In a rapidly digitalizing world, the work environment is also poised for change. Termed the “gig economy”, more and more organizations around the world are opting to hire independent contractors and freelancers instead of full-time permanent employees. Individuals are also demanding jobs that give freedom, flexibility, and work-life balance. This kind of balance boosts productivity by teaching people how to attain a higher level of achievement and enjoyment, both on and off the job.
It was with this idea that in December 2017 a new Noble House was launched by Sumer Datta (former MD – Aon Hewitt, Asia Pacific) and Sanjay Lakhotia (former Head of Operations – Aon Hewitt, Asia Pacific) who aspire to make HR digital and efficient. Noble House was first co-founded by Sumer Datta as an HR consulting outfit in 1988, which facilitated Hewitt’s entry into the Indian market through a joint venture and later became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hewitt Associates.
By making the entire continuum of finding work and hiring independent consultants more approachable and lucrative for freelancers and businesses, respectively, the venture is already transforming how HR works – thus aligning itself with the idea of a “gig economy” very well.
According to Datta, Noble House is an HR talent marketplace that helps independent consultants find short- and long-term assignments as per their skill set. “By making the entire continuum of finding work and hiring independent consultants more approachable and lucrative for freelancers and businesses, respectively, the venture is transforming how HR works – thus aligning itself with the idea of a “gig economy” very well. Noble House goes by the motto Good Work, Good Life. It seeks to address corporate as well as individual needs creating bottom-line results for the organization that add value and help maintain work-life balance for the individual,” he elaborated.
Sumer Datta is an HR Maven with more than 30 years of experience in consulting and business management. He is the co-founder of Noble House Consulting Pte, an HR talent marketplace that helps independent consultants find short- and long-term assignments as per their skill set. Datta’s passion for nurturing new business opportunities is sought after by various organizations. At the beginning of his career, Datta was a Country Manager for Hewitt India and took on the role of Managing Director Asia-Pacific, in which capacity he was responsible for strategic business direction in the region. He is also the Co-Founder of The HR Fund which supports technology start-ups focused on the new world of work. Founded in 2012, its vision is to transform the workforce by institutionalizing entrepreneurship.
With over 20 skill categories, consultants can choose what is best suited for them. “Organizations, in turn, get access to the large database of best professionals for their innumerable HR needs and Noble House’s Intelligent Algorithm helps in matching them with suitable candidates as per the requirement. The platform boasts of over 400 quality experts across India and Asia for skills like business transformation, HR technology, talent acquisition, employee assessment, compensation and rewards, and more. All this is supplemented by Noble House’s admin support and professional tools,” notified Lakhotia.
Sanjay Lakhotia, the co-founder of Noble House Consulting Pte, is an HR talent marketplace that helps independent consultants find short- and long-term assignments as per their skill set. A seasoned HR professional with a background in technology development, he has more than 20 years of experience in working across all areas of HR including HR Transformation, Leadership development, HR technology deployment, Performance culture, Rewards etc. His last assignment with Hewitt was as the Head of Operations for Asia Pac. Lakhotia also worked in various senior management positions across India and Asia-Pac during his stint with Hewitt.
Noble House recently raised SGD 1 million in angel funding from HR and business leaders based in Singapore and India which will be used for a Pan-India and Asia expansion, enhancing the company’s technology platform, and accelerating hiring to create a wider outreach. The company is also seeking Franchise Partners who will serve as touch-points in various regions to help freelance HR hiring and fulfill the needs of companies across the world.
“We are actually creating solutions to enable the Independent HR Consultant to become more efficient and deliver quality assignments. As part of this initiative, Noble House will be curating various HR platforms that the IC community can utilize to deliver their work. The first partnership of the company is with Dockabl (https://www.dockabl.com/), which is a Talent Management Platform,” concluded the duo.