giving protection) promises to compensate the indemnitee (the party receiving protection) for specified losses or claims. In Indian law, a contract of indemnity is recognized in Section 124 of the Indian Contract Act, and it can operate as a partial or total compensation depending on the terms. By contrast, guarantee (Section 126) involves three parties and a promise to perform if someone else defaults.

Tip: “Hold harmless” is commonly treated as a synonym for indemnity in many legal resources.

How Indemnity Works: The Mechanics of Protection

Contractual foundation. You’ll find indemnity clauses in most insurance policies and in many commercial contracts—services, leases, procurement, technology, and more. Indemnity meaning here is the allocation of defined risks to the party best placed to bear or control them.

Premiums in insurance. In insurance, the insured pays a premium; in return, the insurer promises to indemnify for covered losses. This is the principle of indemnity—you’re made whole, not better than before.

Methods of compensation. Indemnity can be paid in cash, repair, replacement, or another agreed method. Think of home insurance after a fire: the insurer can reimburse costs or reconstruct the damaged area, as set out in the policy. Period of indemnity—especially in business interruption—defines how long the policy will respond to loss (e.g., 12–36 months).

Letter of indemnity. A letter of indemnity (LOI) is a written guarantee (common in shipping and trade) that a party will meet contract terms or pay if an agreed condition fails.

The Crucial Role of Indemnity: Why It Matters

Financial safeguard. At its heart, indemnity meaning is protection against the costs of negligence, mistakes, accidents, or events that can threaten operations. It lets parties transact with confidence.

Risk allocation. Contracts often use indemnities alongside warranties and exclusions to apportion specific liabilities, such as third-party claims for defective goods or services. This keeps disputes focused and predictable.

Attracting and retaining talent. Companies use director indemnification and Directors and Officers Liability insurance to encourage qualified people to serve on boards without risking personal assets. In India, D&O cover is not generally mandated by law, but it’s increasingly common and prudent for governance.

Types of Indemnity: Forms of Protection You’ll See

Express indemnity. A written clause or contract that clearly sets out when and how one party will indemnify another—e.g., insurance policies, construction agreements, agency contracts.

Implied indemnity. Sometimes the duty to indemnify arises from conduct or the nature of the relationship (e.g., a principal may need to reimburse an agent for losses incurred while acting within authority). Indian courts read these duties alongside the Contract Act’s structure.

Practical Examples Across Sectors

• General insurance. You pay premiums; the insurer indemnifies actual covered loss—cashless or reimbursement. That’s indemnity meaning in action.
  
  
• Commercial property insurance. A property owner pays premiums; after a fire, the insurer reimburses or reinstates within the policy’s period of indemnity.
  
  
• Board director indemnification. By-laws or separate contracts can promise to hold harmless directors for claims tied to board decisions, often paired with D&O insurance.
  
  
• “Hold harmless” in heavy industry. A crane manufacturer might require the contractor to indemnify and hold harmless against injuries to the contractor’s personnel while using the crane.
  
  
• Commercial contracts for defective services. Vendors often indemnify clients against third-party claims caused by flawed goods or services.
  
  
• Property leases. Leases frequently make tenants responsible for damage due to negligence, fines, and legal fees via an indemnity clause.
  
  

Deep Dive: Indemnity Insurance

What is Indemnity Insurance

Indemnity insurance helps individuals and companies meet indemnity obligations so one mistake doesn’t sink the balance sheet. It pays court costs, legal fees, and settlements up to policy limits, subject to terms and exclusions.

Common types

• Malpractice insurance for healthcare professionals.
  
  
• Errors & Omissions (E&O) / Professional Liability for service businesses and tech—labels vary, idea is the same.
  
  
• Directors & Officers (D&O) for board and senior management exposures.
  
  
• Professional indemnity (the broad category in India; e.g., doctors’ liability for negligent diagnosis, wrong dosage, or even libel/slander extensions where available).
  
  
• Deferred compensation–linked protections sometimes appear in executive arrangements (separate from liability covers), where the firm provides a promise for future payouts and may fund it—distinct from liability indemnity, but tied to risk transfer for earnings.
  
  

Key exclusions to expect

Illegal or criminal acts, deliberate fraud, terrorism/war/nuclear risks (unless specifically endorsed), and fines/penalties are typically excluded. Always read the policy wording.

Special Considerations and Nuances

Negotiation complexity. Indemnity clauses can be hard-fought. Broad wording can raise supplier prices because they’re taking more risk. Align indemnity to the risks you truly want to shift.

Governmental indemnity. Governments use indemnity to stabilize sectors during crises. For example, the USDA pays indemnity and compensation to poultry producers affected by avian influenza, a public-interest use of the concept.

Acts of Indemnity. Some systems pass special indemnity acts to protect public officers or groups from penalties for actions taken in the public interest—controversial but historically used.

A Brief Look at the History of Indemnity

Ancient roots. The logic of “make whole” appears across centuries to enable cooperation and risk-taking. Indemnity meaning hasn’t changed much—even as commerce has. 

Haiti’s “independence debt” (1825). France recognized Haiti but demanded a massive indemnity to compensate former slave-owners—an obligation that shaped Haiti’s economy for generations and is now publicly acknowledged as unjust.

War reparations. After World War I, Germany’s reparations functioned as a form of indemnity; the tail of these payments lasted into the 21st century.

The Enduring Value of Indemnity

To sum up, indemnity meaning is a cornerstone of risk management: a promise to make someone whole when specified losses occur. It structures deals, keeps services moving, and gives leaders the confidence to act. Used well—clearly scoped, fairly priced, and paired with the right insurance—it turns uncertainty into something you can live with.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary purpose of indemnity?
To compensate one party for covered costs—often third-party claims—so the injured party is made whole. That’s the core indemnity meaning in law and insurance.

What is the rule of indemnity in insurance?
The insurer compensates for actual loss (not a profit), funded by premiums, up to policy limits and subject to terms.

Who are the indemnitor and indemnitee?
The indemnitor promises to pay; the indemnitee receives protection—language reflected in Indian Contract Act discussions.

How does indemnity relate to “hold harmless”?
Many resources treat “hold harmless” as a synonym or partner term to indemnity in commercial clauses.

Is indemnity insurance mandatory?
Not usually. But many organizations buy D&O for directors and professional indemnity for high-exposure roles (doctors, consultants, tech) because lawsuits are common and costly.

Where does general liability fit?
General liability covers bodily injury or property damage, while professional indemnity/E&O covers financial loss from service errors—different risks, different policies.

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If you run HR or finance in India, you already live with the term group mediclaim policy (GMC). It’s the master health-insurance contract your company buys, with employees (and often families) enrolled as members. Done right, GMC cushions households from hospital bills, steadies absenteeism, and quietly lifts offer acceptance. Done vaguely, it spawns confusion at the worst possible moment—admission. This guide cuts the jargon, aligns with current IRDAI rules, and shows you how to design and communicate a group mediclaim policy people can actually use.

What a group mediclaim policy is

A GMC policy is an indemnity health plan issued to your company (the policyholder). Employees and eligible dependants are covered as members under one master number. In practice, the benefits envelope includes in-patient hospitalisation (room and nursing, ICU/OT charges, surgeons’ and specialists’ fees, diagnostics, medicines and consumables), day-care procedures that no longer need 24-hour stays, pre- and post-hospitalisation windows for to the same illness/injury, and ambulance charges. Most modern group policies also include AYUSH hospitalisation when admitted to registered facilities, though details live in your schedule. By regulation, these essentials must be reflected in a Customer Information Sheet (CIS)—a one-glance, plain-language summary that accompanies the policy. Keep your CIS easy to find on the intranet; it’s the single most useful page for employees under time pressure.

GMC is not life insurance (that’s group term life) and not accident-only cover (that’s group personal accident). For complete protection, you’ll likely run all three—just keep the purposes and claims paths distinct in your handbook.

What changed under IRDAI’s 2024–25 framework

IRDAI consolidated and refreshed health-insurance rules into Master Circulars in 2024. Three elements are especially practical for employers:

1) Moratorium is now five years (60 months).
Once a member completes 60 continuous months of coverage, a health policy/claim can’t be contested for non-disclosure or misrepresentation—except for proven fraud. Credits from portability and migration count toward the 60 months. If your renewal is post-May 29, 2024, the updated five-year rule applies; older policies inherit it at their next renewal.

2) The Customer Information Sheet (CIS) is mandatory and central.
Insurers must issue a Customer Information Sheet (CIS) that sets out benefits, key exclusions, waiting periods, claims steps, service contacts, and grievance paths in plain English. Treat the CIS as your internal “one-pager”—link it alongside your network search and claims walkthrough.

3) TPA oversight is explicit.
Third-Party Administrators (TPAs) handle cashless authorisations and claims coordination per the insurer’s product rules, and they remain governed by IRDAI (Third Party Administrators—Health Services) Regulations, 2016. Keep your TPA’s name, cashless helpline, and escalation path visible on e-cards and your intranet.

There’s also a draft IRDAI circular proposing uniform norms for proportionate deductions when members choose rooms above their eligible category. It’s worth tracking while you design realistic room categories today.

Cashless vs reimbursement: set expectations before anyone needs care

Employees don’t care about product jargon; they care about what happens at the admission desk.

Cashless works at network hospitals: the hospital sends a pre-authorisation request to the insurer/TPA with the diagnosis and cost estimate; once approved, the hospital bills the insurer/TPA directly. Reimbursement covers treatment at non-network providers: the member pays first and submits originals (discharge summary, itemised bills, investigation reports, prescriptions, bank details) for repayment. Cashless isn’t “better”—it’s smoother; reimbursement is flexibility. Document both flows with a checklist and screenshots in your handbook, and put the network search link one click away from the CIS.

Room rent caps and proportionate deduction

If a member selects a room above the eligible category, many policies apply proportionate deduction—prorating associated charges (doctor’s fees, nursing, OT, etc.) in addition to the room difference. Two things reduce friction:

1. Design humane room eligibility based on what private rooms actually cost in your cities—avoid caps that make “cashless” feel theoretical.
   
   
2. Explain the math in your handbook with one worked example (eligible ₹5,000 room vs chosen ₹7,500 room), so no one discovers it at discharge.
   
   

Why the emphasis? IRDAI has proposed standardising how proportionate deduction should work; while it’s a draft, the direction is clear: transparency and consistency.

Waiting periods, exclusions, and what you can (and can’t) waive

Groups often secure reduced or waived waiting periods versus retail products, especially at scale. What’s not flexible are the boundaries on exclusions: IRDAI’s Guidelines on Standardization of Exclusions in Health Insurance Contracts (2019) define what can’t be excluded, require standard wordings, and brought important guardrails (e.g., harmonisation with mental-health coverage). Keep your certificate and handbook language aligned to these standards so employees aren’t surprised at claim time.

Optional levers that change how your plan feels

Small design choices deliver outsized trust:

• A corporate buffer for exceptional, high-cost cases (with clear criteria and approval turnarounds).
  
  
• Restoration of the sum insured after a large claim (spell out triggers to avoid mismatched expectations).
  
  
• Voluntary top-ups employees can buy at enrolment (including parental cover), so the base stays sustainable while households get the headroom they want.
  
  

Capture these in one page of plain language; ambiguity and benefits don’t mix.

Inclusion by design and why insurers can support you

IRDAI’s 2024 framework leans into access and inclusion—product availability across age bands and pre-existing illnesses, contemporary care (day-care and modern procedures), and alignment with broader Indian law (e.g., the Mental Healthcare Act, the RPwD Act, HIV/AIDS Act, Surrogacy law). In short: the regulator’s intent and market practice now point the same way. As an employer, pick an insurer that can operationalise this, and mirror that tone in your internal policy docs.

Designing sums insured and room categories without confusing fine print

Rather than asking “What’s everyone else buying?” anchor sums insured in local hospital tariffs for common procedures, plus an ICU buffer. Tier by grade if you must, but avoid punitive room-rent logic; nothing destroys faith faster than a proportionate-deduction surprise. If you do use disease-wise sub-limits or co-pays, show one worked scenario (“appendectomy, non-ICU room”) and keep the list short. Your goal is coverage people understand and can actually use.

TPAs, SLAs, and what to print on the ID card

TPAs aren’t vendors to your employees; they’re the front line. Under the TPA Regulations (2016), they admit claims, authorise cashless per insurer rules, and recommend payments; the insurer remains ultimately responsible. On your e-card and intranet, print the TPA’s name, cashless helpline, email for reimbursement submissions, escalation path, and a line that says “Carry a government photo ID and your e-card for admissions.” Measure what matters: pre-auth turnaround, query-closure time, and denial-to-appeal outcomes.

Finance and tax: the two paragraphs your CFO needs

For the employer, premiums you pay for a group mediclaim policy are generally treated as ordinary business expenditure when incurred wholly and exclusively for business—your finance memo will typically cite Section 37(1) of the Income-tax Act for that baseline.

For the employee, the Income Tax Department’s own guidance states that medical insurance premium paid or reimbursed by the employer is not chargeable to tax in the employee’s hands. If employees contribute (say, for parental add-ons), their share typically qualifies for Section 80D deductions within limits. Link both references in your onboarding mailers and payroll wiki; it prevents folklore and reduces ticket volume each enrolment season.

Communication kit: make GMC usable before day one

Create a single “Start Here” page on your intranet or benefits app that answers five questions in order:

1. Who’s covered?
   
   
2. What’s covered? (link the CIS)
   
   
3. Which hospitals are cashless? (link the network search)
   
   
4. How do I start a claim—planned vs emergency? (show screenshots)
   
   
5. Whom do I call at 10 p.m.? (TPA helpline and escalation path)
   
   

The more you front-load clarity, the less your team learns insurance on a gurney.

Renewal strategy: treat GMC like an operating system, not a purchase order

Quarterly, not annually, look at utilisation (cashless vs reimbursement ratio, top admitting hospitals, average pre-auth time), friction (repeat document gaps, denials by reason), and equity (are certain locations hitting room caps more often?). At renewal, renegotiate the levers that matter—room eligibility, sub-limits, buffers, restoration—using your data to justify each change. Update the handbook the same day you sign the endorsement, and publish a short “what changed this year” note.

Frequently asked questions

How many people do we need to buy a group plan?
Insurers write small groups (often from five members up), with richer waivers at higher headcounts. Spell out eligibility (full-time, part-time, interns) in one line to avoid case-by-case decisions.

Is maternity covered? From when?
Group plans can include maternity with defined sub-limits and waiting periods; decide your stance and put it in the CIS so families can plan.

What’s the portability window if someone leaves?
Most insurers allow portability from group to individual within a short window (often 30–60 days) with underwriting. Publish the window and contact to avoid last-minute scrambles.

Do top-ups make sense?
Yes, especially for parental cover or higher sums insured. Offer voluntary top-ups at enrolment; they protect households without ballooning the base premium.

Where this sits in the broader benefits stack

A group mediclaim policy is the health-cost shield in your stack. Pair it with group term life for any-cause family protection and group personal accident for disability risks—together they close the catastrophic-risk triangle. Use telemedicine to route minor issues away from OPD queues so small problems stay small. For employees, the tangible questions remain simple: Is my hospital cashless? Is my family covered? Your job is to make the answers reliably “yes.”

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Resources:

• Group Health Insurance (how GMC works in practice, from cashless to reimbursements)
  
  
• How to file e-claims (step-by-step screenshots)
  
  
• How to file reimbursement claims
  
  
• GMC vs GPA (what each policy actually does)
  
  
• Telehealth (24×7 virtual care that plugs into GMC)

Staff welfare has moved well beyond a lunchtime fruit basket. Today it covers the entire environment in which employees live their working lives: health, safety, mental wellbeing, financial confidence, and a sense of growth and belonging. When these needs are met in a structured way, absenteeism drops, engagement rises, and the business gains a reputation that no recruiting budget can buy. This guide explains the full scope of staff welfare, the evidence behind each pillar, and the practical moves HR teams can make—drawing on external research and Plum’s own experience delivering benefits to more than half-a-million employees.

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Why welfare matters more than ever

Poor working environments cost real money. The World Health Organization estimates that depression and anxiety alone drain US $1 trillion in productivity every year because 12 billion working days are lost globally. Flip the picture and the upside is equally stark: Gallup’s long-running workplace study shows that highly engaged teams—which consistently report feeling cared for—see an 81 % reduction in absenteeism compared with disengaged peers. Those numbers are a reminder that welfare is not a perk; it is a line item that shapes profit and loss.

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A holistic definition

Staff welfare spans five interconnected domains:

1. Physical health and safety—ergonomic workspaces, preventive health cover, ready access to care.
   
   
2. Mental wellbeing—confidential counselling, burnout-aware management, psychologically safe culture.
   
   
3. Financial security—transparent pay, insurance for families, easy access to short-term credit and advice.
   
   
4. Work–life design—reasonable hours, flexible scheduling, and policies that protect restorative time.
   
   
5. Growth and belonging—clear career paths, recognition, diversity, and community.
   
   

Treat them as a system: progress in one area reinforces the others.

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Physical health: from compliance to prevention

Legal compliance sets the floor—think safety signage, fire drills, and workstation standards. But prevention raises the ceiling. Regular check-ups, tele-consultation access, and rapid claim settlement stop minor issues from snowballing. On Plum’s platform the shift from reimbursement-heavy claims to cashless, app-driven approvals cut average turnaround to a single day (see the detailed walk-through in our claims case study). Faster care means shorter absences and a clear message that the company values time as well as health.

For organisations building cover from scratch, Plum’s Group Health Insurance guide explains how to calibrate sum-insured levels, add family members, and weave rewards for healthy habits into the plan.

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Mental wellbeing: the silent productivity lever

Mental-health support is no longer optional. Quiet anxiety can flatten creativity long before it shows up as sick leave. Confidential Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), manager training on early warning signs, and meeting norms that respect recovery time are all high-impact, low-cost levers. Gallup’s data underline the point: teams that log high wellbeing scores are markedly more profitable and durable than those that do not. A well-publicised EAP with at least four free sessions a year is a proven baseline; usage above 8 % is a realistic first-year goal.

For weekly inspiration, Plum’s creator-led Wellbeing hub shows how live sessions, micro-courses, and peer communities keep mental fitness on the agenda without adding administrative burden.

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Financial security: lowering the background noise

When employees worry about late fees and medical bills, focus fragments. A transparent salary framework paired with insurance that covers dependents tackles the two biggest sources of financial stress. Salary-linked loans or pay-on-demand services add a further buffer against emergencies without pushing people towards high-interest credit. HR’s role is to curate these tools and educate managers so that a request for help is met with a process, not embarrassment.

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Work–life design: flexibility with accountability

Long hours are less corrosive when they are chosen, not imposed. Core-hour policies, asynchronous communication guidelines, and “no-meeting” days protect deep-work blocks and rest windows. Hybrid teams fare best when offices offer spaces purpose-built for collaboration, while remote staff receive stipends for ergonomic chairs and cameras. Clear expectations plus the right equipment beat grand statements about “work anywhere” that crumble under deadline pressure.

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Growth, recognition, and belonging

Employees stay when they can imagine a better future inside the firm. Deloitte research summarised by Chief Learning Officer shows that organisations with strong learning cultures achieve 30–50 % higher retention and engagement. HR can build that culture by publishing career lattices, funding learning wallets, and training managers to give coaching-style feedback. Recognition multiplies the effect: peer kudos systems that translate shout-outs into micro-rewards keep appreciation visible long after town-hall applause fades.

Belonging completes the loop. Public DEIB dashboards, inclusive policies—from gender-neutral parental leave to chosen-name options—and employee-run resource groups ensure that growth paths are accessible to every identity.

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Measuring welfare: turning data into decisions

Good welfare programmes start with a baseline and aim at few, visible targets. Four metrics form a practical starter set:

• Attrition rate (voluntary, rolling 12 months).
  
  
• Absenteeism (sick days per full-time employee).
  
  
• EAP utilisation (percentage of workforce using sessions).
  
  
• eNPS or pulse-survey wellbeing score.
  
  

Publishing these numbers quarterly creates both accountability and momentum. Early wins often appear in EAP uptake and absenteeism; engagement and attrition improve more slowly but reward persistence.

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Funding the programme

Welfare budgets face the classic tension between scope and cost. The WHO notes that every dollar invested in scaled preventive mental-health interventions returns four dollars in improved health and productivity—a convincing anchor when finance teams ask for numbers. Adding digital wellbeing services is rarely budget-breaking: tele-consultations and online workshops scale faster and cheaper than on-site clinics, especially for distributed teams.

Where money is tight, stage investments: start with high-ROI items (preventive check-ups, mental-health access), measure results, and use the data to justify phase two (financial-wellness tools, flexible-work technology).

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Implementation roadmap: a ninety-day sprint

Weeks one and two focus on discovery—anonymous surveys, baseline data collection, and leadership alignment on two or three measurable welfare goals. By week four procure non-negotiables: insurance cover finalised, EAP contract signed, and a launch calendar agreed. Mid-sprint, publish the first welfare dashboard and run manager clinics on recognising overload. Closing the quarter, review metrics, share quick wins (for example, average claim approval time or EAP usage), and set targets for the next cycle.

This cadence turns welfare from an annual HR project into an ongoing operational rhythm.

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Linking welfare back to strategy

Staff welfare is not a kindness that leaders extend once profits improve; it is a driver of the very outcomes they track. Hours saved on claim paperwork surface as project velocity. Reduced absenteeism smooths product-release calendars. High engagement lowers recruitment costs and preserves institutional knowledge through downturns.

Plum’s own customers report these effects in hard numbers—time-to-hire falls when candidates see a credible wellbeing package; claim-related distractions vanish when approvals are near-instant; exit interviews cite growth opportunities as a reason to stay, rather than leave. Each story is different, but the through-line is the same: when welfare becomes systematic, performance compounds.

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Staff welfare is neither charity nor overhead. Handled well, it is the operating system that lets strategy boot up every morning without consuming the human battery that powers it.

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Business goals are loud—grab market share, double ARR, enter new geographies. Yet every bold arrow on a board slide depends on quieter, people-first objectives that HR must own each day. Get the objectives of HRM right and the strategy moves from aspiration to operating reality.

1. Align people strategy with business goals

Ambitious road maps stall if the workforce lacks the skills to execute. A 2025 McKinsey survey on AI adoption found that 46 % of leaders flag talent gaps as the biggest barrier to scaling digital programmes. HR’s primary task is therefore translation: turning revenue targets into concrete head-count plans, reskilling sprints, and succession maps that keep expertise on tap.
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2. Attract and retain the right talent

Research shared by Google’s re:Work initiative confirms that structured interviews outperform informal chats in predicting job performance. One of the primary objectives of HRM is to attract and retain the right talent. Consistent questions, scoring rubrics, and trained panelists reduce noise, cut hiring cycle time, and build a fair candidate experience. But recruitment is only act one. Pairing each joiner with a “90-day buddy” and serving a role-specific onboarding plan accelerates time-to-productivity.

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3. Offer fair, motivating compensation

Opaque pay structures invite rumour mills; open frameworks build trust and shorten negotiations. As a seasoned HRBP, one of the objectives of HRM within your organization needs to be transparency about compensation. With wage-transparency directives already on legislators’ agendas in several Indian states, publishing salary bands and ESOP logic is moving from progressive nice-to-have to competitive necessity. When employees understand the math, they stop reverse-engineering it in private spreadsheets.

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4. Turn performance reviews into continuous growth

A one-shot annual appraisal is like being told once a year whether you’re a good friend. Continuous feedback loops work better: quarterly OKR check-ins, fortnightly one-to-ones, micro-learning nudges, and stretch-project rotations. Organisations with robust learning cultures enjoy 30–50 % higher engagement and retention than peers, according to Deloitte research summarised by Chief Learning Officer. Growth is sticky; when people feel themselves improving, job-hunt tabs stay closed.

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5. Safeguard wellbeing and psychological safety

The business case for wellbeing is now crystal-clear. Gallup’s multi-year meta-analysis found that business units scoring high on wellbeing enjoy 81% lower absenteeism and up to 23 % higher profitability. HR can shift those numbers with tele-consult access, mental-health stipends, and meeting norms that ring-fence recovery time. Line managers need training in spotting burnout early; HR supplies the playbooks.
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6. Guarantee compliance and ethical governance

One of the most crucial objectives of HRM is also to stay on top of regulations and labour laws. Labour codes, POSH rules, and data-privacy laws change faster than any policy PDF can. Compliance is about more than avoiding penalties; it is reputational insurance. Plain-language handbooks, scenario-based trainings, and audit calendars protect both employees and the company’s standing. A culture that sees ethics as non-negotiable travels far in employer-brand rankings.

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7. Deliver friction-free employee experiences

Every extra click in a reimbursement form erodes focus. Modern HRM automates letters, claim submissions, and approvals so employees seldom need to DM “quick favour?”. On Plum’s platform, automated claim triage reduced average approval time from five days to one—an 80% cut detailed in our claims case study. Less friction means more headspace for higher-value work.

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8. Turn people analytics into headlights, not mirrors

Dashboards should predict, not just report. Offer-accept ratios illuminate employer-brand heat; anonymised exit-survey themes expose cultural fractures before they widen. Leading indicators—early-tenure turnover, flight-risk signals, pulse-survey dips—let HR intervene in real time. Evidence, not instinct, drives better policy bets.

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9. Guide organisations through change

Whether it’s folding AI into daily workflows or merging with a competitor, HR sits in the sherpa seat. Bain’s change-management research suggests that structured, proactive programmes can double transformation adoption rates compared with passive “announce-and-hope” approaches. Good guides chart communication cadences, reskilling boot camps, and feedback loops that turn resistance into engagement.

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10. Champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

Public DEIB scorecards, structured interview panels, and inclusive benefits aren’t soft extras—they are risk management and innovation engines. Increasingly, DEIB has become one of the core objectives of HRM. McKinsey’s diversity studies consistently link balanced teams to stronger financial returns, faster crisis navigation, and richer idea pipelines. Representation goals matter, but so do psychological safety rituals that let every voice surface.

If HR jargon slows you down, look at our concise HR Glossary for quick refreshers.

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Bringing it all together

When HR’s objectives anchor every decision—from the wording of a job ad to the choice of a mental-health vendor—people strategy and business strategy converge. Alignment keeps growth plans believable, learning cultures lock talent in place, wellbeing sustains energy, and analytics flag trouble while there’s still time to act.

Plum’s own journey proves the compounding effect. Transparent pay, high-touch onboarding, automated claims, and a wellness marketplace didn’t happen in isolation; they clicked together because each mapped back to core objectives of HRM. The result is measurable: faster approvals, lower attrition, higher eNPS, and a benefits ROI leaders can see in quarterly dashboards.

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In a world where "feeling fine" often passes for being healthy, Ashish Khandelwal's story reveals the hidden dangers of relying solely on how we feel. As Head of Product at Plum and the builder of Plum Health Checkups, Ashish takes health seriously—hitting the gym regularly, running for years, and maintaining good nutrition. Yet even he discovered that the most health-conscious individuals can have underlying issues that only surface through proper testing. Here's his candid account of a health wake-up call.

How do you personally define health?

I see health in three distinct parts: physical, mental, and biological. Most people only focus on the first two, but the third one is what really matters for long-term wellness.

Physical health is straightforward - it's how you feel day-to-day. Your energy levels, whether you can move comfortably, if you experience pain. For me, if I can run, walk, lift weights, or go trekking without discomfort, and I feel energetic throughout the day, that's physical health.

Mental health is about mood, emotional stability, and clarity of thought. I'm not just talking about the absence of stress, but whether you're thinking clearly, free from brain fog, and emotionally balanced. Mental health significantly impacts lifestyle diseases, so it's crucial to track.

But here's what most people miss—biological health. These are the invisible indicators that reflect what's actually happening inside your body. Things like blood sugar, vitamin levels, kidney and heart function, inflammation markers. This is the part you can't see or feel daily, but it determines your real health status.

You mention taking health seriously. What does that look like in practice?

I've been running for 6-7 years. I actually consider it my meditation. For the last 1.5 years, I've been doing strength training at the gym 3-4 times a week because I realized that in your 30s, building muscle becomes critical.

Nutrition-wise, I focus heavily on protein intake aligned with my body weight goals. I've learned to estimate calories intuitively—if I eat a samosa, I know it's about 200 calories with very little protein. I actually skip lunch to manage my overall calorie intake and keep indulgences limited to occasional ice cream.

In my 30s, my focus is on building muscle, maintaining a healthy weight, and managing nutrition strategically.

What motivated this level of health consciousness?

I had a personal awakening when I saw friends in their 30s who couldn't trek or be active anymore. That really hit me—there were people my age already experiencing early decline in health. I started consuming a lot of longevity-focused content, podcasts like Huberman Lab, and realized that the 30s are a critical period to prevent lifestyle-related deterioration. My guiding principles became longevity, muscle preservation, and maintaining high energy levels.

Despite all this health consciousness, you had some surprising discoveries during your health checkup. Can you walk us through what happened?

This is the perfect example of why feeling healthy isn't enough. I started strength training and increased my protein intake to build muscle. I wasn't drinking enough water, but my body gave me no signals that anything was wrong. I felt completely fine.

In January 2025, my Plum Health Checkup revealed some shocking things: I had borderline high HbA1c, which indicates pre-diabetes risk, despite my healthy lifestyle. My kidney function markers were elevated due to high protein intake combined with low hydration. And like most Indians, I had low vitamin D and B12 levels.

The scary part? If I hadn't taken these tests, 3-4 years down the line this could have led to serious problems like kidney issues.

How did you respond to these findings?

I made immediate lifestyle changes. I set water reminders and started drinking much more water, especially at the office. I became more conscious about high-carb and high-glucose foods in my diet. I started taking doctor-recommended vitamin D and B12 supplements. Most importantly, I committed to follow-up testing. I retested in June 2025 to track my improvements.

What were the results of your follow-up tests?

The changes were encouraging. My HbA1c levels dropped into a healthy range. My vitamin B12 levels normalized completely. Vitamin D improved but remained borderline despite supplements—this seems to be a persistent issue that needs ongoing attention. The kidney markers were still elevated, indicating I need to continue focusing on hydration. But I don't know if it's just my mind, but I definitely feel some changes in energy and recovery after making these adjustments.

Why do you think it's important for people to get tested even when they feel healthy?

Feeling fine doesn't always mean you're healthy. I've learned that many high-performing people, including marathoners and fitness enthusiasts, discover hidden issues only through biomarkers.

Your body often doesn't show clear signals of underlying issues until they become serious. Early detection can prevent hospitalization and chronic disease progression. Biomarkers reveal risks like pre-diabetes, hidden inflammation, or heart problems long before symptoms appear.

I believe testing once a year is good preventive practice; twice a year is even better for those who are actively managing their health.

As Head of Product at Plum and the person who built Plum Health Checkups, what impact do you hope this product will have?

My personal experience really drove the vision for Plum Health Checkups. We want to help people detect health risks early so they can avoid major issues later. Most importantly, we want to make advanced health monitoring accessible and understandable for the Indian workforce. Too many people are walking around thinking they're healthy just because they feel okay, when their biomarkers might be telling a completely different story. Building this product became personal for me after my own health discoveries.

Any final thoughts for our readers?

The biggest lesson from my experience is this: your body is incredibly good at adapting and not showing symptoms until problems become serious. Just because you're active, eat well, and feel fine doesn't mean you're actually healthy.

Your late 20s and 30s are critical. This is when you either set yourself up for a healthy, energetic future or unknowingly let problems build up that will hit you in your 40s and 50s. Don't wait for symptoms. Get tested, know your numbers, and take action based on data, not just how you feel. Your future self will thank you for the preventive steps you take today.

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Your latest health checkup came back "normal"—but are you really healthy?

We sat down with Dr. Anirudh Anilkumar, a physician specialising in acute illnesses, chronic diseases, and infectious disease management, to uncover the hidden gaps in standard diagnostic reports. With over a decade of clinical experience, Dr. Anilkumar has conducted clinical research across India and published internationally cited studies on COVID-19, HIV, and drug regimens. He recently presented his work at the Longevity India Conference at IISc-Bangalore, where he spoke about the future of proactive, personalised diagnostics.

In this conversation, Dr. Anilkumar shares the critical health risks that routine checkups consistently miss and what you can do to take control of your long-term health. Combining a holistic approach to care with deep public health insight, he shows us why “normal” test results may not be enough.

What do most people get in a standard health checkup, and what does "normal" really mean on these reports?

A standard medical checkup usually includes a complete blood count, liver function tests, kidney function tests, lipid profile, blood glucose, and a urine examination. Thyroid function tests and hormone panels are also commonly done.

But here's the thing about "normal"-- it's much harder to generalize than most people think. Labs unfortunately only have access to your test values at one point in time. Without personalization – knowing your medications, symptoms, comorbidities, or even your hydration status – it becomes very difficult to precisely say what's normal or not just by looking at biomarker values.

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That's fascinating. Have you come across patients whose reports looked fine, but something serious was going on underneath? Could you share an example?

Absolutely. Often, patients aren't even aware of their health status, sometimes across generations. I've had multiple instances where young patients would get complete blood counts done that seemed normal, maybe suggestive of mild anaemia at worst. They typically wouldn't have done an HbA1c for diabetes screening, usually relying only on fasting glucose. I'd ask them to get an HbA1c test whenever they tested next, since it helps us understand long-term blood glucose levels better.

When they tried to get the HbA1c test done, it became apparent that they had genetic hemoglobinopathies – conditions that affect hemoglobin at a molecular level. Going purely based on their CBCs, they would have been unlikely to get diagnosed.

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What about the opposite scenario, i.e., when tests look abnormal but patients are actually fine?

Great question! The opposite is also true, and it's becoming more common. Given the rise of over-the-counter supplementation, I've had numerous patients whose thyroid function tests seemed to suggest hypothyroidism. However, after taking a detailed history—since their symptoms weren't suggestive of hypothyroidism and the levels were too deranged for subclinical hypothyroidism—it became apparent they were consuming biotin supplements regularly.

Biotin, or Vitamin B7, interferes with some types of thyroid function tests, causing values to appear abnormal when patients are perfectly fine. This is another excellent example of why basing a diagnosis, let alone treatment, on lab tests alone is never a good idea.

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What are some health risks or early warning signs that standard tests usually miss?

Most panels don't focus enough on preventive health, especially from a deficiency perspective. Here's a shocking statistic: despite nearly 1 in 2 Indian women and 1 in 4 Indian men being anemic, the cause is often falsely attributed to iron deficiency.

Large-scale national data from ICMR and NIN revealed that despite high prevalence, only 30% of anaemia was actually due to iron deficiency. Another 30% was due to B12 and B9 deficiencies predominantly, and the rest was due to unknown causes—likely autoimmune conditions, malabsorption, or helminth infestations.

This means iron panels, serum B12, B9, and Vitamin D levels are common tests with huge potential benefits, especially for women and vegetarian populations who are most at risk. Yet these are seldom part of most checkup packages.

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Why are markers like inflammation, insulin resistance, or nutrient deficiencies often left out, despite their long-term impact?

The reason is two-fold. Until a decade or two ago, India was dealing with a massive infectious disease burden alongside metabolic diseases. Our priority from a health systems perspective was reactive medicine—what's described in public health as secondary prevention, which deals with prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Now that the infectious disease burden is decreasing to manageable levels through vaccinations, national programs, and better hygiene practices, we can give proactive medicine the attention it deserves. By using relatively novel biomarkers like inflammatory markers, insulin resistance indicators, and micronutrient levels, we can focus on primary and primordial prevention—screening for diseases before they present and eliminating risk factors.

There's also been a significant reduction in costs associated with these tests and national-level scaling up of testing capacity over the past decade, which is the second factor until now, preventing us from focusing on preventive health biomarkers.

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Can you explain how something can go undetected in reports for years before it becomes a full-blown diagnosis?

Let me share a personal example. My father has had hypertension for nearly two decades, but it was only detected about a decade ago. The problem with metabolic diseases is that they don't present suddenly with loud fanfare—or a lot of red flags in test panels. They present insidiously.

Believe it or not, 'insidious' is actually a clinical term for when symptom presentations are gradual and subtle, spread out across time—though most people know it from horror movies!

For nearly a decade, we thought the slightly elevated serum creatinine we were seeing was just because he was eating a lot of non-vegetarian food. But thankfully, after getting insights during med school, we were able to get his hypertension diagnosed. At that point, it became clear that the elevated creatinine was indicative of early-stage chronic kidney disease.

And it's not just hypertension. Diabetes, dyslipidemia—all of these present as what might seem like negligible changes on reports. However, when taken together over time, they show a clear trend that helps identify disease patterns before they become chronic diseases. This is why testing from the same lab and testing regularly are key to identifying these patterns.

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Find a list of medical and health terms you need to know here.

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How has modern diagnostic science evolved, and how can people catch issues earlier than ever before?

The advancement has been remarkable. Nearly a decade before COVID-19, we had swine flu as a pandemic that resulted in travel restrictions and panic. All we had then was Tamiflu. Then in 2021—barely a year after COVID-19 was first isolated—we could order at-home tests on Amazon at affordable prices.

Today, lab tests mirror the advancements in diagnostics and clinical research, with assay sensitivity reaching nanograms or number of DNA copies per milliliter. Cutting-edge research from IIT-Bombay and HMS can detect biomarkers linked with neurodegenerative diseases years before symptoms potentially begin to manifest. Similar screening for cancers is being developed, with circulating tumor DNA detection reaching clinical viability in real-world settings.

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If someone wants to go beyond the basics, what should they ask for in a more advanced health checkup?

I recently had the privilege of attending the Longevity India Conference at IISc-Bangalore, where a common theme emerged: focusing not just on lifespan, but healthspan—the duration of your life for which you're healthy. This concept focuses on the main causes of mortality and morbidity in the general population:

Cardiovascular Health: Go beyond just cholesterol. Look at Apo-B, hs-CRP, and ASCVD scores or similar calculators validated in Indian populations.

Cancer Screening: Especially if you have a family history, preemptive screening using blood tests is a good way to avoid more invasive methods. This includes tumor markers like CEA, CA-125, and CA-19.

Nutritional Deficiencies: Given how common chronic nutritional deficiencies are in the Indian population, checking whether you have deficiencies—spoiler alert, you most probably do—is the best way to acknowledge the problem. It also allows your doctor to determine whether oral or injection-based supplementation is more suitable. The most common deficiencies are iron, Vitamin D, B12, and B9.

Hormonal Health: Due to factors like obesity, microplastics, and unfortunate decisions—I once had a patient with hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency because they switched from cheap, iodized salt to expensive, additive-free, organic, all-natural pink salt—human hormonal health is generally suboptimal. Thyroid, sex hormone, and Vitamin D levels are good ways to ensure your endocrine system is functioning well. This is especially relevant for athletes and professional sports players.

Chronic Disease Monitoring: If you're living with chronic disease, monitoring inflammatory markers, autoimmune markers, and disease-specific biomarkers is an excellent way to track prognosis. While only you can know how you feel, sometimes it helps to convey that to your healthcare provider through numbers, because we rarely can truly comprehend your lived experiences.

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If you had to give one piece of advice to someone relying only on their annual report, what would you say?

Actually, I have five key pieces of advice:

First, test regularly, not frequently—unless you have a disease requiring frequent monitoring.

Second, try to test from the same lab each time. Different labs use different standards, units, and equipment, which can interfere with analyzing data over time.

Third, track your tests! Even just keeping your annual reports as PDFs in a Drive folder so you can share them with your doctor requires minimal effort—just drag and drop.

Fourth, when in doubt, find out! If only interpreting lab tests was as easy as looking at what was highlighted and ignoring everything else. Consult a healthcare provider to better understand your report, like through telemedicine platforms.

Finally, take your ChatGPT conversations with a pinch of iodized salt! AI in healthcare is transforming how we deliver care, but despite billions of dollars and the largest datasets on the planet, it's still more likely to make things up than your doctor. Use it to hold your healthcare provider accountable, and in a pinch, but never as a replacement. There's a reason for those disclaimers on AI chatbots!

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Last question: For someone working in the Indian corporate sector, what should they look for in a comprehensive health solution?

You should experience first-hand what comprehensive healthcare looks like. If it were as easy as just insurance, healthcare companies would be teams of AI agents. But there's a reason successful health platforms are teams of tech professionals, healthcare providers, researchers, finance experts, designers, service executives, writers, and much more.

From helping you during moments of helplessness when the last thing on your mind is insurance approval, to wellness checks in your office, to accessing a doctor at 2 AM anywhere in the country—comprehensive healthcare covers everything. Teleconsultation for your pet, urgent care for your child, managing office stress, treating stubborn health issues, accessing quality supplements at discounts, genetic testing—a good platform has you covered even when traditional insurance might not.

The key is finding providers who keep building better experiences and tools to help you stay on top of your health, with a track record that speaks for itself.

Anaemia 

A condition where your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells, causing tiredness, weakness, or pale skin.

Apo‑B 

A type of cholesterol marker that gives a clearer picture of your risk for heart disease than total cholesterol alone.

ASCVD Score 

A tool that calculates your 10‑year risk of heart attack or stroke.

Assay Sensitivity

How good a lab test is at detecting even tiny amounts of a substance.

Autoimmune Markers

Tests that detect if your immune system is mistakenly attacking your own body.

Bilirubin 

A yellow pigment made during red‑blood‑cell breakdown; high levels can signal liver or bile‑duct problems.

BMI 

Body‑mass index, a quick ratio of weight to height that screens for underweight, overweight, and obesity.

Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) 

A waste‑product measure that tells you how well your kidneys are clearing urea from the blood.

Calcium 

A mineral essential for bone health; too much or too little may indicate hormonal or kidney issues.

CBC 

Complete blood count, a panel that measures red cells, white cells, and platelets to flag infections, anaemia, or clotting problems.

Creatinine 

A muscle‑waste marker; elevated levels can signal impaired kidney filtration.

CRP 

C‑reactive protein, an inflammation marker that can flag infection, injury, or chronic disease risk.

Electrolytes 

Minerals like sodium, potassium, and chloride that keep nerves firing and muscles moving; imbalances can be serious.

eGFR 

Estimated glomerular filtration rate, a calculation that shows how efficiently your kidneys filter blood.

Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) 

The amount of glucose in your blood after an overnight fast; high values hint at diabetes risk.

Ferritin 

A protein that stores iron; low ferritin often means iron‑deficiency anaemia, high ferritin can signal inflammation.

Gamma GT (GGT) 

A liver‑enzyme test that helps spot bile‑duct problems and alcohol‑related liver injury.

HbA1c 

Glycated haemoglobin, a three‑month average of blood‑sugar control; key for diabetes management.

HDL‑C 

High‑density lipoprotein cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol that helps clear fat from arteries.

Hemoglobin 

The oxygen‑carrying protein in red blood cells; low levels lead to anaemia symptoms.

Insulin Fasting 

The level of insulin in your blood after fasting; high levels can indicate insulin resistance.

LDL‑C 

Low‑density lipoprotein cholesterol, the “bad” cholesterol that can build plaque in arteries.

Liver Function Tests (LFTs) 

A group of enzymes (ALT, AST, ALP) that show how well your liver is working.

Magnesium 

A mineral critical for muscle and nerve function; imbalances affect heart rhythm and energy.

Platelet Count 

The number of clot‑making cells in your blood; too low raises bleeding risk, too high raises clotting risk.

PPBS 

Post‑prandial blood sugar, the glucose level two hours after a meal; used to diagnose diabetes.

PSA 

Prostate‑specific antigen, a protein whose high levels may flag prostate enlargement or cancer.

RBC Count 

The number of red blood cells; abnormalities can point to anaemia or bone‑marrow issues.

SGOT (AST) 

An enzyme that rises when liver or heart cells are damaged.

SGPT (ALT) 

A liver enzyme; elevated levels signal liver injury or disease.

T3 

Tri‑iodothyronine, an active thyroid hormone that controls metabolism.

T4 

Thyroxine, the main hormone produced by the thyroid; imbalances affect energy and weight.

Total Cholesterol 

The sum of HDL, LDL, and VLDL cholesterol; used to gauge overall heart‑disease risk.

Total Protein 

Measures albumin plus globulin; low or high values can reflect liver, kidney, or immune issues.

Triglycerides 

Blood fats stored for energy; high levels pair with low HDL and insulin resistance.

TSH 

Thyroid‑stimulating hormone, the pituitary signal that tells your thyroid how much hormone to make.

Uric Acid 

A breakdown product of purines; high levels can cause gout or kidney stones.

Vitamin B12 

A vitamin essential for nerves and red‑blood‑cell formation; deficiency can cause fatigue and tingling.

Vitamin D 

A hormone‑like vitamin that keeps bones strong and immunity robust; deficiency is widespread.

VLDL‑C 

Very‑low‑density lipoprotein cholesterol, a carrier of triglycerides that contributes to plaque build‑up.

WBC Count 

White blood cells that fight infection; high or low counts help diagnose immune conditions.

One of the first offsites I participated in as Head of People Success at Plum was also one of the most interesting experiences, because it set the tone for our series of ‘cultural offsites’.

At Plum, offsites typically fall under one of two themes. 

The first? Our functional offsites. They’re fairly common among most organisations, typically involving leadership planning meetings where goals for the year are structured, or elements specific to execution – think training, workshops, etc. 

The second type made its debut a year ago and is now a regular practice at Plum. We call these cultural offsites, and they have become one of our rituals to facilitate open, vulnerable, and direct conversations with the team. All teams at Plum participate in at least one of these every year. 

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Why a cultural offsite? 

Talent is our biggest moat at Plum. 

We index heavily on hiring some of the best minds in the business, and give them an environment set up for their success and subsequent leadership. And our best people are always extremely passionate about their charters and have very strong opinions about how some things should be done.  

Friction was to be expected – When you have a group of extremely passionate, ambitious, yet diverse individuals working together, you’re guaranteed a more than healthy amount of debate. 

I could see it. Abhishek could, too. 

We agreed that while we were lucky enough to have a leadership group that was extremely engaged, aligned and raring to go, they needed to start complementing each other’s skills and style of work.  

The result was a two-day offsite with a simple outcome – come back secure in the knowledge that everyone had the others’ backs. 

What causes friction?  

Before we talk about what happened, a small digression where we discuss why friction occurs. There are two ways to look at this. 

Culture 

If I were to look at it from the perspective of a champion of company culture, I’d tell you that it’s either because 

1. some culture codes are not being followed entirely 
2. and/or different people have different interpretations of culture codes 

Plum has six culture codes. We realised that while most culture codes were self-explanatory and intuitive, separate conversations with each leader made us realize we needed to focus on two culture codes in specific – Player, not a spectator and Rock solid reliable. 

Compatibility 

When you have functional heads who are opinionated with very distinct styles of leadership, a founder should count themselves lucky because they’re not just taking ownership, but also crafting their own cultures. Small disadvantage: They might believe that their way is the only way. 

For example, what happens when a leader with an objective, data-driven approach disagrees with a counterpart with a style heavily indexed on soft skills? Both could be right, but there’s no way to compare because the planes of reference are entirely different.

Building a culture of complementary leadership styles.  

We started with the latter. On Day One of the Offsite, folks participated in an introspective exercise designed to help them identify their leadership style, according to The Leadership Compass framework: 

• North (Action-Oriented): Moves fast, takes charge, prefers to "just do it."
• South (People-Centered): Focuses on team harmony, emotions, and relationships.
• East (Visionary): Thinks big-picture, focused on possibilities and long-term goals.
• West (Data-Driven): Detail-oriented, structured, relies on facts before making decisions.

Once they’d identified their dominant leadership style, they had to learn what was good, bad, and ugly about it. We called it a tension mapping exercise. 

Divided into groups of four, people had to discuss what they admired and were frustrated by in each leadership style. For example, a North (Action-Oriented) leader might think that "East (Visionary) is great at big ideas but slows things down with endless brainstorming, while the East might believe that  "North rushes into execution without thinking through long-term impact."

This did two things

1. discussions could be objective without being personal
2. people could start thinking about how one style could complement the other, without pointing fingers 
   
   

Aligning leadership styles to the larger company culture.  

Now that everyone was more welcoming towards the idea of working with each other, we could now acknowledge the muddy elephant in the room – culture. 

At that point, we observed that teams were hesitant to take risks, challenge ideas, and support each other openly. To build a high-trust, high-accountability culture, we needed to build a culture of shared responsibility, constructive discussion, and true ownership over Plum’s success. 

Conversations were blunt, yet empathetic. Some themes: 

• What prevents us from engaging in tough conversations and challenging ideas openly?
• How can we shift from blame culture to shared accountability?
• What would it look like if we always assumed positive intent in cross-functional interactions?
• How can leadership create more psychological safety to encourage risk-taking?
• What are three behaviours we can start doing tomorrow to make trust and dependability part of our daily work?

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My role in this involved arbitrating conversations, leading discussions, and taking a lot of notes. After both sessions, the people success team presented our findings, which identified overlaps between structural and cultural issue, and suggested practices that would address both issues.

Day zero all over again 

I believe Plum’s strongest cultural trait is the diversity in styles, thought processes, and problem solving. Our cultural offsites have been fairly successful in preserving this individualistic style among subcultures, while ensuring that there is a healthy respect for complementary styles of working.   

And when this is aligned with the company’s broader culture and goals, we do work that we’re proud of. Teams aren’t working in siloes as much as they used to, wins are celebrated all across the org, and collective collaborations reigns supreme when there are setbacks. 

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If you’re a people leader or founder who is reading this, three words of advice. 

First, this is normal. Acknowledge that disagreements are a part of your journey as you scale, and it is a good sign because it means your leaders are engaged and invested. You need to channel that energy into collaboration through regular conversations and interventions. Remember to have an anchor around which you can moor these conversations. At Plum, it was our culture codes. It could be anything for you – your vision doc, routines and rituals, or even your product philosophy. 

Secondly, culture is a work in progress. A single offsite is not a one-stop solution, and you need to keep an eye out for both leading and lagging symptoms. A simple rubric that I have for the success of these sessions is whether the same issues persist a week, three months, and six months after the offsite.

Thirdly, you might be tempted to outsource workshops like these to an external party. I would recommend against it. A lot of this is internal and cultural, which means nobody outside the organization would be best equipped with the context required to solve it. While there is merit in external facilitators, the onus to carry the culture forward lies with the leadership. As founder or people leader, this is your OKR, and it’s best to get your hands dirty in the pursuit.  

Nobody wants to have these conversations. But sometimes, they’re necessary. Been there, done that, or looking to do that? Drop me a note at priya@plumhq.com. 

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