How CHROs Across India Are Rewriting the Rulebook for Gen Z
5
min read
July 3, 2025
The Gen Z Wake-Up Call HR Didn't See Coming
Something interesting is happening across India Inc.
The boardroom is finally facing questions that HR has long tiptoed around, thanks to a generation that refuses to play by blurry rules.
Gen Z isn’t lazy. Or entitled. Or impossible to manage.
They just want clarity, on roles, KPIs, objectives, and culture. And this demand is forcing leadership to unlearn old habits that no longer work.
From Policies to Principles: The Big Shift
Today’s HR leaders are reshaping work in five key ways:
Transparency by default: From open salary bands to better JDs, ambiguity is out.
Flexibility with boundaries: Hybrid work isn’t a perk anymore, t’s design thinking.
Output > Input: Gen Z doesn’t believe time = value. They want to be measured on outcomes.
Culture codes matter: If your values are just wall art, they’ll walk.
Loyalty rewards: Instead of "years served," progressive orgs reward impact and learning.
The best part? These shifts don’t just serve Gen Z, they make companies more human, focused, and resilient.
What Indian Companies Are Actually Doing?
Across sectors, CHROs are moving fast:
Reliance Industries introduced real-time skills mapping and flexible learning programs.
Hindustan Unilever has implemented internal gig models and open career paths.
Zerodha rolled out policies around mental health leaves and ‘silent hours’ for deep work.
TCS redesigned hybrid work structures to accommodate cross-generational collaboration.
(Sources: ET HRWorld, TOI, People Matters, Forbes India)
India’s Gen Z Is Built Different
This isn’t a metro trend.
Tier 2 and Tier 3 Gen Z professionals are just as ambitious, if not more. They're not here to wait, plan, and play safe. They’re fuelled by digital access and networks that transcend location. They want to break things, rebuild, and learn.
For CHROs, this means rewriting policies that assume patience, and instead designing systems that reward initiative, curiosity, and pace.
Resistance Is Real, But So Is the Opportunity
Many leadership teams are still mapping productivity by presence, not performance. They struggle with:
Letting go of micromanagement
Creating transparent documentation
Adapting to new metrics and culture demands
But the smartest CHROs are using this moment to do something bigger:
Redesign HR as a space for strategy, not just service.
That’s where tools like BotFriday come in. When your screening, scheduling, and interviewing are automated and democratic, your time gets unlocked to do the deep work of building culture.
What the Modern CHRO Must Do Now
Let’s be blunt. Many HR rules are broken.
Here’s what today’s leaders are rewriting:
Old Rule | New Rule |
"Work 9 to 5." | “Work when you’re most productive, with clarity on deliverables.” |
"One appraisal a year." | “Micro-feedback loops with purpose, not paranoia.” |
"You earn trust over time." | “Trust is the default. Unless proven otherwise.” |
As one CHRO put it:
“The real shift isn’t just in policies. It’s in how curious we are about what drives this new generation.”
Final Word: Policies Are the New Culture
If you're a CHRO reading this, here’s your call-to-action:
Stop fearing Gen Z. Start listening to them.
Stop tweaking perks. Start transforming principles.
Use your tools, teams, and time to build clarity, not just compliance.
The workplace isn't breaking. It's being reborn. And HR is leading the way.
