Poonam Tewari, Human resources director, Ubisoft

Poonam Tewari of Ubisoft is part of Human Resources Director Canada's Hot List 2018

Hot List 2018

Human resources director
UBISOFT TORONTO

A techie at heart, Poonam Tewari holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in computer application, along with a diploma and certification in human resources. Thanks to Tewari’s recruitment strategies and progressive HR programs, Ubisoft Toronto has grown from 150 employees in 2011 to more than 650 in 2017, and is on track to reach 800 team members by 2020. In the last fiscal year, Tewari and her team hired more than 200 people, exceeding their target by 26% and increasing the year-over-year hiring rate by 41%, which Tewari considers her top achievement of 2017.

To ensure the smooth integration of new employees, Ubisoft Toronto’s HR team provides managers with an onboarding checklist, ranging from IT checks to managerial guidelines. New hires are invited to a team welcome lunch on their first day, and each one is assigned a buddy to help them adjust to their work environment. The HR team also checks in with the new hires at the three-day and two-week marks, and sends out a satisfaction survey at the two-week and three-month marks to ensure that the onboarding program remains effective.