In this episode of The Human Advantage podcast series, we are thrilled to welcome Sarnjit Kaur, Chief People Officer International at Cox Automotive, a leader in the automotive sector with over 3,000 employees across UK, Europe, Brazil, and Australia.
Sarnjit is dedicated to fostering a positive workplace culture that truly supports employee well-being and drives performance.
She’s been leading impressive initiatives like:
- A well-being group focused on men’s mental health— essential in an industry where 80% of the workforce is male. This group provides employees with a safe space to talk about their challenges, seek support and learn ways to manage stress.
- A Neurodiversity group to celebrate and support diverse talents, fostering a more inclusive and innovative workplace.
- The “Make Your Mark” program, which empowers employees to connect with causes they’re passionate about. This initiative has been a hit, allowing everyone to contribute to their communities in meaningful ways.
In this episode, we’ll explore the strong connection between company culture and business performance.
4 key insights from Sarnjit Kaur
The role of leadership in shaping organizational culture
Organizational culture isn’t just a set of policies or values. It’s about how employees feel, how they’re treated, and whether they feel empowered and valued. Leaders, especially HR professionals, play a crucial role in shaping this culture through their behaviors and interactions. They must model the values they want to see, consistently showing up with empathy, trust, and respect.
Active listening creates meaningful change
The most impactful cultural initiatives often come from actively listening to employees. Sarnjit describes how their neurodiversity group and the “Level Up” language program emerged from employee feedback. Beyond formal surveys, she emphasizes the importance of leaders being visible and creating informal opportunities to gather insights that can improve the workplace.
Middle managers are the glue of organizational culture
Middle managers play a pivotal role in shaping and maintaining culture. Sarnjit views them as the “glue” that holds organizations together. They are the ones who interact directly with employees and put the company’s values and culture into action. By investing and equipping them with the skills to lead with empathy and adaptability, organizations can ensure that culture is consistently reflected at all levels. This ultimately boosts performance and engagement.
Resources
- As Sarnjit said, leadership plays a critical role in shaping an environment where employees feel safe, heard, and valued. To help your leaders foster such a culture, explore our Build Psychological Safety facilitated program. This program equips leaders with essential tools to cultivate trust, open communication, and a safe space for all team members to thrive.
- Additionally, our Elevate Your Leadership facilitated program will equip leaders with the skills needed to align culture with business objectives and drive overall organizational performance.
- To support your middle managers in driving change and enhancing team performance, explore our Lead from the Middle program. This program equips them with the skills to inspire collaboration, align teams with organizational goals, and strengthen company culture.
- Check our eBook: Lead From the Middle: 3 Strategies to Empower and Engage Your Middle Managers
Show notes
(00:01) Introduction to the Human Advantage series
(00:41) Renan welcomes Sarnjit Kaur, Chief People Officer International at Cox Automotive
(02:05) The importance of organizational culture in business success
(04:38) Aligning cultural initiatives with business goals
(07:14) Assessing impact of cultural initiatives through surveys and active listening
(10:35) Examples of successful learning programs at Cox Automotive
(17:09) Role of middle managers in fostering a positive culture
(19:55) Empathy and listening as critical leadership skills
(23:18) End of the podcast
CPO & Business Partner to the president, Sarnjit’s key accountabilities include the implementation and delivery of a people centric strategy, which ultimately enables the delivery of the strategic business plan across Cox Automotive International markets covering c3000 team members.
As part of her International remit, Sarnjt’s remit is to also share best practice people strategies across all international markets, to ensure we continue to attract, recruit and retain the best and top talent across all the markets and communities in which we operate. With a tenure of 7 years with CA, Sarnjit started her career as Head of HR for Manheim, then moved into a HRD role for Europe, following the transition to her current role as CPO, reporting globally to the Exec team in the US.
Sarnjit has a passion for all things people development and coaching and partners with a number of external organizations and professional bodies from a mentoring capacity, including the CIPD (Chartered Institute for personnel and Development) Global BT mentoring programs and supports a number of external companies. Her passion to support the next generation of HR talent has been recognized through external accolade received by her recent Inspiring Women, Automotive 30% club award, and Northern Power Women’s awards UK.
Prior to joining CA, Sarnjit has spent over 20 years’ experience in financial services (Santander) where she has conducted multiple operational roles across retail and the branch network, coupled with HR leadership roles across all the 5 key divisions of Santander UK, including Global business markets and the CEO office.
Residing in Lincolnshire, Sarnjit enjoys running, travel and reading and spending time with her two teenage boys, Aran and Kam and family.
Renan dos Santos boasts a decade of experience in the world of L&D. He’s been a key player at CrossKnowledge, proudly wearing many hats as a marketer. Renan’s journey has taken him through the vibrant realms of two different countries, where he’s contributed to shaping CrossKnowledge’s narrative in the dynamic landscape of upskilling. He’s passionate about education and a firm believer in the transformative power of learning.
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The Human Advantage: Insights from Business Leaders series is dedicated to exploring the pivotal role of humans in driving organizational success. Each episode features candid conversations with prominent business leaders who have demonstrated a deep commitment to fostering a thriving workplace environment.