Atharva Deshpande

About Atharva Deshpande

HR Business Partner with 6+ years of experience in large, complex organizations, enabling effective performance cycles, reducing attrition through targeted interventions, and strengthening employee experience through stakeholder partnerships and data-informed decision-making.Currently working as an HR Business Partner (People Advisor) at Accenture India, supporting the Accenture Microsoft Business Group (AMBG).I collaborate with leadership on performance management and retention initiatives, contributing to measurable reductions in attrition through targeted interventions. I manage end-to-end appraisal cycles for 1500+ employees across multiple business units, ensuring consistency, governance, and timely execution. I help managers build strong performance and feedback cultures by coaching them on difficult conversations, improving feedback quality, and strengthening day-to-day people management. I’ve facilitated onboarding for large cohorts of new joiners through virtual and in-person programs, ensuring a structured and engaging experience.I shape employee experience initiatives across inclusion, recognition & wellbeing. By leveraging survey insights and feedback, I’ve increased participation in wellbeing and recognition programs, strengthened allyship through I&D sessions, and improved responsiveness through collaboration. I use AI-enabled tools and digital solutions to streamline feedback & deliver real-time responses to employee queries, reducing volumes & improving overall procedural efficiency. At Atos, I worked as an HR Business Partner with additional responsibility for Reporting and Analytics for India. I partnered with leadership, contributing to retention initiatives that reduced attrition by 8%, and played a role in executing an organizational carve-out. I supported performance cycles, handled complex employee grievances and misconduct cases in collaboration with legal teams, and implemented improvements in Reward & Recognition processes. In addition, I worked on reporting and analytics for employees, building automated dashboards, driving data cleanup, enabling process automation, and presenting KPI insights to global leadership to support decision-making.I started my HR journey with internships focused on workforce management at Atos and employee data management at Xento Systems, gaining early exposure to reporting, compliance, and process improvement. I hold an MBA in HR and enjoy reading, playing badminton, and watching football in my free time.

Experience

1. People Advisor Analyst - HR Business Partner

   Accenture in India

   Sep 2023 — Present · Pune, IN

   As an HR Business Partner at Accenture India, I support the Accenture Microsoft Business Group (AMBG), formerly known as Avanade.Partnered with business leaders across four units, supporting 1,500+ employees to strengthen people strategy. Contributed to a 7% reduction in attrition through focused discussions, and retention interventions aligned with business priorities.Managed the performance appraisal process, ensuring timely completion of quarterly and annual reviews. Resolved employee concerns through insight-driven actions that sustained performance continuity.Coached over 50 managers on effective performance and career discussions, leveraging survey feedback to improve the quality of communication and feedback practices across teams.Supported the integration of AI tools within HR processes to enhance feedback, personalize recognition, enable real-time employee support, and recommend learning resources—reducing employee queries by 30%.Strengthened wellbeing and recognition initiatives by expanding reach and introducing new programs, spotlighting real-time appreciation and achieving a 100% increase in overall participation.Promoted inclusion by facilitating sensitization sessions that boosted ally-ship by 25% and driving awareness through employee resource groups, reducing response time for workplace concerns by 50%.Mentored new HR team members, accelerating their readiness & boosting confidence and contributing to a collaborative function.

Education

• MIT World Peace University

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Human Resources Management and Services

  2017 — 2019