From Teachers to IAS officers to Ex-servicemen, India Now Hires Them All

Warm greetings to all my readers !! I hope your Deepavli went lightening and brightening !! Today I come up to you with the introduction of a new trend that has been noticed in recent recruitment sector in India. Read the whole story below and share your views about the same. I would be eagerly waiting for your feedback.

A few months ago, IT firm Wipro hired a missile expert for its learning and development team. His job is to create a challenging environment using graphic simulators and train employees to implement different strategies to overcome a crisis.

The company has tried more such permutations and combinations, including hiring a schoolteacher and an ex-navy officer. "The business scenario now requires one to work with different variables and getting people from diverse backgrounds helps," says Abhijit Bhaduri, chief learning officer.

Corporate India is looking outside the traditional box to meet its hiring needs as the work environment becomes more complex. The more diverse the candidate's experience, the greater the profile match.

Ex-servicemen, for instance, are being looked at for roles that involve people management, learning and development, marketing and sales. Indian administrative service officers (IAS) and teachers are being recruited for corporate strategy, counselling and training manpower.

"Defence personnel bring in the resilience that is most crucial to the corporate world today and are being hired for HR, marketing, project management profiles," says Jarmanjit Singh, who joined Wipro as a senior facilitator in 2011 after spending 11 years in the navy, including five postings in training units. The Essar Group plans to hire IAS officers for its marketing and sales profiles. People from the civil services are the best bet for remote locations, and to work around bureaucracies when new projects come up, says Adil Malia, group president.

Companies like Philips India have sent diktats to their search partners to look at diverse profiles. Under their year-and-a-half-old programme, 'New Directions', the company has hired doctors and teachers for its marketing, product management and customer education profiles. "The success ratio of getting such a candidate is one or two out of 10, but the result is an extremely diverse workplace, which is the goal," says Yashwant Mahadik, HR head.

The hunting grounds for such profiles are often management schools, where the officers enroll for executive programmes, social networking sites and copious amounts of networking to get the best fit, say HR heads of companies. IT company Infosys participated in a job fair for ex-servicemen this April for positions in purchase, administration and human resources besides security.

Mid-tier IT company MphasiS hired nearly five women on a sabbatical as part-time counsellors for its Baroda branch during Navratri. Their role was to act as employee arbitrators because the company, in the past few years, had seen a spike in employee altercations during the festival. The company was looking for freelancers who had some work experience, understood behavioural requirements and could give of their time.

The trend is not restricted to the IT and ITeS industries. Executive search firm Maxima Global's clients in the infrastructure space want ex-servicemen and teachers to help them motivate and retain engineers. "They are needed for teams working in tough locations, building hydel projects, highways, transmission lines projects, towers and laying roads in remote locations," says Srinivas Nanduri, partner, board and leadership hiring for the company's Indian arm.

However, this may not become a universal trend. "Such hires are like paramedics, not doctors," says S Kandula, HR head of iGate. The company has hired mathematics teachers for analytics departments too but the HR head insists that recruitments like this are possible only if the candidate's record shows the work is relevant to the post's demands.

Source: TOI

Deepavli.... More Than Just A Festival....

Deepavli is no doubt one of the biggest festivals in India. It is a time of gaiety, joy and a positive outlook towards the future and ofcourse, a celebration that encourages people to have a get together with family and friends. It is perhaps not wrong to say that this is the only event for which we start waiting almost one month prior to its arrival.

As per the Indian mythology, we know that Ram, Sita and Lakshman came back to their home in Ayodhya after 14 years of exile on this day and thus started the event of lights. This very tale has made Deepavli a chance for people who live far from their home to return to their beloved dwellings. People schedule a break from work mostly at this time so as to spend some good time with their loved ones. For those who are not able to get it this time, don’t be disappointed. You may celebrate this time with the families who are around you, may be at your workplace or neighborhood.

There are different outlooks associated with this bright occasion. Some consider this day to get back to their family or ancestral house. For some, this is the time to forget the dark side and coming back to the vivid world. Others may take this day for just fun. From the business point of view, this is one of the occurrences when the sales can touch skies limit and so are the endeavors made.

When seen from the perspective of an employee, Deepavli has got its own importance in a distinct way. This is the day when they expect their respective organizations to be a platform of celebration apart from the day to day professionalism. There are several corporations in India that especially provide bonuses for this very festival, therefore, making the employees anticipating for financial incentives. However, there are some companies that offer non financial treats to the staff members. Whatsoever may the situation be, this is the day when employers enriches their relationships with their personnel.

We, at Protatech Intelligence Manpower Private Limited, are also making arrangements to have lots of fun this Deepavli. May be when you’d read this article we’d be hoisting the flags of lights in our premises wishing each other and all of you a VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS DEEPAVLI….!!!!

Have fun….Enjoy….!!!!!!!!!! See you all this Friday….!!!!

India Among Five Most Difficult Markets For Recruiters

Employers around the world say that India and China are among the five most difficult markets to recruit talent highlighting the widely acknowledged skills gap that is prevalent in the region. Self-monitoring , intellectual curiosity , professionalism and confidence are some of the traits that prospective employees lack in India.

The ability to differentiate from competition is the foremost challenge today for companies and will remain that way for the next three years as per findings by Universum, a global consulting firm that helps employers improve their attractiveness to prospective jobseekers. Coming at a time when there is increased competition across India Inc for talent acquisition, especially at the leadership level, many companies are increasingly opting for honing talent internally to face this challenge.

"Over 85% of respondents affirm to have aligned their talent attraction strategy to their business plan and recruitment needs," said Joakim Strom , MD, Asia Pacific at Universum. Four out of 10 employers said they were currently facing the problem of finding the right and competent people and another four in 10 said that this unavailability of right talent could be an issue in the future as well.

Most HR heads across corporate India admit to facing a dearth of top notch talent more at the top level. "The big issue is of finding people who have a global view and a strategic foresight and that is the talent pool which is shrinking. In the context of our business which is rapidly evolving we need leaders who are capable of rearranging priorities," says Hari T, chief people officer at the IT major Mahindra Satyam. But now we are not waiting for people to come from outside we are building talent internally, in fact we have decided that 90% of the leadership will be from within the system and only 10% from the outside, he says.

The Universum survey pointed out that around 45% of respondents felt their primary concern was the ability to differentiate from competition. "Indian companies are becoming more open to hiring professionals from unrelated fields who may not be a fit right away but have the soft skills. Employers say they if people have had the right experience in the past even if it is not necessarily in the same sector they can be put at the helm...this is seen more across mid and senior level hiring ," says Kamal Karanth, MD of Kelly Services, a global staffing company.

The survey also revealed that employers in India believe the two main reasons why their top performers leave are for money, followed by new challenges for professional development in another company.

Source: TOI

Tornado Stress Hits Corporate Executives in India

This October, stress, deep fatigue and alienation from his family forced Vivek Gupta to quit his job as a vice-president in the institutional equities team at one of the biggest investment banks in Mumbai. He is 33.

All this, he says, is collateral damage inflicted by the punishing pace of work at his former employer. "My work hours were terrible...about 80-100 hours a week. I was not getting any time for my family and children. Health problems such as body aches and dizziness forced me to take a break," he says.

One month on, Gupta feels energized and refreshed. He wants to stick with this slower pace of life - helping his children with school admissions, concentrating on health and taking up things that interest him.

Tushar Sehgal, a 39-year-old advertising professional, has chucked his job not once, but twice, both for the same reason. The tipping point for his second break was being asked to work on Diwali. Sehgal was a creative director for a growing agency; this meant managing multiple assignments to steer the agency to a certain size. "I wanted to spend some time with my nephew and family on Diwali and realized that quality of life was far more precious than a fat pay cheque," he says. He took an off on Diwali and quit soon after. He is now a freelance writer and makes corporate films. "I keep getting calls from headhunters, but I will not go back to that life again."

Gupta and Sehgal (both names changed on request) had enough savings to throw away their jobs.

But thousands of India Inc executives, entrapped in their stress-filled jobs due to poor savings and high EMIs, are sinking into emotional distress every day.

Sixty-six per cent of working professionals in India are suffering loneliness, 77% wish they had someone to share their highs and lows with, and 63% feel they work harder than they want to because of competitive work environment, reveals a survey by Cadbury India. The survey polled over 2,100 professionals in the 25-35 age group in cities including Mumbai, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, etc. The findings were released late last month.

Psychologists and counselors say they are treating more people for workplace-related emotional turmoil. "The numbers of such cases have doubled over last year," says Dr Puneet Dwevedi, head of department (mental health & behavioral science) at Fortis Healthcare "I treat three to four working professionals every day."

Cadbury did the survey as a part of an attempt to understand consumer psyche. It plans to use the data to craft its new advertising campaign this festive season.

Consulting firm PwC has also been studying work-life balance. Executives at the firm say the findings are alarming. "Our research tells us that around 72% of Indian professionals work beyond regular working hours and around 92% of the population takes work home," says Kaustubh Sonalkar, executive director, people and change practice at PwC. Ninety-five per cent of the working population, ranging from Gen Y employees to top leaders, all admitted to a new form of morning sickness - checking their smart phones immediately after waking up.

The Mammoth Costs of a Bad Hire

It’s high time for business organizations to be cautious while hiring new recruits. A bad hire can cost an organization a hefty amount of money and not to forget, it can have a negative impact on the company.

“Lower employee morale and decreased productivity are the biggest consequences of bad hiring and promotion decisions,” according to The Right Management Group, the world’s largest career transition, outsourcing and organizational consulting firm.

Organizations should hire the right person and not just someone who can fill the vacant position as the cost of a bad hire are staggering. A survey published by Careerbuilder found that 41% of companies surveyed informed that a bad hire had cost then $25,000 in the last year. It was also found that 38% of the companies hired a bad employee just to fill the vacant position.

Jay Goltz, a small business expert and a blogger, identified some tips which can help an employer hire the right employee.

1.    Conduct Great Interviews

2.    Always Check References

3.    Give your Employee a Great First Day on the Job

Mindflash.com designed an infographic based on the survey by Careerbuilder. Let us have a look at the detailed report through this infographic.

Big Companies Using Virtual World For Employee Fitness

Apeejay Daredevils, Chandigarh Tigers and DHL Challengers are not names of squads from 20-20 cricket. These are India Inc's racing teams across the virtual world.

The initiative called Stepathlon, organised by global wellness company Stepathlon Lifestyle, aims to encourage activity and foster health and well-being among employees in a fun manner.

Companies see this as an opportunity to make their employees more conscious about health and fitness and help improve productivity. The event plays a dual role of promoting team-building and employee engagement, cross-functional interaction and networking, while creating an environment of bonhomie.

The event, which started on September 20 and ends on December 28, connects 21,000 stepathletes and about 138 companies across the globe. Each team comprises five employees from single or multiple locations and includes members from junior to top management.

Some of the industry bigwigs who are a part of the walk around the virtual world include Mahindra & Mahindra chairman Anand Mahindra, Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, Aditya Birla Financial Services Group CEO Ajay Srinivasan, Godrej Properties ED Pirojsha Godrej and HDFC BankBSE 1.23 % ED Paresh Sukthankar.

"We are very excited about the event. It reminds us that physical activity is important to remain fit and being healthy is a great contributor to productivity and innovation. Stepathlon in a fun way reminds us to remain fit," says Rajeev Dubey, president (group HR, corporate services and after-market), Mahindra & Mahindra.

"The event also has a group activity aspect and helps in employee engagement and team work," adds Dubey, sounding excited about clocking an average of 8,000 steps a day for his team Leg Forward. "I am trying for 10,000," he says. About 1,310 employees from the Mahindra Group are participating in the event.

Each Stepathlete wears a pedometer - a step-counting device - and enters their daily steps into the Stepathlon event website. These steps are converted into kilometres and the team's position is mapped on an online platform. Teams compete internally as well as against teams from other companies, in a race across more than 40 different locations on a map of the 'virtual world'.

"As an engagement initiative, it gives employees from across functions, departments and hierarchies an opportunity to connect with each other and network," says Naina Panse, head - employee engagement, HDFC Bank. "As a welfare initiative, it makes them more conscious about their health and well-being and inculcate it as a habit. Above all, there is a lot of bonhomie and fun involved in the event," she adds.

The enthusiasm that the event is generating among corporates reflects an increasing awareness in India that health and wellness can drive productivity at the workplace.

"Stepathlon provides opportunity for employees at all levels to grab some moments from their daily work schedules and get moving. It enables companies to have a happier, healthier, and more productive workforce," says Ravi Krishnan, CEO and co-founder of Stepathlon.

Adds Ashutosh Telang, executive vice president and head - HR, Marico, "The event fits well into Marico's Member (employee) Wellness programmes; we see it as an innovative way to get members together for a "healthy" cause. It has empowered our members to live Marico's purpose."

Besides health and fitness, the major motivation of course is competition to win the race.

Campus Recruitment on a Fall.. Students Opting for Post Graduation..

With campus placements turning weak, more students are opting for post graduate (PG) studies. Colleges have seen a 10% to 40% increase in applications for post graduate courses this year.

With the economic slowdown taking a toll globally and sentiment falling domestically, companies are going slow on campus recruitments. Consequently, students who are graduating want to use this time to equip themselves with more qualifications.

"The trend started in 2009 because of the weak job market then. Year-on-year, we are seeing a 5%-10% increase in the number of applications. All the programmes are full. That was not the case earlier," said S Vaidhyasubramaniam, dean - planning & development of SASTRA University in Thanjavur. "The demand has increased for PhD programmes, especially in life sciences. We received more than 800 applications for 15 PhD seats."

At Manipal University, there has been a 15%-20% increase over the last year for PG admissions, said Chetana Bekal, management executive, Manipal University. "The increase is significant in MTech and more surprisingly in MSc. Many MSc students are looking to get into teaching," she said. At SRM University in Chennai, the number of applications has increased by around 10% said S Ganapathy, dean of placement. He said that the situation was the same in other universities too.

There is also considerable increase in the number of people applying for competitive examinations like Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), which are the qualifying examinations for PG studies. "I clear GATE applications and I have seen an increase of almost 40% in the number of applications," said M A Maluk Mohamed, principal at M A M College of Engineering, Trichy. "Many public sector firms like BHEL accept GATE scores for recruitment. So, it helps students in that regard too." "Such trends are seen during economic slowdown. It's not only students. Even executives will look to add to their skills in this period," said E Balaji, CEO of Randstad India, an HR consultancy firm.

This influx has both positive and negative aspects, says experts. While it is for genuine addition of skills in many cases, it is only to decorate the resume in others. "Increasing enrolment for PG is not unusual in times of recession. However, the challenge lies in attracting brighter students to PG studies. If quality increases, it would do a lot of good to the academic system," said Vaidhyasubramaniam.