The Brand Value - TimesJobscontent.timesjobs.com/docs/TJ Newsletter Mar Issue 2012.pdf · MARCH...

n Survey Highlights

Employer Branding is gaining tremendousimportance in today’s times. TJinsiteconducted a study to map theorganisations’ attitudes and preparednesstowards Employer Branding and thechallenges faced in its implementation.Read the key findings of the survey on Pg 3 & 4.

n Guest Column

This month our Guest Columnist DrSiddhartha Pandey, Head-HR, ShristiInfrastructure Development CorporationLimited, tells us the roles andresponsibilities of a leader and also how to create leaders within an organisation.Read more on ‘How to Win with Leadership’ on pg 6.

n Expert Speak

Senior management positions are criticalpositions to hire for. Finding the right fit is achallenge for most HR professionals. Ourexpert this month, Dr PV. Bhide, President-Corporate HR, JK Organisation, helps tounderstand this double edged hiringpractice. Read the excerpt of the interviewon Pg 8.

Just like a traditional brand, anEmployer Brand has value andpositioning. Employment

branding is therefore critical to buildan image in the minds of the potentialemployees market that the company,above all others, is a ‘great place towork’ (Ewing et al. 2002).

The objective of Employer Brandingis quite simple. It is a strategyemployed by an organisation to createan Employer Value Proposition (EVP)that would convey to desired currentand prospective employees why theorganisation is unique, appealing anda fantastic place to work in.

Employer Branding gains tremendousimportance in times when the talentpool is shrinking and is becomingincreasingly difficult to attract andretain talent. It then becomes criticalto position the organisation in theminds of the target audience to give itevery possible advantage in attractingemployees with superior skills andknowledge - a primary source of competitiveadvantage for any organisation.

According to human resources consultantsHewitt Associates, there are five steps todeveloping a strong employer brand:

• Understand your organisation

• Create a ‘compelling brand promise’ foremployees that mirrors the brand promisefor customers

• Develop standards to measure thefulfillment of the brand promise

• ‘Ruthlessly align’ all people practices tosupport and reinforce the brand promise

• Execute and measure.

Is Employer Branding widely prevalent inthe Indian Industry? What areorganisations’ attitudes and preparednesstowards Employer Branding? What are thechallenges that they face in itsimplementation? In a survey conducted byTJinsite it is revealed that EmployerBranding is not very prevalent in the Indianindustry. However, they do believe thatcompanies with strong employer brands can

potentially reduce the cost ofemployee acquisition, improveemployee relations and also helpsincrease employee retention.

The case for taking EmployerBranding seriously is compelling.Currently, it would appear thatnot enough criticality orimportance is being attributed tothis process. In an economicclimate where business is toughthere is pressure to cut costs andincrease productivity. This makesthe need to get the right people inthe right job even more crucial.Employees who have the rightskills, experience and knowledge,in relation to the critical areas ofa business to drive growth,become strategically important.

Employer Branding thenbecomes the only strategy thatwill help position theorganisation as the most

attractive one in the corporate ecosystem.An attractive employer can create foremployees an illusion that their choices arelimited outside of the organisation,constantly maintaining an image of beingthe most desirable employer, giving theright reasons or incentives for their topperformers to stay.

Employer Branding then, finally equates toa positive impact on the business andgrowth of an organisation and to giving itthe competitive edge.

Interactive

Marketing

Customer

Service

Social

Media

Networks

Digital

Experiences

New Feature

The Brand ValueBuilding and Maintaining the Employer Brand

H I R I N G & B E Y O N D

VOLUME-II | ISSUE 4MARCH 2012

www.research.timesjobs.com

Inside Insite

2

RecruiteX

The time period from July toSeptember 2011 quarter to Octoberto December 2011 quarter reflects

the changed recruitment strategies of employersin high-volume sectors. The Indian job market wasin a state of saturation after August 2011 anddemand in the top ten industries was adverselyaffected. But, it revived quickly in the year-endquarter and gained strength in consumer-drivenindustries such as Automobile, /Healthcare/

Pharmaceutical, Retail, ConsumerDurables/FMCG and Manufacturing &Engineering. The drop in demand continued inmajor sectors such as IT/Telecom, ITeS/BPO,BFSI, Construction/Cement/Steel andProjects/Infrastructure.

Employers have shifted focus from core functionsto support functions as demand for HRprofessionals witnessed the maximum movementfollowed by Accounting & Finance professionalsacross major industries and locations, during theOctober to December 2011 quarter. The corefunctions, which registered considerable growthwere Sales/Business development andEngineering. Demand for IT/Telecom and BFSIprofessionals witnessed a major turnaroundduring the said period.

Influx of fresh talent in all major sectorscontinued in a similar fashion to what waswitnessed in previous quarters. Hiring of top-levelexecutives started picking up after facing a slumpin the last two quarters.

During the last three quarters, Delhi-NCR andMumbai have been the worst performers, whereasBangalore and Ahmedabad were among the betterperforming top ten locations. In 2011, hiringpatterns across industries and locations changeddue to a cautious approach adopted by companiesin wake of the slowdown in US and Europeanmarkets. However, Indian employers are treadingon an optimistic trail and maintaining staff levelsacross major industries. Employers havedefinitely become selective and are consciousabout the need for ‘right’ hiring at this juncture.

Industry experts predict a slower first quarter in2012. Hiring pace is expected to start picking upduring the transition period of January to March2012.

First RecruiteX Quarterly Reportpowered by TimesJobs.comIn its Launch Edition the Quarterly RecruiteX

reveals...



HIRING & BEYOND

Vol1, Issue 1

Recruitment Recruitment

Index

The need of ‘RecruiteX’ is evident now, more than ever, to be a journal where statistics and information of employers (demand for talent) andjobseekers (supply of talent) are considered to decode the present and future developments. RecruiteX projects the viewpoints ofemployers and job-seekers through its balanced outlook.

The quarterly report of RecruiteX, the recruitment index backed by India’s leading job portal TimesJobs.com, combines industry perspectiveand TimesJobs.com data to give a clear viewpoint on hiring activity across industries, locations and experience range. It is the onlyrecruitment report in the country, which has brought industry leaders from various sectors and regions on a common platform to comment,discuss and share the crucial statistics related to the Indian employment market. TimesJobs.com has been able to corroborate the datafigures with current trends and future predictions by experts.

The report is segregated into three sections: top ten industries, locations and top five experience range. For each sector, we have clubbedour research analysis with thoughts shared by invited market experts. Similarly, for locations and experience levels, to obtain accuratefindings, we have interviewed senior executives from esteemed HR consultancy companies.

Grab a copy of

Quarterly

RecruiteX to

read the

complete report

Why RecruiteX?

For more information contact [email protected]

3

Survey Highlights



HIRING & BEYOND

Employer Branding is notvery prevalent in theindustry. Overall, only

24% say that they have a clearEmployer Branding strategy.More than 40% claim that, yes,they have a strategy, but it couldbe developed further; andanother 26% who say that do nothave one, but they are workingon it; which could be interpretedas ‘such a strategy is notpriority, we have more pressingmatters on our hands!’ A lack ofvision and clarity is seen as theprimary challenge in realizingEmployer Branding. This isstrongly felt in the BFSI and theBPO sectors, where 75% statethis as a problem. Another 40%state the lack of seniormanagement engagement as achallenge, which is againsymptomatic of the lack of

vision on the organisation’spart. All channels from print toonline job portals are mentionedby 15% each of theorganisations as the brandingchannels delivering the bestresults. The BFSI and large

organisations, with a strength ofover 1000 employees are inclinedtowards job portals being themost effective (22% of each ofthese types, vis-à-vis an overallaverage of 16%).

How Prevalent is EmployerBranding?

• Mostorganisationsclaim that theyhave an employerbranding strategybut it could bedeveloped further

• Lack of visionand clarity isseen as theprimarychallenge inrealizingEmployerBranding

• Only half thesurveyedorganisationsspecifically planand budget forEmployerBranding

Employer Branding is stillnot seen as being veryimportant, except for the

Banking and Financial sectorwhere 60% felt that it was anextremely important strategy tohave. Only about 40% overall feltthat it was extremely important,and another 40% admitted to itbeing ‘very’ important. The lowpriority given to EmployerBranding is further underscoredby only half the organisationsspecifically planning andbudgeting for EmployerBranding. However, almost all ofthose surveyed said that theyexpected Employer Branding tobecome more important in thefuture. Recruitment advertisingand employer marketing areseen as being the most crucial inenhancing EBV. This is followedby Leadership developmentPrograms. Career website

development, Inductionprograms, and Coaching/mentoring are mentioned byabout 10-15% each. EmployerBranding is seen as theresponsibility of Corporate HR

with support from marketing.About half of the organisationsstate this and a substantialproportion further state it as theresponsibility of HR orcorporate communications.

Is Employer Branding Important?

Extremely important

Very important

Fairly important

Not very important

Not at all important

41%

40%

14%

1%

4%

Yes but it can be furtherdeveloped

No but we are working on it

Yes we have a clearemployer branding strategy

No we don’t have anystrategy

43%

26%

24%

7%

4

Survey Highlights



HIRING & BEYOND

None of the organisationshave stated the mostcrucial benefit of having

an EB strategy - which is theimpact that it can ultimatelyhave on the bottom line of anorganization’s profitability.Hiring and retaining topperformers is essential forgrowth and to maintain acompetitive edge. Employeeswho have the right skills,experience and knowledge, inrelation to the critical areas of abusiness to drive growth, arestrategically important and agood, strong EB strategy canprovide this. About 20-30% eachhas spoken about employeerelated benefits such as higherretention rates, productivity andhigher employee engagementand satisfaction as the keybenefits of having a strong EB,

and a further 20% of the tacticaladvantage of a shorter time tofill job openings. The perceivedbenefits of EB therefore, seem tobe relating more to theimmediate ones, rather than thedeeper impact that it can have.

Only about 32% consider theimpact on business performanceas a measure of EB processeffectiveness. About 25% eachmention as measures, thequality of new hires and theretention of key talent.

What are the Benefits of EB?

• Employee relatedbenefits are seen asthe key benefits ofhaving a strongemployer brandingstrategy

• Most of thesurveyedorganisations donot have a clearlydefined employerbranding strategy

• Most organisationsbelieve thatproviding a goodwork environmentand growthopportunities iscritical to becomeemployer of choice

Only about a quarter of theorganisations recognizethe importance of

defining an Employer ValueProposition (EVP) as beingcrucial in achieving EBobjectives. Given that this is thefirst and most important step inhaving strong EmployerBranding, this proportion isextremely low. Another 34% saythat what is important inachieving it is having a clearlydefined strategy – a statementthat reveals the lack of an EBstrategy in these organisations!On a positive note,organisations are clear aboutwhat would make them theemployer of choice. About 40%each talk of providing a goodwork environment andopportunities for developmentand growth, both of which make

for attracting the right skill sets,leading to increasedproductivity ; giving theorganisation the competitiveedge. What they are not clearabout is the strategy required to

communicate this. Majority ofthe organisations (75%) do notoutsource their brandingservices. Largely, the types ofservices being outsourced arePR and advertising.

Achieving EB Objectives - What isseen as Important?

Increased retention rates

Increased productivity

Increases employeeengagement/satisfaction

Shortens the time to fill jobopenings

Decreased recruitment costs

Improves successionplanning

27%

Having a clearly defined strategy

Senior management engagement

Developing strategies for recruiting andretaining talent

Defining employer value proposition

Collaboration between differentdepartments

4%

5%

20%

22%

22%

34%

25%

24%

13%

4%

5

Events



HIRING & BEYOND

The year 2012 has begunwith a bang for the Indiane-com market, as the

industry buzzing with growing

activity. Internet Retail Expo2012, the 3rd edition of India’sPremier Online Retail Eventadding dynamism to it scanned

the various aspects of onlineretail business and broughtexperts from retail, social mediaand mobile, at one stage to share

insights on the role ofrecommendations and reviewsin growing the retail business inIndia.

Internet Retail Expo 2012exposed various online retailersto latest innovations, trends andinsights of the industry withmagnified analysis. More than350 people registered for theevent, whereas 15 exhibitorsparticipated. Service providerslike witnessed a great platformto showcase their product &services. For the offlineretailers, planning to go online,guidance with insightfulknowledge provided themdirection on how to go online.Summing it up, IRE 2012 eventgave exclusive opportunity todevelop strong relationships forbright business prospects.

IRE 2012: Ride the Growth of Online Retail in India

EVENTS

CALENDA

R

“7th Annual NationalConference on Pension& RetirementPlanning” 21st March, 2012 HotelLe-Meridien, New DelhiOrganised byASSOCHAM

Upcoming Events

February 2nd & 3rd, 2012, Epicenter Convention Hall, Gurgaon

Organised by: iamwire

The day-long program byNational HRD Network’sLearning Centre and

NHRDN’s Mumbai Chaptertogether with Benefits Plusexplored in depth, theunderstanding and emergingtrends in the various subdomains of Compensation andBenefits aligning to newbusiness paradigms and postrecession employee aspirations.

Through the presentation ofspecific case studies,organisation survey results andbest practices, the speakersdeliberated on the need for arelook at compensation andbenefits strategies, the role ofrewards and recognition and

their impact on retention andoverall employee engagement;the base logic being to securethe present and promise thefuture. The speakers were inagreement to the point that anyrewards and recognitionstrategy should ultimately belinked to the business andcannot be isolated from thevalues and culture that theorganization believes andpromotes. The sessions focusedon how compensation andbenefits contribute to thedifferent retention strategies,attempted to appreciate the roleof rewards in the retentionframework and also howbenefits are designed and

function in the overall retentionand engagement strategy.

The program comprised of 4main sessions and an eminentpanel of speakers. Key thoughtsthat emerged from thediscussion included, looking atthe organisations capacity topay vis-à-vis can theorganization afford not to pay, tolook at Productivitybenchmarking vis-à-visCompensation benchmarking,making an impact /making theemployees feel valued,customizing C&B to suit eachsegment of employees; ring-fencing the critical ones andworking around the others.

Seminar on The Pluses of Benefits andRewards; Moving Beyond CompensationFebruary 16, 2012, ITC Grand Central, Mumbai

Organised by: NHRDN

6

Guest Column



HIRING & BEYOND

It’s been quite some time that Ihave written on this topic. Life, asof now, has been a lovely classroom.

It taught me the basics as well as theways of winning. At the same time, ithas made me understand the differencebetween Management and Leadership.

While Management concentrates onmaintaining the status quo, monitoringthe situation, allocating resources,communicating targets, measuring theresults, getting feedback on the trends,Leaders focus on strategic thinking,looking forward and create vision,challenge, motivate, inspire. Quotingthe lines of a great man – “A leader'sjob is to rally people toward a betterfuture” - Marcus Buckingham.

Creating a clear picture of the future‘stimulates, excites and inspires’,getting everyone to have faith into itensuring that everyone understandswhat’s expected out of them, turning it

into meaningful goals and targets,communicating progress towards itcontinuously, celebrating successes andworking on it consistently – that’s thekey.

Creating Vision is complicated. Makingeveryone else believe in the Vision ismuch more complicated. You get to facequestions like – Relevance of theVision? What specifically needs to bedone? How will the job be measured?What’s in it for me? The role of aLeader is to answer these questions ina satisfactory manner and keep theExcitement and Inspiration working.

Employees don’t leave companies theyleave their Bosses. Being a leader youhave to be supportive to yoursubordinates. Define the fundamentalcharacter of the business, help create asense of identity for the business,reduce game playing, politics andconfusion, provide guidelines for

managers and staff, provide guidancefor acceptable and unacceptablebehaviours.

Offers support – doesn’t wait to beasked, recognise the implications oftheir actions/inactions on others.Showing respect to the needs, feelingsand views of others motivates theEmployees and encouragescontributions from all members.

It is not just about getting the job done.It is all about making it a greatexperience for one who does the job. Bythis, you create more leaders withinyour own Leadership. No-one wants tobe a follower; it is your job to makethem feel the importance of theirexistence in the Organization. Andthat’s how you win with leadership.

“Take the first step in faith. You do nothave to see the whole staircase. Justtake the first step.”

Dr. Siddhartha Pandey, a young dynamic HR

Professional having an MBA fulltime degree with

Masters in Science of Psychotherapy and Counseling,

has done his Post Graduate Diploma in Corporate Governance

along with Doctorate in HR. In a very short span of time, Dr.

Pandey has handled the Human Resource part in major

organizations like Adhunik Group, Simplex Infrastructure,

Electro Steel etc. Currently he is heading the Human Resource

department of Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation

Limited. Taking his current and past assignments in to

consideration. Dr. Pandey has been awarded as one of “The

Youngest Successful HR Professional” in Eastern India.

Dr Siddhartha Pandey

Head- HR

Shristi Infrastructure Development

Corporation Limited

Winning with Leadership



HIRING & BEYOND

8

Expert Speak



HIRING & BEYOND

When you are evaluating seniormanagement candidates for aposition, what skills do you seekmost?

The CEO/CXOs need to have capability offormulating and implementing a soundBusiness Strategy for growth. We henceassess the candidates for their LeadershipCompetency of Strategic BusinessPerspective. In this uncertain andcomplex business environment there arerapid changes of business models,technology and competitors coming upwith newer products and services. TheCEO/CXO and senior leaders need to havea high level of learning agility andlearning orientation to quickly learn andgrasp new technologies, skills and waysof doing business.

What is given greater importance –educational background, industryexperience or past performance whileappointing for senior managementposition?

While all three are important, pastperformance as an indicator of future

performance and learning agility tohandle future challenges is critical for us.Rather than achievements of pastperformance, we see whether there iscapability to handle future challenges inpresent role and one role above. Referencecheck from past Superiors, Peers andSubordinates is very important. ForLeadership Style and Team Leadership ofthe candidate is best judged fromreference from past subordinates.

For senior management positions, doyou prefer hiring from withinindustry/company or look outside?

It depends upon the position and thesituation. First we prefer to look frominside the Group Companies/Company tofind the best candidate as per ourSuccession Plan. Insider has theadvantage of fitting into the companyculture and is able to handle the politicaldynamics inside the company. Insiderwith outside perspective for bringingnecessary changes as our first choice. Ifan insider is not available, we wouldprefer a similar industry candidate from

outside. We go to an outside industry ifboth above are not possible or the groupis going for unrelated diversification,where we lack experience or expertise.

Are there any particular situations,where appointing an outsider is morelikely than would normally be thecase?

Yes. In business turnaround situationswhere very tough and logical decisionsneed to be taken, an outsider would bepreferred. There are business turnaroundspecialists who can do a great job for 2 to3 year term. In such situations, anoutsider would be preferred when thecompany or a group is venturing intocompletely unrelated business where wedo not have expertise.

How do you fix on the compensationpackage for a senior managementposition?

The compensation is one part of thepackage to attract the candidate. Thecandidate needs to be excited about therole and his future in the company. JKGroup offers the candidates withpossibility of moving across the groupcompanies. In fixing compensation, cashcomponent, benefits, performancevariable pay and long term benefits areimportant. We take into consideration ofthe following:

i. Candidates Past Cost to the Company(CTC), including Performance linkedVariable Pay & ESOPS

ii. Market Pay – Benchmarking tosimilar jobs in the industry

iii. Internal parity to similar positions inthe group

iv. Expectation of the candidate

What is the biggest challenge whilehiring or senior management?

We do not higher for today’s role andchallenges. We always hire for Capabilityand Leadership Competencies to handlefuture challenges for the role. People arehired for expertise and fired for theirLeadership Styles & Behaviours. Henceassessing the leadership style byreference checking from subordinates, inpast companies is the best way toevaluate that the senior executive canlead, motivate and retain senior teammembers. Cultural Fit is also a challenge.

Dr. PV. Bhide, President – Corporate HR, JK Organisation overseesall the HR related activities of this Rs. 11000 crore conglomerateemploying more than 30,000 employees. Having over 41 years

of experience, Dr. Bhide is a Mechanical Engineer from IIT-Mumbai anda Doctorate in HRD from XLRI & Academy of HRD. He has previouslybeen the VP of Bombay Dyeing & Mfg. Co., Advisor to the Wadia GroupCompanies for 8 years and head of Manufacturing of PetrochemicalComplex. Dr. Bhide is a Member of National HR Committee ofConfederation of Indian Industry and a member of HRD ExpertCommittee of ASSOCHAM.

Dr. PV. Bhide, President – Corporate HRJK Organisation

Hiring SeniorManagement

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