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As workforce expectations shift, Campus Activewear is putting employee voice at the centre of its people strategy. Alka Monga, AVP HR, talks about how the company is building a culture where openness translates into action and employees are encouraged to shape what comes next.
In a workplace shaped by changing expectations, generational diversity and the need for constant adaptability, people strategy can no longer be limited to policies and programmes. For Campus Activewear, it is about creating everyday conditions where employees feel confident to speak, challenge, learn, and grow.
As a brand closely connected to young India, Indian sports and athleisure footwear brand's approach to people and culture is rooted in listening, adaptability, and a clear understanding of evolving workforce expectations. From creating safer spaces for employees to speak up, to encouraging cross-functional collaboration and continuous learning, the company is working to build an environment where people feel seen, trusted and empowered to contribute.
Speaking to Sarah Gideon in this edition of Industry Insider, Alka Monga (pictured above), Assistant Vice President HR, Campus Activewear, eflects on what it means to build a workplace that is not afraid to question old ways of working, and how Campus is turning feedback into action, creating safer spaces for dissenting views, while responding to the expectations of a Gen Z-led workforce with greater clarity, transparency and purpose.
Q You've been closely involved in shaping the people and culture at Campus. Can you share a moment when an unexpected perspective or input from within the organisation made you rethink how you approach building a more open and adaptive work environment?
One moment that has genuinely stayed with me came during a focused group discussion, when a team member, early on their journey with us, shared something that was both simple and deeply insightful. While we had invested meaningfully in creating platforms for open dialogue, there were still moments where people held back from voicing a differing view, particularly in larger group settings. What moved me was not just the observation itself, but the thoughtfulness and trust it reflected, that someone felt safe enough to say what many were perhaps quietly feeling.
That conversation changed something in how we think about openness. We realised that creating the right platforms is only the beginning. What truly matters is the quality of human interaction within those spaces. From that point, we worked much more intentionally with our leaders, encouraging behaviours that invite diverse perspectives, respond with curiosity rather than defensiveness, and genuinely acknowledge viewpoints that may differ from their own.
Whether during monthly team interactions or skip-level conversations, we now approach these moments as deliberate opportunities to build a culture where every voice is not just heard but truly welcomed.
Q From an HR standpoint, how do new ways of working or people-led ideas typically take shape within the organisation, from early thinking to implementation? Are there specific practices you encourage to support this?
At Campus, we hold a strong belief that the most meaningful ideas about how we work and what we need often emerge from within the organisation itself. The key is building the right channels to surface those ideas and, equally importantly, the genuine intent to act on them.
We begin with our annual employee satisfaction survey, which gives us a broad and honest view of where we stand as an organisation. But numbers alone rarely tell the complete story. We go deeper through focused group discussions that bring out perspectives specific to each function, and through regular skip-level conversations that create space for more candid and open exchanges.
Together, these touchpoints help us move from simply listening to truly understanding. The inputs are then thoughtfully assessed for both relevance and impact, and we prioritise accordingly. When people see that what they share translates into real change, the quality and sincerity of that engagement only grow stronger over time.
Q Experimentation is important, but not every initiative can move forward. How do you help teams navigate "no" or "not yet" decisions in a way that protects morale and keeps people motivated to keep contributing?
This is something we think about carefully, because how we respond to an idea says just as much about our culture as how we encourage one.
Our foundation is always transparency and respect. When people understand the context behind a decision, whether it relates to timing, strategic alignment, or organisational capacity, they are far more likely to stay engaged and continue contributing. What we want to avoid at all costs is leaving someone feeling that their thinking was not valued, because it always is.
Wherever possible, we also try to keep the door open.
"A "not yet" is very different from a "no," and that distinction matters enormously to how people feel about contributing in the future. It signals that the idea has merit, that the timing simply needs to align, and that their initiative is something we want more of, not less."
Over time, this approach builds a culture where people remain motivated to think, to propose, and to stay genuinely invested in where the organisation is headed.
Q Gen Z is central to Campus' brand. How are you translating this understanding into your people practices, whether it is hiring, engagement, or day-to-day team dynamics?
Gen Z brings something quite exciting to the workplace. They are rational, inquisitive, and instinctively forward-thinking. They ask the right questions, care deeply about purpose, and bring a creative energy that genuinely enriches any team. Understanding this shapes not just how we hire, but how we design the entire experience of working at Campus.
During the hiring process, we invest real time in building clarity. We speak openly about the significance of the role, what success looks like, and the kind of culture we have built here. This is not simply about managing expectations; it is about creating an honest alignment from the very beginning. When younger employees can draw a clear line between what they do every day and why it matters, their engagement is far more meaningful and enduring.
In day-to-day dynamics, we recognise that this generation values visibility of progress, timely feedback, and a genuine sense of growth. We are building a culture that responds to these needs thoughtfully, ensuring that impact is visible, feedback is ongoing, and pathways for growth are clearly articulated rather than left to assumption.
Q What systems or interventions have you put in place to ensure employees stay connected to broader industry trends, cultural shifts, and evolving workplace expectations?
Staying relevant in a world that is changing as rapidly as ours requires more than periodic training. It requires cultivating a genuine love for learning, and that is what we are working towards at Campus.
We have introduced LinkedIn Learning as a platform for self-directed growth, giving our people the agency to pursue knowledge in areas that matter to them and to their careers. We actively encourage teams to participate in industry forums, seminars, and external events, and equally importantly, to bring those perspectives back and share them with the wider organisation. This flow of external insight into internal conversation keeps our thinking fresh and connected to what is happening beyond our walls.
Our Leadership Breakfast Connects programme have also been a meaningful addition. These are informal, open conversations where senior leaders share their perspectives on the business, the industry, and the challenges they are navigating. For many employees, it offers a rare and valuable window into strategic thinking. We complement this with cross-functional project alignments, which remain one of the most effective ways for people to learn from one another.
Taken together, the intent is to create an environment where curiosity is consistently nurtured and learning feels like a natural part of how we work, not something separate from it.
Q Strong organisations rely on collaboration across functions. From a people perspective, how do you enable better cross-functional ways of working and knowledge sharing?
Collaboration, in our experience, thrives when it is both structurally supported and culturally celebrated. Encouraging it through communication alone is rarely sufficient.
On the structural side, we have introduced shared KPIs across functions where there are meaningful interdependencies. When teams are working towards a common outcome, the motivation to collaborate becomes natural rather than forced. Cross-functional project assignments build on this further, giving our people genuine exposure to how different parts of the business think, operate, and contribute to the whole.
On the cultural side, some of the most valuable connections we have seen form outside of formal work settings entirely. Sports events, engagement activities, and informal gatherings create personal familiarity that makes professional collaboration so much richer. When people know each other as human beings, not just as colleagues from another department, they work together with far greater ease, generosity, and trust.
Q Looking ahead, what shifts in workforce behaviour or expectations are you paying close attention to, and how are these shaping your people strategy?
At Campus, we are fortunate to have a workforce that is genuinely diverse, not just in background and experience, but in where people are in their professional journeys. We have employees who have grown with the organisation over many years, those who have joined more recently from varied industries, and a vibrant cohort of younger talent.
"Each group brings something distinct and valuable, and our responsibility is to honour that diversity in how we design our people’s practices."
Our more experienced employees find meaning in stability, ownership, and the recognition of a journey shared with the organisation. Those newer to Campus tend to value clarity of role, well-defined outcomes, and a visible sense of impact. Our younger employees often look for immediacy in feedback, growth that feels tangible, and a culture that feels alive and responsive.
The risk, and one we are very mindful of, is inadvertently designing for one cohort while underserving others. Our people strategy is therefore built on principles that resonate across all groups: clarity of expectations, genuine transparency, meaningful recognition, and the autonomy to own one's role with confidence. These are not generational preferences; they are universal aspirations that, when consistently delivered, create an organisation where everyone feels genuinely valued.
Q If you were to define the ideal employee at Campus five years from now, what skills, mindsets, or behaviors would stand out, and how are you building these today?
Five years from now, the employee who will truly thrive at Campus will be someone who combines strong business understanding with the agility and curiosity to grow continuously. Functional expertise will always matter, but what will set people apart is the ability to learn quickly, adapt gracefully, and collaborate across boundaries with genuine openness.
From a mindset perspective, we will look for people who approach challenges with curiosity and a constructive, solution-oriented spirit. Emotional intelligence will be just as critical as intellectual capability, the ability to build trust across diverse teams, navigate complexity with composure, and contribute to a culture that brings out the best in everyone around them.
In terms of how people show up every day, accountability, a bias for action, and the willingness to move with purpose will define high performance. And through all of this, our values of integrity, respect, and teamwork will remain the constant that ground everything else.
We are building towards this today through our learning initiatives, cross-functional experiences, leadership conversations, and a hiring philosophy that looks as much at mindset and values as it does at skills.
Q What leadership behaviours do you believe are essential to creating an environment where people feel confident to contribute, challenge, and grow?
Leadership behaviour, more than any policy or programme, sets the tone for what a culture truly feels like from the inside. In my experience, a few qualities stand out as genuinely transformative.
The first is openness and approachability. When leaders listen with real curiosity, make themselves genuinely accessible, and consider diverse perspectives with warmth rather than defensiveness, people feel safe to speak up, share ideas, and even respectfully challenge the status quo. That psychological safety is everything.
The second is leading with humility. Leaders who are comfortable acknowledging uncertainty, who actively seek input, and who are willing to learn alongside their teams, create an environment where growth is valued over the appearance of having all the answers. This quality, quietly and consistently demonstrated, gives everyone around them permission to grow as well.
The third is trust and emotional intelligence. Leaders who invest in understanding their people, who engage with empathy and genuine care, build teams that are not only high-performing but deeply resilient. People give their best to leaders they trust.
And finally, recognition and fairness. When contributions are celebrated consistently and decisions are made with transparency and equity, it reinforces the trust that sustains a high-performance culture over the long term. People who feel seen and fairly treated rarely need to be asked to go the extra mile. They simply do.
Lead image / Provided
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