A Day With… Rati Chaudhary

We’re going behind the scenes with communications professionals across the APAC region, learning more about their diverse roles, what they love most about their jobs, and how they got there in the first place. In the ninth part of the series, we sat down with Rati Chaudhary, Group Communications Lead for Values and Ethics at Capgemini.

Can you explain your exact role at Capgemini?

I work as Group Communications Lead for Values and Ethics at Capgemini. We are a team of six, led by a Group Ethics Officer, managing our ethics helpline, human rights, conflict of interest tool, code of business ethics and code of ethics in AI. My job is to create campaigns and communications around our Values and other key elements of the entire program. Apart from working closely with my own team, I work with our Group Marcomms teams and agencies. We also work with HR to leverage our Values for our employer brand.

Briefly describe a ‘day in the life’ of you as a communications professional.

I work in a hybrid work mode unless I am working out of our headquarters in Paris. A usual work from home day starts with a nice workout. I have a 2-3 hour head start before Paris wakes up, so I try to finish as much work as possible in that time. After that it is meetings with my manager, team, or other stakeholders. At around 6pm I take a break to go for a walk, spend time with my daughter and dinner. Post dinner, I again log in as Paris is still working. Depending on how much work is there, I then work for an hour or so.

What’s the best part of your job?

Diversity. I work in a global role, so I get to meet colleagues from various nationalities almost on a daily basis. In my previous role I was in a regional role as well and I still have friends in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Earlier this year, we had a meeting in Paris where ethics officers from all across the globe participated. I find it extremely fascinating to hear their stories and understand about their culture. I make a very conscious effort to look for roles like these.

How did you enter the communications industry? (i.e., university study, internships, worked your way into communications, another route?)

I started my career as a journalist and worked with big media houses in India for close to a decade. In 2011, I decided to move to Mumbai for personal reasons. I didn’t get a beat of my choice, and the one I got required some knowledge of the local language. This was also the time that India’s media landscape was changing with the whole Arnab wave. I decided to switch careers.

I first joined an agency to learn the ropes of communications, immediately afterwards I got my first offer as Head of Internal Communications for South Asia at the British Council.

What’s the best piece of communications advice you’ve been given?

“If you can’t explain something in a few words, try fewer.” I try to keep the communications as short and simple as possible. As a communication professional, we are competing with the social media of the world to get our employees’ attention.

Employees are consuming bite-sized content as reels are getting shorter. We have no option but to keep our communications also short and interesting.

What’s your superpower as a communication professional?

Apart from my day job, I am also an Instagram influencer. My skills as an influencer keep me updated in the whole content creation and social media landscape. This comes in very handy in my role as a corporate communications professional.