Sapient wants to STEAL

 

This is Sapient's new take on recruiting for its division. This is part of their new campaign for recruitment is slated to be released in Gurgaon, Noida and Bangaluru. This ad campaign has been created by their US based creative directors, Allison and Bistrong and Matt Ziselman.

Sapient has 3 divisions in India- SapientNitro, Sapeint Global Markets and Sapient Government Services. They are looking to hire for the first two divisons, and are quite tongue in cheek as far as their mathods to recruit are concerned. Poaching is rampant in most industries, more so in IT, but for the first time probably a company owns up to poaching from competitors and are quite objective about it. "Its not a crime to want something better" says Sapient.

All the better for companies like us!
Read more: http://www.techeye.net/business/sapient-says-theres-nothing-wrong-with-poaching-in-india#ixzz18dGvxWjR

Job creation in Indian cities in 3rd Quarter 2010

According to surveys by some major recruitment agencies here is the tally as far as job creation goes among Indian cities.

New Delhi and the NCR region is the largest job market right now, and created more than 1,13,000 jobs this year. The Common Wealth Games are seen as the biggest reason for this spurt in jobs. Ma Foi says that from October to December 2010 more than 44000 jobs have been created.

Mumbai comes a close second with about 1,00,000 jobs. Chennai had a dull start to the year but in the fourth quarter things are expected to look up, with 30000 jobs. Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad together created about 25000 jobs in this quarter and the job scene is significantly looking up in all these cities. Ahmedabad and Pune also shows a spurt in growth with more than 10000 jobs.

Though Naukri says that there was a lull due to the festive season of Diwali, when companies shelve their hiring plans, things are again in action now and companies are hiring at all levels and the three month average has been quite stable.

The best cities for freshers seem to be Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bangalore while for senior profiles the best cities are Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.

Hiring is most likely to jump by 20% in 2011 feels HR departments in many companies, especially consumer durables, real estate and telecom. Simultaneously pay packets are on the rise too. The buzz is that the expected rise is about 20% this year. Deloitte and Korn Ferry both feel that there will be recruitment hike in all sectors in India in 2011, with stress on pharma, healthcare, retail, infrastructure, life sciences, as well as manufacturing.


Source: Financial Express/ Hindustan Times

Recruitment likely to remain bullish in December

The July-September period saw a surge in hiring activities in India. 
Out of 9,117 companies surveyed by recruitment firm, Antal International, across 52 countries, 76 per cent of organizations in India made active hirings in the July-September. Attrition rate is also expected to decline during the remainder of 2010 from the September quarter. The result is that for HR heads worldwide the challenge is now shifting from headcount reduction to sourcing talent, as markets are improving. Last quarter 54% firms were hiring as compared to 57% this year.

Globally, Asia stands out as the healthiest jobs market for managers and professionals with 86 per cent hiring trend in Thailand, China (81 per cent), Philippines (80 per cent) and Singapore (79 per cent). Pakistan's relatively poor performance at just 62 per cent also remains impressive by global standards.

The Antal report is based on material sourced from over 9,100 businesses in commerce, industry and the financial services sector across 52 countries in September and October 2010.

"Precision Recruitment"- Path to recruitment future?

Plato, the Greek philosopher and mathematician had said "No two persons are born alike but each differs from the other in individual endowments, one being suited for one thing and another for another, and all things will be provided in superior quality and quantity and with greatest ease, when each man works at a single occupation, in accordance with his natural gifts.”

There was a time when you studied to be a doctor or an engineer, or an IAS officer, otherwise you have already failed in life. Times are better today, with youngsters having multiple options, research in various fields gaining popularity and sanction, out of the way professions are becoming careers- fashion designing, photography, modelling, print/ web based jobs, even BPO... one can aspire to be anything. Yet thousands and thousands of people still go in for the education or job due to parental or peer pressure and end up unhappy in their careers, dont have a career at all or remain unproductive citizens and individuals most of their lives.

Here is a solution as thought out by Envision Talent Management and the Oxford Group of Institutions in Bangalore, the first of its kind in India.

They will use scientific tools to calibrate each student’s potential and then map it to opportunities available. This will ensure quality recruitment for companies, increasing people performance and lowering attrition.

It will align:

• Natural talents that each person is born with
• Acquired abilities that have accrued through formal and non-formal education
• Aspirational attributes that each person desires

The initiative is being launched on 15 November 2010 through a seminar on ‘Corporate Challenges in Employability Skills’ which will have companies and management consulting firms addressing the heads of institutions and students on attitudes, knowledge and skills required to succeed in the modern competitive environment.

Plenty of new jobs and boom sees attrition rates rise

Six sectors are expected to create 2.3 lakh jobs in India in the last three months of 2010, according to global consultancy Ernst and Young. The six sectors are healthcare, real estate, IT/ITeS, education & training, manufacturing and Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI). Among them, healthcare industry alone is projected to generate 60,000 jobs in fourth quarter of 2010. Real estate and IT/ITes sector, each are expected to create 50,000 jobs. Education & training industry is projected to generate 30,000 jobs. Manufacturing and BFSI sectors would each be churning out 20,000 jobs in the 2010 fourth quarter, E&Y said.

India's booming service sector market is facing attrition rates of 35 percent as workers switch jobs for fatter pay packets, a survey said Saturday. The figures were the latest sign of a pick-up in India's job market from last year's levels, when the economy was still feeling the effects of the global financial crisis.
Those switching jobs at senior level received average raises of 25-30 percent from new employers, the survey conducted by India's Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry said. The pay hike was 10 to 15 percent for less experienced employees with two to four years' experience, said the survey, which polled 134 human resource heads. India's fast-growing financial services sector saw the biggest attrition rate in the first six months of the year, followed by the information technology sector with 24 percent turnover.

On the other hand, in Education, IIM Lucknow will admit fewer engineering graduates this year, and give more weightage to non engineering students like in medicine, arts, journalism, law, commerce, dentistry and pharmacy. Also SKIL Infrastructure, which recently forayed into the education sector in partnership with University of Strathclyde Business School, will open the Scottish varsity's campus in Noida. This would be the first campus of the university in India and on the cards are Mumbai and Chennai campuses soon. The Noida campus would be functional in September 2011 and more than 1,200 students are expected to join the school. The recruitment process for the academic staff would begin next month. SKIL Group CEO is J P Rai.

Movements in the week

Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd announced  the appointment of Mr Raj Manek as Managing Director of Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd. He succeeds Ms Shammi Nagpal who held the positions of Managing Director, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd and Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Messe Frankfurt Asia Holding Ltd. Mr Manek is a seasoned exhibition industry executive, he has more than 17 years experience covering Asia and Europe including Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. He began his career with P&O Exhibitions which owned London’s Earls Court and Olympia exhibition venues. From 1995 to 1997, he was Finance Manager with Reed Exhibition Companies before joining the ITE Group Plc as Group Operation Finance Director from 1997 to 2001. Before joining Messe Frankfurt in 2009, Mr Manek was Chief Operating Officer for Expomedia Group Plc in India.

Mumbai-based biotechnologist Dr Nimita Limaye has become the first Asian and first woman to be elected global head of the Society of Clinical Data Management based in the United States. At 43, she is also among the youngest to be chosen for the post. SCDM is a global body that plays a key role in providing thought leadership in health care and sets global standards and best practices for managing data pertaining to clinical trials, which are needed to prove the efficacy and safety of every new drug and significant biotechnology product. Over 100 pharmaceutical companies, including Fortune 100 companies such as Pfizer and Merck, are currently outsourcing clinical trials in India. Major players like Siro, where Dr Limaye is vice-president, Cognizant, Wipro, TCS, Mahindra Tech-Satyam, Quintiles, Accenture, IBM, and Intel are part of the Indian clinical data management scene.

Pepsico India gets new CEO

In key top-level changes announced by Pepsi-Co on Monday, its CEO for South East Asia, Manu Anand, will take over as chairman & CEO, PepsiCo's India region from the current incumbent, Sanjeev Chadha, with effect from Jan 1, 2011.

Chadha will take over as PepsiCo's chief for the Middle East & Africa, the company said in a release. He will also be a member of PepsiCo's global leadership team: the PepsiCo Executive Committee. Chadha's new area of responsibility —Middle East & Africa—is one of the largest and most profitable regions of PepsiCo, and is headquartered in Dubai.

Anand, on the other hand, moves into the new role from Thailand, where he was responsible for the foods and beverages business in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands. 

Source: Chadha to make way for Anand at PepsiCo India - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Chadha-to-make-way-for-Anand-at-PepsiCo-India-/articleshow/6812555.cms#ixzz13Zu3S8i4

MBAs in demand again

MBAs are again in demand. The education and study-abroad company Quacquarelli Symonds published a survey in October which shows that the rise in recruitment in countries like China and India are outstripping recruitment in Europe and US. The demand for MBA-s increased 32% in the APac region, compared to 9% in USA and 3% in Europe. Many European and North American companies have still not come out of the ravages of recession and are not hriring.

The highest paying field is no more the Banking sector. In the post recession era Pharmaceutical is the highest paymaster. Graduates recruited into pharmaceutical companies earned an average of $92,274, according to the Quacquarelli Symonds report released Oct. 14, followed by those in financial services, with average pay of $90,926. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/business/global/19iht-RIEDSALARIES.html?_r=1&src=busln)

More than 2000 companies, 200 B-schools  (80 in the United States, 67 in Europe, 36 in Asia and the rest in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East) were surveyed. The survey also shows the anomaly in the job market with respect to education. University graduates were still scrambling for jobs which MBA-s were receiving high starting salaries.

What then are the B-schools which get the highest salaries?
Ashridge Business School, London, is the winner. (Average salary of $169,050)
Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, Belgium is next (Average salary of $140,000)
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in North Carolina were the only two schools outside Europe to make the top 10 in salaries.
According to another B School survey by the same firm, the M.B.A.s most valued by recruiters — even if they were not the highest paid — were from Harvard, Wharton, Insead, the London Business School, Insead’s Singapore campus and Melbourne Business School. 

MBA-s with solid pre qualification experience get paid more and B schools like Ashridge recruits those into their programs who have more work experience. Their program is more like an executive management program. There was a 24% increase in MBA job opportunitites in this year (2010). In 2009 there had been a decline of 5% in MBA hirings. MBAs usually get more consulting and financial services opportunities and the demand in these fields will keep rising according to an article in NY Times.

Laying off after a merger- ICICI Bank

Here's one  to boggle the HR mind. What does a company do if it has to absorb thousands of employees but knows it cant keep them for long. It might just not be feasible. ICICI bank faces such a dilemna.

The merger of ICICI Bank and Jaipur-based Bank of Rajasthan, BoR came into effect from 13 August after the Reserve Bank of India notified it. The merger took place through a share-swap deal that valued BoR at around Rs.3,000 crore, at a ratio of 4.72 shares of BoR for one share of ICICI Bank.


Around 4000 employees of BoR are now with ICICI bank. The newly inducted BoR staff are yet to be given new functional responsibilities in ICICI bank and are continuing in their old roles.ICICI has issued to around 400 of these employees, contracts that will end without any prior notice at the end of a five-year term regardless of the age of the employee. Of them about 75 are GMs, Asst GMs and other senior officials. Employees are prohibited from union activities or bringing any "outside influences". Therefore they just have to accept the terms of the contract.

The BoR employees see this as a strategy to lay off excess staff after five years. About 45 BoR employees at junior levels have quit in the last one-and-a-half months, this person added.
 

In the past, ICICI Bank had acquired two other old private banks—Bank of Madura Ltd and Sangli Bank Ltd. It now employs at least 53,000 people. In May, the bank’s managing director and CEO Chanda Kochhar had said it would not lay off BoR staff or discriminate against them. “Whenever we do a merger and acquisition, we treat the employees of the acquired bank as a part of our parivar (family), we will take care of them (BoR employees) as our own employees; we are not here to retrench people,” Kochhar had said.

Though the contract goes againt the words, it may actually be impossible to make everyone happy and ICICI is taking a humane approach giving all employees (400 out of 4000) five years to look for alternatives. However in the market conditions today, some finance / NBFC professionals at mid level are looking for jobs for a time more than 5 years. 

The full article at http://www.livemint.com/2010/10/19215520/ICICI-will-lay-off-some-BoR-st.html?atype=tp

Trouble in Chennai

The city has come to be known as the Detroit of India for its large concentration of automakers, but a series of labour disputes have rocked it, putting a question mark over industrial peace.

Car markers such as Hyundai Motor India, BMW and Ford Motor India besides Finnish handset manufacturer Nokia India have set up their plants on the city outskirts employing more than 23,000 people.

As the city and other parts of Tamil Nadu woo more foreign and domestic companies, employees of several factories had resorted to strikes demanding recognition of Trade Union, good pay package.

• Employees of Hyundai Motor India went on a flash strike in June this year demanding that the management reinstate 67 employees dismissed earlier for demanding recognition of trade union. 
• Employees of Nokia India also resorted to strike early this year demanding wage revision. About 75 per cent of 8,000 employees working at Nokia's Sriperumbudur facility constitute women employees.  
• Strikes is in all three facilities of tyre major MRF at Arakkonam, Thiruvottiyur and in Puducherry against installation of CCTVs in Tiruvottiyur plant since it invaded their privacy.  
• About 13,000 contract workers of the public sector Neyveli Lignite Corporation have also been on strike since September 19, pressing for various demands including raising of wages and issues relating to bonus.

According to government Policy Note, the number of strikes in 2009 was about 36 and there were 13 lockouts, of which 2.10 lakh man-days were lost. This is comparatively lower to 2008 which witnessed 56 strikes and 30 lockouts with 3.87 lakh mandays lost, it said.

Source: Labour disputes rocking 'Detroit' of India - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Labour-disputes-rocking-Detroit-of-India/articleshow/6762957.cms#ixzz12imcKb8D

Hospitality Industry in India: Poised for growth?

India comes 62nd in the world in the list of attractive destinations, in APac region its rank is 11. Here are some facts from the IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation) website:

It is ranked the 14th best tourist destination for its natural resources and 24th for its cultural resources, with many World Heritage sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative industries in the country. India also bagged 37th rank for its air transport network. The India travel and tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019.

India’s hotel pipeline is the second largest in the Asia-Pacific region according to Jan Smits, Regional Managing Director, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Asia Australasia. He added that the Indian hospitality industry is projected to grow at a rate of 8.8 per cent during 2007-16, placing India as the second-fastest growing tourism market in the world.

Sanjay Gupta, CMD, Neesa Leisure Ltd stated that the hotel and hospitality industries are among the biggest employment generators in the country.

An April (2010) report says that in the next three years the Indian hospitality industry will require 100000 trained personnel across various levels. A report by the consulting and temp staffing firm Ma Foi Randstad projects the Indian Hospitality industry to be the second largest employment generator in the country in the coming days. Sunil Kothari, a senior official from the Hotel and Restaurant Association (HRA) says that the rate at which various hotel management institutions are churning out personnel are just not enough to meet this demand.

What are the various senior opportunities in a hotel that awaits eager professionals and how is the pay scale expected to be. Here is a list with these details which one blog from the Wall Street Journal states :

GENERAL MANAGER
Jack of all trades and CEO of the hotel. 
Pay Scale: Smal hotels (100 rooms or less): Rs 25-40 lpa, or $53,400 -$85,400, according to Neeraj Chadha, regional general manager for India at Hilton Worldwide.
Larger hotels (200 rooms or more)- starts from Rs 50 lpa ($107,000)
Qualifications: Usually requires a masters degree/diploma in hotel management or MBA. Knowledge of local language and social skills help.


REVENUE MANAGER
Analysing demand-supply data. Prepare business plans. Look out for events and conferences to generate more business. Set pricing strategy to maximise profits.
Pay Scale: Rs 8- 18 lpa ($17,100- $38,500)
Qualifications: Commerce /Economics grad or MBA in finance.


EXECUTIVE SOUS-CHEF
Number two guy in the kitchen. Administrative role, deciding menu and kitchens daily activity in charge.
Pay Scale: Rs 7- 14 lpa ($15,000- 30, 000)depending on role and size of hotel
Qualifications: A culinary course, fluency in English is a plus a reputation.


DIRECTOR, SALES & MARKETING
BD, brand management, sales strategy, revenue management.
Pay Scale: Rs 16- 30 lpa depending on hotel size and quality
Qualifications: MBA, with 7-8 yrs experience, charisma is important, this is supposed to be the glam job.


SPA MANAGER
Managing the spa team, strategising on packages etc, warehousing 
Pay scale: Rs 9 lpa or more
Qualifications:Graduate with a spa course, good communication skills a must.



 

Ranbaxy CEO quits

The CEO of Ranbaxy, Mr Atul Sobti quit after just one year of joining the company. Former CMD Malvinder Singh had resigned before him and Sobti's is the second resignation after Daiichi Sankyo took over the pharma major in 2008. Now, Arun Sawhney, President of the Global Pharmaceutical Business will take over from Sobti as MD. Sobti had a three year term as CEO and MD of the company but had someproblems soon after he took over.
In his interview to TOI he has said

‘‘There are certain differences... in the overall working of Ranbaxy as a company, in its running and how to go forward, and integrate it. I took the decision to quit a few months ago, but decided finally (to go) a week ago. Sometimes it's better to quit when there is no resolution, though it is very disappointing and unfortunate.''

He is still evaluating his next move. Under Sobti's tenure, the company posted a strong growth, with net profit of Rs 963 crore in first quarter ended March 31, 2010, as against a loss of Rs 761 crore in the year-ago period.

Source: Indiatimes.com

Spearhead Intersearch MD, Jyorden Misra, speculates on the reasons behind this sudden move. According to him “The socio-cultural perspective in regard to Korean and Japanese companies has a different tone and tenor from that of American and British owned companies under transition... It is no secret that Korean and Japanese companies vest their critical leadership levels in their own nationals since they do not have a high degree of comfort otherwise."
Source: www.mydigitalfc.com 
Here is the link to the article on Financial Chronicle which tells the story including Mr Misra's comments on the matter.

http://www.in.com/news/business/fullstory-sobti-quits-on-cultural-differences-15037063-57e0a1a1db5d14db667d6d6fb1265af8eeed65a7-1.html

Social Media, Networking and Recruitment

Social Media is the set of tools you use in order to do Social Networking. Twitter, Linked In, Facebook, You Tube, are just some of the websites which are the new buzzword in businesses world wide. However there is a lot more to social media than these few sites. Today the world wibe web is a humongous network of blogs, tweets, audio and video sharing sites, photo sharing sites, community sites, sharing tools, micro blogging and other increasingly new and sophisticated tools.
Most of us still treat the networking sites as social meeting points. Twitter has been instrumental in saving plenty of victims in natural disasters. Blogs have brought the peoples struggles in Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere in front of us, literally, through our computers.
"Individuals have benefited from the viral virtues of social media: Musician Dave Carroll got the attention of United Airlines when his YouTube video about how the airline broke his guitar reached millions of viewers; TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington got Comcast to respond to him in 20 minutes and resolve a connection issue he had complained about to his 12,000 Twitter followers."
http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/19/facebook-twitter-linkedin-technology-cio-network-social-media.html?partner=airlines_newsletter
But these are some of the more obvious uses of these sites. Whats coming up now in a huge wave is the use of social and business networking for business purposes. In marketing that means using social media to reach the customer, to find trends, to get feedback. All major companies now have a 'social media strategy' and social media firms in India are springing up to help Indian companies in getting their message across as well as keeping a finger on the pulse of the consumer.
How social network can affect strategy

"Bad strategy execution originates from communication and engagement failures. The worst symptoms include employees disregarding the strategy and management ignoring employees' input regarding their strategic decisions."

http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/19/facebook-twitter-linkedin-technology-cio-network-social-media.html?partner=airlines_newsletter
Therefore companies are now making social networks inhouse to monitor employee reactions and getting inputs to gauge the success of strategies.
Social Network and Recruitment
Facebook, Linked In and Twitter are the holy trinity of social networking strategies for individuals and recruiters alike.
http://blogs.forbes.com/work-in-progress/2010/06/14/social-media-twitter-facebook-linkedin/?partner=relatedstoriesbox
Jobvite, a recruiting software company, asked 825 HR and recruiting professionals about the extent to which they use social networking websites in their recruiting process to find and vet candidates for jobs. Their answers indicate that they view social networks as a viable channel for sourcing high-quality candidates and that they plan to increase their use of social networking websites in their recruiting efforts this year. (Only about 3 percent of survey respondents were Jobvite customers.)
http://www.businessweek.com/idg/2010-06-30/social-networking-ever-more-critical-to-job-search-success.html
Here are some of the reasons being touted to job searchers to get over the third party recruiter cycle and get on to the www.
1. You'll have access to job opportunities at progressive, growing companies.
Companies that are hiring the most people in the shortest periods of time "are the ones who are more aggressively pursuing social recruiting," says Dan Finnigan, Jobvite's CEO. "Companies with the most growth opportunities are trying to get better, higher-quality candidates through social recruiting."
2. You'll have access to job opportunities first.
The Jobvite survey results show that employers prefer using social networking sites for recruiting because they make advertising jobs and sourcing candidates cheap and easy.
3. Employers are increasingly using LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to find and vet prospective employees.
According to Jobvite's social recruiting survey:
. 73 percent of respondents currently use online social networks or social media sites to support their recruiting efforts.
. 92 percent of respondents hiring in 2010 currently use or plan to recruit via social networks.
. 78 percent of respondents use LinkedIn for recruiting; 55 percent use Facebook (up 15 percent since over 2009); and 45 percent use Twitter (up 32 percent over 2009).
. One-third of respondents always check out candidates' social media profiles when vetting them. . 58 percent of respondents have successfully hired candidates through social networking websites.
4. You may not find as many job ads on job boards or job opportunities through recruiters.
Jobvite found that 36 percent of survey respondents say they plan to spend less money on job boards as the economy recovers. Slightly more (38 percent) will spend less on third-party recruiters and search firms as the recovery continues.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After polling 100 hiring managers at small, mid-sized and large companies on how social media is being used in the hiring process, Jump Start, a New Jersey search engine found that a good number of the hiring managers have started checking social media sites to research candidates before making a job offer. While LinkedIn-the only professional social networking sites to research the credentials of job candidates, is the favorite for three quarters of those polled, a good 48% turn to Facebook and 26% to Twitter.
http://www.digitalcommunitiesblogs.com/international_beat/2009/06/social-media-can-also-get-you.php
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of course Linkedin has been favoured for years by recruiters, such as ourselves, nowadays recruiters in companies and third party firms use social network sites to get an overall view of the individual, apart from his professional resume. It helps that people are unabashedly free spoken on sites like Facebook or Twitter. Testimonials on Linkedin are also like reference checks in a way, used with caution. And for just how long have we been using google.com to search for phone numbers, profiles or even just plain information on projects or theses.

Here is a matrix which shows quite well the experience and expertise required and the method of recruitment favoured by a company.

http://www.ibscdc.org/Articles/social_networking_better_recruitment_platform.htm

How to go about it as a recruiter
The average user of social networks, mainly for job search has been found to be 37, therefore the GEN X-ers !1964-'80). Thats not to say Gen Y ('80-'95) does not use networking as a tool. However the message has to be put in a different way.
Gen X need interactive media such as Internet banner advertising, job boards, e-cards, text messaging, mobile media.
For Generation Y/Millennial mostly interactive and alternative media work: job boards, Internet banner ads, networking sites, RSS feeds, blogging, text messaging, streaming video, flash e-cards, e-mail marketing, splash pages, mobile media.
However there are downsides to this as well. Discrimination might be a huge charge which might bring the lawyers to the doorstep if you reject a candidate for his Facebook profile. Or Social Network sites not meant for professional networking might be actually too personal. Or even the chance of mistaken identity always remains.
Therefore there may be some precautions you have to take as suggested by http://www.ceridian.co.uk/hr/newsletter/nav/1,4813,593,00.html.

• Be aware of rules of equal opportunities.
• Keep a paper trail and archive print-outs that you have used when assessing a candidate.
• Ernst & Young set up the company’s own profile and network, then makes sure that the organisation’s reputation is not being damaged.
• Company information must be used responsibly.
• Constantly monitor your organisation’s profile on the various sites.

Happy searching.

Audi's Sound Concept cabin defines auditory excess: 62 speaker surround-sound

Audi's 7.2 Surround Sound

If you've been bragging about your all-encompassing 7.2 surround-sound system to of your friends, prepare for a mighty dose of humble pie. Audi has hand-crafted what it calls the Sound Concept, an in-car sound system so excessive it should be able to cause your soft, fleshy bits to pulsate in new and exciting ways. There are five tweeters scattered across the dash and the doors, five woofers (four in the doors and a monster in the back), and then a whopping 52 mid-range speakers encircling the entire enclosure, creating a package that's not likely to show up in the options catalog anytime soon. All these have been wedged into the interior of a Q7 SUV in the interests of Wave Field Synthesis, minimizing a user's ability to hear specific speakers -- and blowing Audyssey's paltry 11-speaker DSX system right out of the water

When is a good time to change your job

Leave recession aside for once. For every unlucky soul who lost her/his job there were some who still had the luxury of choosing to continue in their present job or to jump ship. We saw quite a few candidates change jobs through the last couple of tough years itself. And though the media is hyping, the job market is picking up a wee bit.

I often get this question from candidates as well as friends- real or virtual: Is it the right time for me to change? There has not been even one among us who have not been plagued by this question some time or another, even people who have been very happy in their jobs and been in a company for donkeys years. Yes, some candidates, perfectly good apples, I should say, have been in one company for 15 or 20 years before finally being head hunted and taking the leap. They never thought of looking out for a job on their own. Their profiles have never been on a job site, some, believe me, do not even have a CV. I should know, I dont have one myself.

Therefore, how do we know that it is the right time to change.

Some reasons are pretty straight forward and obvious- when the company is going down

Rats will always leave a sinking ship. And the writing is pretty much there on the wall for years before a company starts downsizing or closing shop altogether. When the Citi fiasco happened, there was an exodus from group companies like Citi Financial. An acquisition is another reason employees may want to leave a company desperately, especially if job security is not guaranteed by the acquiring company.
Often, and this has been proven, a bad boss is enough to push you out of the workplace. Sexual (or other) harassment- of course.

The above fall into what is called the HYGIENE factors of Maslows Theory of Motivation.



The bottom two are the hygiene factors. Assuming that your office has bathrooms and your desk is dusted every morning, and you have your necessary stationery, and also that your job is more or less secure, then the motivation factors come in.

BELONGING, the third factor from bottom in the pyramid, stands for relationships and friendships in the company. How do you fare with your boss. How are your colleagues. The next is the ESTEEM. Is your work recognised? Is it rewarded as it should? Are your achievements recognised? The last is SELF ACTUALISATION- which stands for how creative your job is. Does your company allow for out of the box thinking. Are you allowed freedom in your work. Are you allowed to innovate.

Recently I came across an article from the India Career Journal which lists 10 pointers about when to leave your job. Here they are
Here are 10 signs that could indicate that it’s time for you to move on – either from your current job function or from your organization – to other adventures.

1. Social networking but not working: Spending too much time on the internet on sites or proxy sites for prolonged period of time.
2. Been there, done that: You are not learning much any more.
3. Not challenged enough: Responsibilities are not making you grow.
4. Unmet goals: Your career not moving where you want it to move. IN short, no promotion.
5. Too big for your shoes: You have reached your level of incompetence in the company. Time to reskill or move to a better fit.
6. Closed to change : You dont agree to company change, or you cant handle change. A cutltural misfit.
7. Politics over mechanics: Office politics too much for you.
8. You’ve been overlooked — again: self explanatory.
9. Don’t want your boss’s job?: Cause thats where you are headed in your company.
10. Evil thoughts about your boss?: If your boss is forever pulling you down you should think of moving.

Negotiating Benefits when Compensation is not much to write home about

Of all ideas on Compensation and Benefits, here is one which is a win win situation for both the employee and employer. Excerpts below. Find the original article here.


Can't Get A Raise? Negotiate Your Benefits
Bobbi Dempsey, 06.30.10, 10:48 AM EDT
There are many ways your employer can make your job more pleasant, even when money is tight.

For employees who can't get a raise in salary, a "benefits raise"--getting the employer to increase or enhance current benefits or add new ones--may be the next best thing. Here are a few tips on persuading your employer to consider a benefits raise.

Come Up with a Win-Win Scenario
"The best approach would be a benefit/incentive program that is going to produce more benefits for the employer than it costs," says Robert F. Fallis of Fallis & Associates, an organizational psychological consulting firm in Seattle.
Fallis suggests something along the lines of the Scanlon plan, in which employees come up with creative solutions to improve the ratio of sales vs. labor costs. Employees then get a pre-negotiated percentage of the resulting savings, unlike a standard profit-sharing arrangement where much of the profits are often diverted to other things before employees get their share.
Look for Any Upside
An example could include any potential tax savings for your company resulting from an increase in your benefits.
"If you are requesting additional funds contributed by your employer into your Health Savings Account, that contribution is deductible in Tampa, Fla. "Talking up potential tax savings is a great selling point for many increased employee benefits."

Realize Some Things are Off-Limits
To a certain extent, your employer's hands may be tied when it comes to some benefits.
"Companies with fully insured benefits plans don't have the luxury to offer you a 'better' health/dental/vision plan than what they offer everyone else, and employers must be careful about what 'extras' they offer so as not to be discriminatory in their benefits offerings," says Roxann Kerr Lindsey, vice president of CBIZ Benefits & Insurance Services of Kansas City, Kan.

Be Creative
If you do run into a dead end with the obvious benefits, think of other strategies.

Focus on Work/Life Benefits
This is an area where employers are often willing to consider giving some extras. Flex time, for example, may be an option.

Think Small
If your employer resists any increase in major benefits, think of small things that could still make your life better. Some of Lindsey's suggestions: reimbursement for parking fees, ability to retain the frequent flier miles earned for company travel or a health club membership. Another idea: See if your employer will cover the cost of an out-of-town seminar or continuing education program. Not only do you get a little getaway, but "this is deductible for the employer, plus they benefit from your increased knowledge."
The Bottom Line
Your salary may be in a holding pattern, but by using your imagination and your best negotiation skills, you may still be able to get a few extra perks that will help make your life a little easier.

Domain Knowledge is very important

A joke forward that came in:

There was this family with one kid. One day the mother was out and dad
was in charge of the kid, who just turned three.


Someone had given the kid a little 'tea set' as a birthday gift and it
was one of his favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in
the evening news when kid brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was
just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy
tea from father, kid's Mom came home.


Dad made her wait in the living room to watch the kid bring him a cup of
tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!!'


Mom waited, and sure enough, the kid comes down the hall with a cup of
tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up, then she says to him,
'Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get
water is the toilet??'

....Mothers know!!


MORAL OF THE STORY:

Domain knowledge is very important!!! Else your supplier will trick
you......

Google Project

How would you go about attracting a potential employer for the dream job that you want?

You might head start with uploading your resume over numerous job portals; you might be referencing and networking. If you are lucky a headhunter might spot you and do half the work on your behalf (they actually do). You would even try every trick in your book and leave no stone unturned.

How about innovating?

Well if you are Alec Brownstein, you would just draw a focused plan with a precise marketing strategy. Few clicks over the internet and you are hired.

Google has been a way of life for many. Across the planet, millions of people have benefitted from Google’s services. What many may or may not know is that the main source of income for Google is Adwords, the flagship advertising product.

Why advertise with Google? Because Google gets you almost all the information that one needs on a subject available over the internet. Google knows what a particular user searches the most over the internet, trends and analysis. So next time you search for something Google shows you the advertisement targeted to you according to your search behavior.

So how would you leverage the power of a giant search engine and use your information to achieve the best results.

Here is what Alec Brownstein did. He wanted to get hired as a top creative director in New York. He bought Google Adword services and created his ad campaign for Scott Vitrone, Ian Reichenthal, Gerry Graf, Tony Granger and David Droga.

http://www.alecbrownstein.com/project.php?cat=3

Now every time these gentleman Googled themselves Google Adwords showed a personalized message from Alec Brownstein asking for a job and the message linked to his online portfolio. He was called for an interview from David Droga, Gerry Graf, Ian Reichenthal and Scott Vitrone. Scott Vitrone and Ian Reichenthal offered him a job. He is now working with Y&R; Tony Granger is the Global Chief Creative Officer of the company.

Ingenious? Well, I’d say! Few hours and $ 6 approximately was all he invested. How did he score the opportunity? Doing what he is best at- “Creativity”.

Alec Brownstein (is an advertising copywriter, the co-author of several humor books, and a film director. He attended The Haverford School in Haverford, Pennsylvania, and Tufts University.

References :

http://www.alecbrownstein.com/project.php?cat=3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Brownstein

HR lessons from Up In The Air?

What is the best way to fire an employee?

We are in the business of hiring people, not firing. It falls on the lot of evil HR people on the company rolls to do the dirty job. And a dirty job it is. I have heard of people getting nightmares after having to let people go, during the slump time, in groups at a time. I have heard of HR people going into depression after having to deal with downsizing of colleagues, close friends included. A person, who has not dealt with recruitment, would not know the amount of counseling, hand holding and advising that can go into this process. Then just imagine how devastating firing can be for both parties.

In Up In The Air, George Clooney is Ryan Bingham, the “corporate downsizer”, a terminator with, of all things, a heart. He never says “You’re fired”. Redundancy can be made to sound so motivating when it is Bingham doing the talking. The loss is actually an opportunity toward a brighter future, for time with the kids which dad never had, time to follow ones dreams, time to finally take a break and change ones life as one knows it. If I were fired, I would be happy to be fired by him. He is much in demand, always flying from one site to another, always up in the air, like all the other downsizers in his company.

Enter Anna Kendrik as Natalie Keener, the new trail blazer, new blood, just cant wait to change the world. Firing is not an emotional procedure in her book. She has a new plan to reduce turnover time, increase employee productivity, and drastically reduce costs. No flying around to client sites to fire employees. She introduces video conferencing and proves that it saves time and money for her company. Bingham keeps warning of the terrible consequences but she wins first round.
And then a woman she fires over video conferencing jumps from the bridge and kills herself.

Watch the official trailer of the movie here.

Lets face it, people are being fired left right and center even today, with all the talk of economy returning to normal. While a company might handle some of the financial issues relating to the loss of job the employee has to face, what about the emotional repercussions.

This movie had created ripples in HR circles worldwide, HR blogs all featuring a review/lesson gleaned from it. However the CEO of RiseSmart, a consulting firm in Silicon Valley has this to say about the movie:
“The movie attempts to ground itself in reality by featuring interviews with real people who’ve lost their jobs,” Sathe says. “But that’s about the only thing the movie gets right in its portrayal of corporate layoffs and the human resources function.”

His interview about the 5 myths and misconceptions about HR in the movie can be found here.

All in all, it is a very trying process to fire people, a task HR people need to undertake often enough. It would be good to remember that technology is an enabler, a means to an end, and the end needs to be human. Just like one needs hand holding to get into an organization, much more help is required when one has to leave. And HR has to keep that in mind.