HR Articles: HR Headlines: Aug-10 (Part-3)

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Attrition Rises In Indian BPOs Human Resources (HR) department heads, particularly of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms are having a tough time due to the unexpected jump in tattrition rates. Even the major BPO firms are hit. In the April-June quarter of the 2010-11 fiscal, the attrition rate in TCS BPO was around 20 per cent, and the same in Wipro was around 16 per cent respectively. As per HR consulting firm Talentar Managing Director Mr Abhishek Udayai, "The job market is opening up and this has become a worry for many BPO firms. BPO is the highest job provider in the IT industry and the attrition rate is also very high in this segment." However, recruiters feel that BPO sector which was considered as a stepping stone to an IT or corporate career is gradually transforming and the industry has gone up the value chain. The industry has matured considerably and is one of the fastest growing sectors of India, employing 7,68,000 professionals which also poses a challenge of getting right talent. "The workforce is the backbone of the BPO industry and the attrition rates have becoming alarmingly high for the industry. Most of the companies are promoting within to ensure that talent remains," said Kelly Services India Managing Director Mr Kamal Karanth. HR firms and companies feel that the high rate of attrition is because of a sudden spurt in the market after dormancy for more than four quarters.

Source : 31-07-10 Deccan Herald Compiled by Amresh Anjan

IIM-Ahmedabad To Begin Summer Placements From Nov 12 The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) would start summer placements for the post graduate programme (PGP) batch 2010-12 from November 12, a release from the institute said. The B-school has decided to modify the basic process to include the cohort-based system, which is used in the final placement process for the PGP batch 2008-10 in March. The institute has decided to continue with the cohort-based process for placements due to its student-friendly nature that reduces stress and allows them more time for preparation. In this process, companies will be divided into groups called 'cohorts', based on multiple parameters such as roles, locations and salaries, and several cohorts will be held in one cluster. The cohorts would be scheduled based on the preference of the students. Interviews in the first cluster are scheduled to start from November 12 and will afterward proceed on weekends until all the students are placed in roles of their choice.

Source : 05-08-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

India Inc Hiring To Increase 30% This Year India Inc is likely to raise its hiring activity by around 30 per cent during the current year with maximum positions offered in banking, IT and FMCG sectors, the staffing firm Kelly Services said. "Overall, across the main 7-8 key verticals studied by us, an average 30 per cent rise in hiring activity is likely this year as compared to the last year. Expansion plans of firms, revival in attrition rates and taking on board recruitment managers indicate a strong recruitment phase in the next six months," said Mr Kamal Karanth, managing director, Kelly Services. The main factors propelling the buoyant hiring sentiment include strong domestic demand along with country's fast economic growth as well as recovery in the US economy.

Source : 04-08-10 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Good News For Interns Of Three Medical Colleges In Delhi About 450 interns in three medical colleges in Delhi will get about 80 per cent increase in their stipend amount with the finance ministry giving its nod to a proposal in this regard. The stipend of interns at Maulana Azad Medical College, Lady Hardinge College and the University College of Medical Sciences here will be increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,900 per month, according to sources. The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC), under the finance ministry, has approved a proposal of the HRD ministry for a hike in the stipend amount.

Source : 04-08-10 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan

PFRDA Has Decided To Restructure NPS Within 15 months of the launch of the New Pension System (NPS), the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has already decided to restructure the scheme as it is not moving ahead. The poor response for the scheme amongst employees of private firms and the unorganised sector and its weak incentive structure for fund managers to push the product have prompted the regulator to overhaul the scheme. "The fee structure for pension fund managers is so low, it's almost like free. For every account, they make losses at current levels," PFRDA's Chairman Mr Yogesh Agarwal said. The regulator has come up with a committee headed by Mr G.N.Bajpai, former chairman of the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to recommend ways to improve the reach of NPS in its intended segments.

Source : 03-08-10 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Obama Says Keeping Jobs Away From India, China Helped US Recovery US President Mr Barack Obama has said America is on the road to recovery courtesy his economic plan that included ensuring new jobs and industries don't go to China and India. He said he took office in January 2009 "after nearly a decade of economic policies that gave us sluggish growth, falling incomes, and a record deficit, and policies that culminated in the worst financial crisis that we've seen since the Great Depression". "Now, we didn't get here by accident," he said at a Democratic Party fund raiser event in Atlanta, Georgia, pointing that all told 8 million jobs were lost as a consequence of this crisis.

Source : 04-08-10 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan

$25,000 Floor Pay Restored By Government For Foreign IT Employees The government modified its policy on the employment of foreigners for the third time in five months, reinstating a minimum salary, but only for those hired by information technology (IT) firms. As per the clarification issued by the home ministry to all stakeholders, including the ministries of foreign affairs, labour and IT, the $25,000 (Rs11.55 lakh) minimum annual wage floor has been reinstated for those working in IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS). "Foreigners can apply for jobs in the IT sector provided Indian firms pay each of them a minimum annual salary of $25,000," a senior home ministry official said.

Source : 04-08-10 livemint.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Top Appointments In Govt Banks Delayed The delays that were typical to the appointment of public sector banks chiefs are back again. The reason for this has been pointed out as changes in rules proposed by the finance ministry. Already, the position of chairman and managing director in four government-owned banks is vacant, besides the similar vacancies in the Small Industries Development Bank of India and the National Housing Bank. It is quite unlikely that the vacancies will be filled soon. The delay is happening in spite of Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee's initiative to speed up filling of top posts in public sector banks. In two instances earlier this year, in case of United Bank of India and Indian Bank, appointment orders were issued more than a month before the incumbent retired. However, it's the same old story now. Top posts at four state-run banks, Punjab and Sind Bank, UCO Bank, Corporation Bank and Canara Bank, are lying vacant.

Source : 06-08-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Report On PSBs' HR Practices Gets No Acknowledgement, Attrition Continues To Rise One more report by a government-appointed panel is not expected to see the light of the day. The Anil Khandelwal committee report on reshuffling age-old human resource practices in public sector banks, submitted to the government last month, is likely to go waste. The panel says that instead of the present industry-level arrangement, wage decisions should be taken at the bank level. Also, the 'one-size-fits-all' model for remunerations, incentives or welfare of employees must be abandoned to push employees to achieve excellence. Besides that, it reported that about 35% of public sector bank employees are set to retire by 2012. The move has come at a time when attrition level and HR- related problems are already on the rise in public sector banks. "Until the HR practices are changed, it would be very difficult to attract talent to public sector banks," a senior executive at a public sector bank said. However, the government is not very keen on adopting the recommendations made in the report, sources revealed.

Source : 05-08-10 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Nafed Announces The Appointment Of New MD The government has appointed a new managing director to head National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed). Mr C V Ananda Bose, the former managing director who was dismissed by the federation's board for alleged misuse of funds, has apparently opted out after being recently empanelled to the rank of a secretary. Mr Sanjeev Chopra, an IAS officer of the 1985 batch from the West Bengal cadre, has been named as managing director. Before this posting, Mr Chopra was a joint secretary in the agriculture ministry. "Bose has opted to go out, as he has been empanelled to the secretary rank. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet is likely to find an appropriate posting for Bose soon," according to an official in the agriculture ministry.

Source : 02-08-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Mr Kudip Kaura Is MD And CEO Of ACC ACC said that it has appointed former Vedanta Resources chief executive, Mr Kuldip Kaura as its new chief executive and managing director. He will be in the position until December 2013, ACC said.