Article from Dr. S Pandey for TJ Insite

Articles from Dr. Siddhartha Pandey for TJ Insite

Articles from Dr. Siddhartha Pandey for TJ Insite

Dr. Siddhartha Pandey

Chief People Officer (Group Head HR)

Bhushan Power & Steel Limited.

Email: siddharthapan@gmail.com ;siddharthapandey@bpsl.net .

Does Word-of-Mouth Hiring Harm Diversity? How?

Word of mouth hiring is the typical process of staffing that is done through internal/external referral and Diversity in the other hand is the phenomenon wherein a workplace culture is created with employees of various culture and from different demography to promote growth of the organization as well as the employees. So at the time of word of mouth hiring definitely the referred candidates can be considered for first preference but at the same time the recruitment which shall be used should be used without any biasness, be it a psychometric evaluation process or technical interview or HR Interview etc.

If the evaluation process is carried out without biasness then the referred candidate if gets selected for the respective post shall be totally through his potential / capability. As a result of this the positivity of Diversity shall sustain in the organization bringing in growth. Now if the opposite scenario is considered and candidature is considered without proper screening then there is a possibility of on boarding an off beam recruit and thus shall result in failing the idea of establishing diverse workforce.

What are the 5 key traits of Gen Z and how they will affect the talent management processes?    

Gen Z is about the generation of people born between 1990s and 2010. These people are more technologically savvy and grow up in a world with real and virtual friends with trait of sharing of thoughts and feelings with high transparency. A person from Gen Z Era affects talent management processes in a big way for their character traits. 

People from this generation always give priority to their personal career portfolio then being committed to a single employer from beginning. They always look for better opportunities and go for the best deal available in the market.

Now this generation of people has grown up in a constant environment of feedback culture, from school, parents and colleagues etc for continuous development feedback. So when these people come into work their expectation becomes regular feedback approach rather than sporadic reviews.

                Gen Z persons are very innovative and welcoming towards new ideas. Such people in organization shall definitely have tendency to innovate and shall always welcome new ideas from others.

                Multitasking is another important trait for this generation. They always prefer to run parallel tasks at the same time efficiently. This is very effective in terms of organization’s delivery of projects way before deadlines.

                Lastly this generation also does not support fully the concept of diversity. They don’t believe in any concept of discrimination. They very practically depend on any sector of people giving outputs .

5 Mistakes Common in all Jobseekers/Candidates.

There are very common errors which Jobseekers make at the time of screening which generally we HR personnel witness. Few of the observations are

                First it is very important for a candidate (irrespective of the level) to reach the scheduled interview venue at scheduled time as this definitely shows the Time Management skills of the respective candidate.

                Secondly for the case of telephonic round of interview the candidate should either stay at home or choose a quieter place so that the incoming communication from the interviewer should be clearly audible so that answers can be appropriate and relevant. Sometimes it happens that candidates unable to hear clearly tend to land up giving wrong answers which becomes unacceptable by the recruiter.

                There are scenarios wherein employers give chance to the candidate to ask questions. Here starts the opportunity wherein candidate may ask relevant questions about the position and organization. So candidate should always do some research about the company which in turn shall portray interest of the candidate for the company which is positive state for employment.

                Another fatal error which candidates make is enquiring about compensation early at the interview causes rejection of candidature immediately.

                Lastly in many cases we find the candidate speaking negatively about his present employer. This clearly shows a complaining tendency of the candidate and imbibes a negative attitude against his own nature causing high possibility of no consideration of candidature.

Why employees commit fraud and what is HR role in curbing fraud/scams in companies?

Generally what has been observed is in maximum fraud cases it has occurred from employees in the age group of 40 to 45years, consistent in the same company for an average 10 years at a middle level with not much substantial growth in career.

Sometimes it happens that this sector of people gets into too much financial obligation which they cannot shoulder. Automatically they get inclined to do fraudulent activities. Even employees sometimes get involved into such activities for some short term monetary gains without thinking of consequences.

Here HRD has a very important role to play to prevent and minimize the incidents as much possible as when fraud happens not only it creates a bad name for the employee also spreads a bad reputation of the company in the market. HRD should always initiate a risk based approach to prevent such incidents from happening .

At the level of ground 0 when a applicants resume comes in HRD has to ensure few things at a very high priority like doing proper reference checks , proper checking of the candidates credentials ( if required to do it from some agency). Even for critical positions background verification from correct authority is also very essential to confirm any criminal activity in the past.

Above all HRD should also initiate organizational structure change or staff structure change so that no one gets the same chair for long. HR should frequently educate employees on healthy working culture, motivate employees and address grievances on priority. 

  

Times group Annual Recruitment Report

Inputs for RecruiteX Bi_Annual Recruitment Report (The Times Group)

Inputs for RecruiteX Bi_Annual Recruitment Report (The Times Group)

By

Dr. Siddhartha Pandey

Chief People Officer (Group Head HR)

Bhushan Power & Steel Limited.

Email: siddharthapan@gmail.com ;siddharthapandey@bpsl.net .

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What will be the top recruitment trends in 2014 in your industry? What will be the new-game changers in recruiting?

Recruitment in 2014 shall be expensive as employment rates has risen in many sectors like, technical, healthcare, marketing etc. There is not much talent pool to hire so to attract good talent organizations has to be prepared to spend more. The overall strategy of recruitment has to change. Organizations has to promote themselves more as a good brand to attract good talents than reaching out to them as recruiter . Even mobile devices are being used to a great extent by job seekers so it should be ensured that applicant should be able to read and apply easily. New game changers are marketing on organizational brands promotions, recruitment through mobile devices and talent targeting.

What is the future outlook for compensation trends in your industry?

In Steel sector increments is expected to be about 11.2% in the coming year. The median increment for this sector is 11.2%, which is at par with the average increment ranges across levels for this sector are quite narrow, ranging from 9.3% to 15.9% Top Management median level increments are expected to be around 12.8% which is the third highest increment across infrastructure sector as India is a developing country.

What will top/highest paid jobs in your industry?

One of the fine professions in Indian market is in the Aviation Industry. Lot of small airline companies has come in the market bringing in economic flights which in turn has increased the lot of frequent flyers. Since 90s this industry has got a major face lift. Best high paying job in this industry is the position of Pilot and Flight Engineers. There are other avenues also in the same industry for good paying jobs. Secondly Medicine is the industry where there are high paid jobs. This is one sector which irrespective of the economic situation of the country need shall always persist wherein people shall need medical help. Earnings here totally depend on the kind of practice that is being done being it in Private Hospital, Government Hospital, Private Clinic or Private Practice. Management is also a division in corporate sector wherein pay scales are sky high. There are lot of eminent management institutes wherein management graduates gets offers up to 7 Lakh per annum at a fresher level. We can say sky is the limit for this sector as these executes not only preserves companies’ secrets and safeguards companies’ interest.

Since 90s IT sector is one industry that has never faced a drastic drop down in operations. An employee joining at an entry level grows up the ladder very fast to a level of Team leader or Project Leader and reach higher executives role in no time. Giant IT organizations like Google pay their entry level executives from 5 Lakh to 7 Lakh per annum.

Lastly the booming sector is to work as a Chartered Accountant. Previously the scenario was CA professionals were doing his operation s from a CA Firm. But in the present scenario has totally changed wherein lot of private sector industries are hiring Chartered Accountants in strategic positions for doing future forecasts , decision of company’s investments etc. Even the exams for cracking CA are considered one of the toughest exams in India.

Steel and metal has to improve. Governance has to be there with less government clearance and policy issue.

What are the key challenges that every HR head/Business Head in your industry should have on top of their workforce agenda in 2014?

Challenges that are faced by HR Heads are aligning HR as a partner with other functions of business. HR has to ensure to onboard the right talent, retaining the talent and if required retraining and restructuring. However in scenario of IT Companies it is much easier as because of their key trait of flexibility and there is always up gradation in technology with changing needs. Now work does not end with on boarding the right talent HR has to ensure the performance output from employees and a performance is culture is maintained within the organization. HR has to also identify training needs within the organization and conduct training programs wherever necessary so as to ensure employees are ready to face all sorts of challenges or tough phase of the organization.

 Are there new skill sets that will emerge in 2014(owing to new technology/market forces) that you would like entrants in your industry to be trained/ready for?

With technology advancing at a drastic momentum it is reducing barriers to newcomers or new business ideas coming into the market. This is a big threat to existing and stable markets. Even emerging companies with small capital can easily obtain operating infrastructure and capture market which traditional companies took lot of time to build. To sustain in the same existing companies should adapt to the needs of present market of internet trade and multiple business models. Leaders have to strike a balance and adapt new technologies. They should be thoughtful about risks’ and should manage the risks without roasting their potential.

What is the biggest USP of your industry (work hours, work life balance, salary) that you would like candidates to know about?

In Steel Sector work pressure is immense and sometimes the working hours increases and work life balance hampers. In the other hand the payout is lucrative and the learning process is very high. So aspirants whom are aspiring for growth and good learning experience can compromise on the other aspects of working hours and work life balance. We are directly building the nation by providing the proper infrastructure. However we have to take care of our resources as employees are ultimately the back bone of the company.