Earlier this year, Predictive Success recognized some of our clients who have been a shining example of resilience, taking the impact of the global pandemic and using it as a tool to shift their perspective on their company’s operations and adapt through a time of epic uncertainty. Below is a feature story on one of our award winners, Vasanti Cosmetics.
Pinki Gosal, Maverick, and President and Co-Founder of Vasanti Cosmetics
Founded in 1998 as one of the pioneers of South Asian beauty, Vasanti Cosmetics began as a story of sisterhood, driven by the lack of representation in the beauty industry. Vasanti Cosmetics launched its first three products over 20 years ago with inclusivity in mind from the start. They quickly became a coveted Canadian beauty brand that delivers high-quality skincare and products for all skin tones, types, and ages. With products in over 200 retail stores across Canada and a new focus on their digital presence, Vasanti Cosmetics continues to stand out among the ever-growing beauty and skincare industry.
Why Predictive Success?
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect us all, Vasanti Cosmetics is an example of a company whose ability to shift quickly amidst the uncertainty of an economic downturn benefitted revenue and company culture overall. After seeing brick and mortar sales drop by more than 60%, Pinki Gosal, President and Co-Founder of Vasanti Cosmetics saw a reason to reevaluate her team and business, which opened her eyes to a need for more reliance on sales in the digital space. Using the results of the team’s Behavioural Assessments, Pinki strategized her team and was able to play to the strengths of each employee, knowing who to give more or less to given the added stressors the pandemic brought with it. “Knowing how and why my employees function the way they do in the workplace helps me to understand them so that I can get the most out of them,” Pinki explained, “it’s a win-win for both the company and the employees when I understand how to help my people reach their maximum potential.” Implementing The Predictive Index “saved us so much time from going through resumes… for a small company like us, we need to be as quick as possible,” Pinki explained, “from a training perspective if we look at the time that goes into training and finding the right fit, we saved more than 50% efficiency in the hiring process.”
Pivoting in a Time of Uncertainty
After seeing the need for more reliance on the digital marketplace, Vasanti Cosmetics upped their online presence and used The Predictive Index to build an entire marketing team with expertise in online retail and marketing. Restrategizing the team in this way helped the business grow online by more than 20%. In addition to this strategic pivot the business experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vasanti Cosmetics quickly made the decision to halt all cosmetic manufacturing back in April and shift into the much-needed production of hand sanitizer. Living up to their “small, but mighty” reputation, Vasanti Cosmetics also launched a campaign to showcase frontline healthcare workers called #WeSeeYou, donating care packages to frontline workers including their best-selling skincare products in response to those experiencing skin irritation due to the constant use of masks and facial coverings.
The Solution
While PI has been an incredible tool for knowing the ins-and-outs of the team, it has also ensured Pinki that they can be more reliant on their online business moving forward. With the future of retail uncertain, the team at Vasanti Cosmetics was able to play into strategy with the people data they collected on their staff, and go “all in” on the online aspect of their business, which helped in keeping sales going. As a smaller player in the beauty industry, “Vasanti Cosmetics has the advantage of being nimble enough to change really quickly when times are uncertain because there isn’t a huge corporate structure we have to go through and adjust,” Pinki explained. While Vasanti Cosmetics saw results from using PI that saved them time and money, perhaps the most important solution it brought to the company was the ability to “help in taking away any biases of race, gender, or age out of the recruitment process,” Pinki proudly stated. As a tool for review, senior leadership at Vasanti Cosmetics use The Predictive Index to check in with managers and see how they are doing in managing their teams which have helped in building a more structured and stronger way of communicating with staff, increased revenue for the business, and allowed Vasanti Cosmetics to thrive in a saturated digital marketplace.
Congratulations to Vasanti Cosmetics, one of our 2020 Resilience Award Winners.
