Saturday, February 10, 2007
Retailers go to town for local talent
Economic Times - 10th Feb, 2006
Retailers are diving deep into rural pockets to hire the army of lieutenants required to man the shop floor. As organised retail widens its reach with each passing day, players are casting their net wide and inventing new recruitment ideas to come up with the numbers.
Though there are no clear-cut numbers yet, what is fairly certain is that the manpower requirement in the near future will be 'humungous'.
On an average, at least 250 people are needed to man a 50,000 sq ft format , while a minimum of 10 are required for a next-door supermarket. Now consider this: Reliance Retail plans to sit on 100 million sq ft of space by 2010-11. The Future Group expects to close this fiscal with a headcount of 30,000 and is looking to double the number next year.
While the supply of manpower for back-end operations and managerial functions is being fed by diverse industry sectors, companies are going hyper-local to hire the foot soldiers.
Though hiring entry-level staff may seem easy, there is scarcity of talent in the areas of customer focus and sophistication needs apart from the enormous scaling up requirements. Also, the skills required differ from format to format.
Future Group's HR head Sanjay Jog says, "We largely hire local population for our stores as they understand the language and customer preferences. For instance, for our stores in Mangalore, we hired 800 people locally." The group is also tapping the North-East region for talent for its operations in cities like Delhi and Mumbai. "There is English-speaking talent available in the NE region, which has limited job opportunities. We have hired about 150 from the region and we hope to scale it up," he adds.
According to Headhunters India CEO Krish Lakshmikanth, "Retailers will have go into interior towns to source talent. Raising entry-level salaries and poaching will impact cost structures for companies. We also see trends like employees managing more square feet of space and getting incentivised for the same."
Retailers are also sourcing talent from unconventional avenues like the Livelihood Advancement Business Schools (LABS) run by Dr Reddy's Foundation. These schools essentially train high-school students from poor rural families in a variety of employable skills. Clearly, retail is fast catching up at the LABS campus with nearly 1,000 people getting jobs in the last two years.
"We have been training people in customer relations and sales for the last five years. With retail picking up in the country, our students are in great demand," said Stanley Jones, a DRF official. McDonald's has recruited 150 from Hyderabad while Big Bazaar has hired 200 over the last three years and Reliance Fresh has recruited 120.
"The main success of the programme is its scalability. Companies want people in large numbers at entry levels. We can give them employees in large numbers," he adds. Players like Pizza Hut, Domino's, Food World, Shoppers' Stop, Metro Cash 'n' Carry, FabMall, Subiksha have hired from these schools.
While some HR trackers feel that there would be a big-ticket churn from call centre graveyard shifts to malls, many feel the high salaries could prove an entry barrier. Retail industry players say that they are getting enquiries from some middle-level call centre employees looking for career shifts.
"Call centre employees with their customer focus and English speaking skills may fit the bill at high-end retail formats like luxury goods, electronic appliances, music, books, apparel and mobile handsets. We saw a similar shift in the early call centre industry days when people moved from the hospitality and hotel industry in a big way," says an HR industry observer.
Though there are no clear-cut numbers yet, what is fairly certain is that the manpower requirement in the near future will be 'humungous'.
On an average, at least 250 people are needed to man a 50,000 sq ft format , while a minimum of 10 are required for a next-door supermarket. Now consider this: Reliance Retail plans to sit on 100 million sq ft of space by 2010-11. The Future Group expects to close this fiscal with a headcount of 30,000 and is looking to double the number next year.
While the supply of manpower for back-end operations and managerial functions is being fed by diverse industry sectors, companies are going hyper-local to hire the foot soldiers.
Though hiring entry-level staff may seem easy, there is scarcity of talent in the areas of customer focus and sophistication needs apart from the enormous scaling up requirements. Also, the skills required differ from format to format.
Future Group's HR head Sanjay Jog says, "We largely hire local population for our stores as they understand the language and customer preferences. For instance, for our stores in Mangalore, we hired 800 people locally." The group is also tapping the North-East region for talent for its operations in cities like Delhi and Mumbai. "There is English-speaking talent available in the NE region, which has limited job opportunities. We have hired about 150 from the region and we hope to scale it up," he adds.
According to Headhunters India CEO Krish Lakshmikanth, "Retailers will have go into interior towns to source talent. Raising entry-level salaries and poaching will impact cost structures for companies. We also see trends like employees managing more square feet of space and getting incentivised for the same."
Retailers are also sourcing talent from unconventional avenues like the Livelihood Advancement Business Schools (LABS) run by Dr Reddy's Foundation. These schools essentially train high-school students from poor rural families in a variety of employable skills. Clearly, retail is fast catching up at the LABS campus with nearly 1,000 people getting jobs in the last two years.
"We have been training people in customer relations and sales for the last five years. With retail picking up in the country, our students are in great demand," said Stanley Jones, a DRF official. McDonald's has recruited 150 from Hyderabad while Big Bazaar has hired 200 over the last three years and Reliance Fresh has recruited 120.
"The main success of the programme is its scalability. Companies want people in large numbers at entry levels. We can give them employees in large numbers," he adds. Players like Pizza Hut, Domino's, Food World, Shoppers' Stop, Metro Cash 'n' Carry, FabMall, Subiksha have hired from these schools.
While some HR trackers feel that there would be a big-ticket churn from call centre graveyard shifts to malls, many feel the high salaries could prove an entry barrier. Retail industry players say that they are getting enquiries from some middle-level call centre employees looking for career shifts.
"Call centre employees with their customer focus and English speaking skills may fit the bill at high-end retail formats like luxury goods, electronic appliances, music, books, apparel and mobile handsets. We saw a similar shift in the early call centre industry days when people moved from the hospitality and hotel industry in a big way," says an HR industry observer.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Placements Will Break All Records This Year
www.hrmeet.com
It's not only students at the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) that are flooded with multiple job offers this placement season. Other B-schools students in the country too will have to choose from as many as four job offers this year. With the lateral placements underway and final placement season round the corner, institutes expect this year’s placements to be one of the best ever.
Offers have doubled at Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur, this year with 100 companies visiting the campus as compared to 50 last year. New recruiters like JP Morgan Chase, Carlyle, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, American Express and Rabobank Barings Private Equity Partners, Carlyle, Citi Financial, Deutsche Bank, Fair Isaac, Jonas Lang La Salle, Microsoft, Nokia, Rabobank and Tata HRLP are the participating companies. The salary levels, the institute says are expected to go up as much as 25 pct with around 50 companies visiting the campus.
It's not only students at the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) that are flooded with multiple job offers this placement season. Other B-schools students in the country too will have to choose from as many as four job offers this year. With the lateral placements underway and final placement season round the corner, institutes expect this year’s placements to be one of the best ever.
Offers have doubled at Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur, this year with 100 companies visiting the campus as compared to 50 last year. New recruiters like JP Morgan Chase, Carlyle, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank, American Express and Rabobank Barings Private Equity Partners, Carlyle, Citi Financial, Deutsche Bank, Fair Isaac, Jonas Lang La Salle, Microsoft, Nokia, Rabobank and Tata HRLP are the participating companies. The salary levels, the institute says are expected to go up as much as 25 pct with around 50 companies visiting the campus.
IITD Involves Faculty Members In Talent Hunting Drive
The Indian Catholic
The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) has found a unique way to fill up the vacant faculty positions in its institute. For the first time in its history, the institute has involved the existing faculty members in its talent hunt drive for new lecturers.
The existing faculty members, according to sources, have been told by the institute to keep an eye on the young, motivated and talented Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) teaching abroad at the international seminars and conferences, and persuade them to apply for jobs in IITD. Says Mr BN Jain, deputy director (faculty), IIT-Delhi, 'Recruiting faculty has always been a challenge as we don't compromise on teaching.
Now, the responsibility lies with the faculty members to motivate talent both from the country and abroad."The institute currently has 425 faculty members on its roll and requires 100 more teachers for conducting advanced research work on a regular basis in all its departments. However, over the next three years the institute's requirement of faculty would touch six times when it starts implementing 27 quota reservation.
The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) has found a unique way to fill up the vacant faculty positions in its institute. For the first time in its history, the institute has involved the existing faculty members in its talent hunt drive for new lecturers.
The existing faculty members, according to sources, have been told by the institute to keep an eye on the young, motivated and talented Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) teaching abroad at the international seminars and conferences, and persuade them to apply for jobs in IITD. Says Mr BN Jain, deputy director (faculty), IIT-Delhi, 'Recruiting faculty has always been a challenge as we don't compromise on teaching.
Now, the responsibility lies with the faculty members to motivate talent both from the country and abroad."The institute currently has 425 faculty members on its roll and requires 100 more teachers for conducting advanced research work on a regular basis in all its departments. However, over the next three years the institute's requirement of faculty would touch six times when it starts implementing 27 quota reservation.
Promotion Almost As Stressfull As Divorce - HR Survey
www.hrmeet.com
The challenge of a major promotion is almost as stressful as a divorce, according to research. Almost 60 pct of the 600 managers surveyed by global HR consultancy DDI rated promotions as second only to coping with divorce, with both rated as very or extremely challenging. Prioritising key issues, time management, office politics and personal transformation were cited as the most stressful aspects of a promotion. One in three business leaders also said their company provided little or very poor support on how to deal with a promotion.
Mr Steve Newhall, managing director of DDI said: "It's a familiar story. You work really hard to get that promotion and you're excited about your new role. Then suddenly reality hits home: you are on your own and unsure of what is really expected of you, missing aspects of your previous role that you had finally mastered, without your trusted network of colleagues and politics rife among your new peer group, whom you struggle to engage with. Yet, despite the familiarity of this story the scale of personal change required is rarely acknowledged, let alone adequately supported, leading to 'transition anxiety'."
The challenge of a major promotion is almost as stressful as a divorce, according to research. Almost 60 pct of the 600 managers surveyed by global HR consultancy DDI rated promotions as second only to coping with divorce, with both rated as very or extremely challenging. Prioritising key issues, time management, office politics and personal transformation were cited as the most stressful aspects of a promotion. One in three business leaders also said their company provided little or very poor support on how to deal with a promotion.
Mr Steve Newhall, managing director of DDI said: "It's a familiar story. You work really hard to get that promotion and you're excited about your new role. Then suddenly reality hits home: you are on your own and unsure of what is really expected of you, missing aspects of your previous role that you had finally mastered, without your trusted network of colleagues and politics rife among your new peer group, whom you struggle to engage with. Yet, despite the familiarity of this story the scale of personal change required is rarely acknowledged, let alone adequately supported, leading to 'transition anxiety'."
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Parting gift from Reliance Retail
Economic Times - Feb 6th, 2007
Faced with disquiet among senior executives, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail has relaxed the restrictive clauses in the employee stock options norms, which had left the existing top brass unhappy and prevented new talent from coming on board.
It seems the big names in Reliance Retail, each hired at around Rs 3-3.5 crore plus compensation package, were asked to agree on certain draconian clauses.
One of them—this drew the ire of the execs the most—said they cannot join a retailer, retail consultant, supplier to a retailer, advertising company with a retail client or a retail training institute after leaving Reliance Retail.
They were also prohibited from joining retail services of any kind, including food & beverages, restaurants, healthcare and beauty parlours. If the execs decided to leave and join any of these sectors, they would have to return their gross salaries of the past two years and stock options, both vested and unvested.
Besides returning salaries, what upset executives was the open-ended clause which that kept all companies of their choice out of reach.
Supplier to a retailer means the entire consumer goods industry and in some cases it could also mean durables and lifestyle companies. Agreeing to such a clause meant shutting yourself to all emerging sectors,’’ said a top source.
Added another, “Since most verticle heads are from the consumer goods or the retail industry, they found such a clause very difficult to digest.’’ The ESOP terms and conditions also laid down that any executive who left could not induce, solicit, or encourage any existing employee to leave.
Also, the entire scheme was a double-edged sword. Those who signed it found themselves trapped and those who didn’t gave a clear signal to the management that they were not in the company for a long haul. Following a revolt of sorts, the management diluted the ESOP norm last month which says that once an executive leaves Reliance Retail, he cannot join a competitor (retailer) for two years.
Also, only his unvested ESOPs would lapse. By deleting the controversial clause (which stopped employees from joining a range of companies), the company has become more realistic about the talent crunch scenario within which companies are functioning.
While the Reliance Retail spokesperson declined comment, a compensation package expert told ET that stock options are usually forfeited if there’s a breach of agreement and the employee is asked to leave. In the usual course, vested shares are not taken back by the company. If Reliance Retail has actually put that condition, then it’s rather strange.
“The fact that it has also put the clause that execs return two years gross salaries is over the top,’’ he said. According to HR experts, companies should realise that there’s no dearth of opportunities in India. Given this scenario, it’s not possible to tie employees to certain rigid conditions which are legally not tenable.
Faced with disquiet among senior executives, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail has relaxed the restrictive clauses in the employee stock options norms, which had left the existing top brass unhappy and prevented new talent from coming on board.
It seems the big names in Reliance Retail, each hired at around Rs 3-3.5 crore plus compensation package, were asked to agree on certain draconian clauses.
One of them—this drew the ire of the execs the most—said they cannot join a retailer, retail consultant, supplier to a retailer, advertising company with a retail client or a retail training institute after leaving Reliance Retail.
They were also prohibited from joining retail services of any kind, including food & beverages, restaurants, healthcare and beauty parlours. If the execs decided to leave and join any of these sectors, they would have to return their gross salaries of the past two years and stock options, both vested and unvested.
Besides returning salaries, what upset executives was the open-ended clause which that kept all companies of their choice out of reach.
Supplier to a retailer means the entire consumer goods industry and in some cases it could also mean durables and lifestyle companies. Agreeing to such a clause meant shutting yourself to all emerging sectors,’’ said a top source.
Added another, “Since most verticle heads are from the consumer goods or the retail industry, they found such a clause very difficult to digest.’’ The ESOP terms and conditions also laid down that any executive who left could not induce, solicit, or encourage any existing employee to leave.
Also, the entire scheme was a double-edged sword. Those who signed it found themselves trapped and those who didn’t gave a clear signal to the management that they were not in the company for a long haul. Following a revolt of sorts, the management diluted the ESOP norm last month which says that once an executive leaves Reliance Retail, he cannot join a competitor (retailer) for two years.
Also, only his unvested ESOPs would lapse. By deleting the controversial clause (which stopped employees from joining a range of companies), the company has become more realistic about the talent crunch scenario within which companies are functioning.
While the Reliance Retail spokesperson declined comment, a compensation package expert told ET that stock options are usually forfeited if there’s a breach of agreement and the employee is asked to leave. In the usual course, vested shares are not taken back by the company. If Reliance Retail has actually put that condition, then it’s rather strange.
“The fact that it has also put the clause that execs return two years gross salaries is over the top,’’ he said. According to HR experts, companies should realise that there’s no dearth of opportunities in India. Given this scenario, it’s not possible to tie employees to certain rigid conditions which are legally not tenable.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Maruti adopts `360 degree' appraisal system
Business Line - 4th Feb 2007
It would seem that there is no corporate human resources policy that has not had its share of controversies for being biased. With an increasing number of qualitative factors that affect employees at the workplace, democratising the performance appraisal process to make it as fair as possible has been the dream of every HR manager.
And now qualitative factors are not just at play in the services sector, but also in manufacturing. With cubicles giving way to open offices, the top-down approach to employee performance appraisal is also on its way out.
One company that has set itself on course to further democratising and opening up its employee evaluation process is car market leader Maruti Udyog.
The company has introduced a unique 360-degree feedback system, starting with its senior leadership. The new system has been co-developed with Ernst & Young and has been put in place recently.
Under the 360-degree feedback system, the employee is rated not just by his superiors, but also by his peers and subordinates.
"We are starting the 360-degree feedback process with employees in the top management such as chief general managers and general managers, whose performance will now be assessed based on feedback from their peers and junior management employees within the same department. Till last year, their performance was being appraised only by the Directors and the Managing Director," says Maruti's Chief General Manager (HR), Mr S.Y. Siddiqui.
Ernst & Young, in consultation with Maruti, has listed a set of leadership competencies that are expected in a general manager. Based on that, it has prepared a questionnaire to which peers and subordinates can respond online.
Although acknowledged as an effective tool for leadership development in the West, Indian companies have been shy of introducing such a feedback system for fear of disturbing traditional hierarchical structures.
HR consultants feel that the critical issues in implementing such a system include assuring respondents that their feedback will remain confidential and convincing the person receiving the feedback that this is a development tool and not an appraisal tool. Maruti has handled this by getting E&Y and other consultants to make detailed presentations to the senior management personnel before the process got under way. The company has a committee of general managers, called Human Resource Inter Divisional Committee (HRIDC), which is consulted on all major HR issues.
The initiative has been unveiled with an e-mail by Maruti's Managing Director, Mr Jagdish Khattar, asking people to support the online questionnaire process. The 360-degree feedback system will also include a self-appraisal by the general manager. At the end of the process, he can compare his self-appraisal with the assessment of his subordinates and peers.
One of the benefits that Maruti is hoping to get out of the 360-degree feedback process is the sense of empowerment and importance felt by subordinates, when they are asked to offer their feedback about their superiors. Maruti currently has over 4,000 employees on its rolls.
It would seem that there is no corporate human resources policy that has not had its share of controversies for being biased. With an increasing number of qualitative factors that affect employees at the workplace, democratising the performance appraisal process to make it as fair as possible has been the dream of every HR manager.
And now qualitative factors are not just at play in the services sector, but also in manufacturing. With cubicles giving way to open offices, the top-down approach to employee performance appraisal is also on its way out.
One company that has set itself on course to further democratising and opening up its employee evaluation process is car market leader Maruti Udyog.
The company has introduced a unique 360-degree feedback system, starting with its senior leadership. The new system has been co-developed with Ernst & Young and has been put in place recently.
Under the 360-degree feedback system, the employee is rated not just by his superiors, but also by his peers and subordinates.
"We are starting the 360-degree feedback process with employees in the top management such as chief general managers and general managers, whose performance will now be assessed based on feedback from their peers and junior management employees within the same department. Till last year, their performance was being appraised only by the Directors and the Managing Director," says Maruti's Chief General Manager (HR), Mr S.Y. Siddiqui.
Ernst & Young, in consultation with Maruti, has listed a set of leadership competencies that are expected in a general manager. Based on that, it has prepared a questionnaire to which peers and subordinates can respond online.
Although acknowledged as an effective tool for leadership development in the West, Indian companies have been shy of introducing such a feedback system for fear of disturbing traditional hierarchical structures.
HR consultants feel that the critical issues in implementing such a system include assuring respondents that their feedback will remain confidential and convincing the person receiving the feedback that this is a development tool and not an appraisal tool. Maruti has handled this by getting E&Y and other consultants to make detailed presentations to the senior management personnel before the process got under way. The company has a committee of general managers, called Human Resource Inter Divisional Committee (HRIDC), which is consulted on all major HR issues.
The initiative has been unveiled with an e-mail by Maruti's Managing Director, Mr Jagdish Khattar, asking people to support the online questionnaire process. The 360-degree feedback system will also include a self-appraisal by the general manager. At the end of the process, he can compare his self-appraisal with the assessment of his subordinates and peers.
One of the benefits that Maruti is hoping to get out of the 360-degree feedback process is the sense of empowerment and importance felt by subordinates, when they are asked to offer their feedback about their superiors. Maruti currently has over 4,000 employees on its rolls.
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