HR Articles: Dec-13 (Part-11)

For more article, Visit at : www.pmiralumni.co.in Employment Generation In Q1 Slumps To Lowest In Three Quarters Employment generation in eight key manufacturing and services sectors during the first quarter of the current fiscal (April-June 2012) slumped to its lowest in the last three quarters, with contract workers taking a bigger hit as compared to regular employees.Employment generation in the eight sectors was up by a mere 0.24 per cent, or 0.73 lakh, on a sequential basis in the latest reported quarter, according to the Labour Bureau's Fifteenth Quarterly Report on the 'Effect of Economic Slowdown on Employment in India'. While job creation in sectors of metals and automobiles declined marginally in the first quarter of the fiscal by 0.04 lakh and 0.05 lakh, there was a virtual hiring freeze in other sectors such as leather, handloom and transport. But sectors such as textiles (0.50 lakh), gems and jewellery (0.05 lakh) and IT and BPO (0.27 lakh) have registered a marginal rise in employment, the first quarter survey revealed. Even on a cumulative basis, job creation moderated to 6.94 lakh in the 12 months ending June 2012, as against 8.37 lakh at the end of the March 2012 and 9.29 lakh in the third quarter of last fiscal. Source : 27-11-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan IT Industry May Generate 2.5 Lakh Jobs In FY13 Infosys Executive Co-chairman S Gopalakrishnan said the IT industry will grow at a rate of 11 percent this fiscal. Last year, the industry grew 16 percent to 17 percent. The tough situation in the global economy will affect the sector, said Mr.Gopalakrishnan. Employment generation in the industry will be slow, though new jobs will be added. He put job addition this year at about 2.5 lakh. The slowdown was temporary, he said, adding that he was confident of the industry achieving revenues of $300 billion by 2020. Some five million to six million jobs would be created during the period. With the global economy recovering slowly, there is room for IT to expand in emerging markets such as Russia, China, Indonesia and Mexico. Tier 2 cities had boosted revenues at Infosys, the fastest growth coming from Chandigarh Source : 24-11-00   The Tribune   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Time To Revisit Medical Reimbursement A tax-free benefit that needs to be brought up to date is medical reimbursement. Reimbursement of medical expenses is tax-free if claimed with the requisite bills. The Direct Taxes Code has recommended raising the limit to Rs 50,000 annually from the paltry Rs 15,000 that can be claimed under the current dispensation. If the code is not implemented next year, the amount ought to be revised upward anyway. With 60 percent to 70 percent of employees not even 35 years of age, there is little chance of them using this amount, says Ashish Arora, founder and managing director, HR Anexi. Moreover, the amount is insufficient if even one family member needs continuous medication. This component has not been revised for more than a decade, points out Sangeeta Lala, senior vice-president and co-founder, TeamLease Services. Source : 24-11-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Tech Jobs Dry Up In Season Finale Amid fears of another economic downturn, companies, mostly information technology (IT) firms, have taken a "go-slow" policy towards hiring graduates from Birla Institute of Technology-Patna.At the engineering college, only 56 per cent students have been offered jobs as compared to 75 per cent placement in 2011 during the same period.With less than six months left for the students to get their engineering degree, no major public sector undertakings (PSUs) have turned up with offer for jobs.BIT-Patna training and placement in-charge Raj Kumar said: "About 56 per cent students have been placed this year. The figure is lesser compared to 2011 when 75 per cent students were placed within this period of time."Most of the students have been placed in the IT sector this year. However, IT major Infosys, which hires in bulk, is yet to turn up for recruitment. Every year, the company provides jobs to more than 30,000 students from various engineering colleges across the country. Source : 23-11-12   The Telegraph   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Aurobindo Pharma Names CEO Formulations Aurobindo Pharma has appointed Arvind Vasudeva as chief executive officer (Formulations) with immediate effect. Prior to joining Aurobindo, Arvind Vasudeva served as Chief Operating Officer at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and was instrumental in the growth of the company. He also served as managing director of RPG Life Sciences, where he is credited in transforming the company into profitable operations. Prior to RPG Life Sciences, he served as President - Indian operations as well as Japan and global markets in Wockhardt. Source : 23-11-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Good Summer Placements Offer Hope To B-Schools Having concluded the summer placement process successfully, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are looking at a good final placement season. Summer placements have been extraordinarily good this year, with most institutes completing the process in record time. IIM Calcutta placed its 460 students in a short span of four days. About 230 offers were made in the first two days. IIM Kozhikode saw 28 percent more companies visiting the campus. It placed all the students within three weeks, compared to 45 days last year, said Professor Kulbhushan Balooni, chairperson, placements. At XLRI Jamshedpur, the process lasted four days compared to the usual five days, according to Professor Rajiv Mishra, chairperson placements. Nearly 73 companies participated and made close to 282 offers. A good internship season usually means good final placements too, he said. Source : 23-11-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Research Offers A Host Of Organisational Gains Many organisations in industries such as pharmaceuticals have full teams to support R&D. In the case of small and medium enterprises and other service sectors such as non-governmental organisations and business consultancy, however, very little attention is paid to this aspect. Research is a must for ensuring quality deliverables. It is crucial to upgrading of skills and knowledge of employees. The deliverables themselves need to be studied to ensure they meet the requirements of clients. Companies need to conduct in-house research for professional and self-development of employees through training and mentoring. Organisational research is also required to assess performance management, process re-engineering, departmental assessment and employee well-being. Research in all these areas helps in meaningful and relevant implementation of policies and brings about a positive change in a company. Source : 21-11-12   The Hindu   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Case For Stepping Up Training For Tourism Sector Tourism holds more promise for India than the BPO industry or manufacturing. The sector is a huge employer of the under-educated segment of the population. A career in hospitality does not require high-level education. However, the sector received just under two percent of foreign investment between April 2000 and June 2012, according to a joint report by Cushman & Wakefield and the Confederation of Indian Industry. Shortage of skilled manpower in the sector is a serious concern, apart from the usual reasons such as lack of tourism infrastructure. The current supply of skilled or professionally trained manpower is merely 8.92 percent of the industry's total requirement. This provides a strong ground for some sort of formal training for the hospitality business. In fiscal 2012, the travel and tourism industry supported 25 million jobs, much higher than the 2.8 million employed in the IT/BPO sector. Source : 20-11-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Reliance Life Recruits Women As Insurance Advisors Reliance Life Insurance Co. has recruited some 200 women advisors and is planning to increase the number in the next few months. The agents were hired for its "face-to-face" distribution channel which is geared towards those of its customers whose insurance agents have become inactive. The distribution channel would service its "orphan" customers and provide post-sales service to policyholders. Life insurance policies get "orphaned" when the distributor discontinues his agency or his services are terminated by the insurer. In such cases, policies are transferred to an active agent who can earn a commission on the renewal premiums. Part of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital, the company is targeting housewives. They would be trained to service orphan policies, develop customer relationships and then cross-sell to existing customers. The company will initially run a pilot in seven cities. Source : 21-11-12   Financial Chronicle   Compiled by Amresh Anjan High Levels Of Desk Work Leads To 'Office Knees' A U.K. study has found that the incidence of joint ailments among workers holding desk jobs is growing. Researchers say the rising levels of obesity among office workers are also to blame. One in ten of the respondents above the age of 55 said they were in constant pain. Almost a quarter of 1,600 workers aged 16 years to 65 years said they had been suffering with pain for two years. Sammy Margo, spokesperson for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said the rise of the Internet was responsible for the "office knee" phenomenon. Some of these people have been working at a desk for 20 years. In the age of the Internet, the problem has worsened. Surgeons say knees are being literally crushed by weight. In case obesity levels continue to rise, the number of people needing knee replacements will soar soon. Source : 21-11-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Mr. Somasundaram Resigns As CEO Of Lakshmi Vilas Bank Barely two years after taking charge PR Somasundaram today resigned as the managing director and chief executive of Lakshmi Vilas Bank due to "personal reasons". He became the third old-generation private bank CEO to tender their resignation this year. According to sources, Mr. Somasundaram, who joined the Karur-based private lender from Standard Chartered Bank in August 2010, was finding it difficult to operate in an environment where promoters were not always ready to adopt new practices and the regulator was often questioning some of the bank's business dealings with group companies of an Indian business tycoon. Source : 21-11-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Staffing Firms Reap Gains From Slowdown The downturn has been a boon for some industries, among them temp staffing. According to data from the Confederation of Indian Industry, the sector has grown at an annual rate of at least 30 percent over the last three years. The slowdown has had an impact on the temp staffing sector in two ways, says Mohit Gupta, director of TeamLease Services. Companies initially dispensed with temporary jobs to bring down costs. But over the last one year, they have found the temp option to be more cost-effective. Unlike permanent staff, temp staffing has a fixed cost over a given period. This allows companies to plan better. For instance, for every six full-time employees hired, at least one quits within the first one month. Employers then have to restart the process in search of a replacement, adds Mr. Gupta. Source : 25-11-12   Financial Chronicle   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Tata Steel To Shed 900 Jobs In U.K. Tata Steel is slashing 900 jobs in the U.K. amid a restructuring of its European operations. The cuts will lead to a net loss of 900 jobs in the U.K., that is, 580 in South Wales, 155 in Yorkshire, 120 in the West Midlands and 30 in Teesside, the steel maker said. Karl Kohler, CEO of steel operations, said the aim is to convert the company into an "all-weather" manufacturer which can withstand difficult economic conditions. He added that Tata Steel would work with trade unions and the government to ensure maximum possible assistance and support to the affected people. U.K. Steel Enterprise, a Tata subsidiary, will be working out ways to see if it can provide more support to local steel communities and stimulate new jobs, he added. It will also invest £650,000 towards this endeavour. Source : 23-11-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan High Targets Make Thousands Quit Insurance Jobs Employees in the private insurance sector are leaving in droves because they are being asked to meet impossible targets. Head-hunters and industry insiders say about 10,000 people have quit the sector in the past two years. One out of three is looking for opportunities outside insurance. Policy sales took a hit when the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority put in place new rules relating to unit-linked insurance products (ULIPs) in September 2010. The new rules benefit consumers but are straining the revenues of insurance companies. ULIP sales accounted for 30 percent of the total premium collection in 2009-10. But sales have dipped since the norms came into force. Following the change, attrition has soared and is more than 40 percent, says Manish Sabharwal, chairman of staffing firm TeamLease Services. Employee morale is low and most employees are looking for new jobs. Source : 25-11-12   Hindustan Times   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Hiring in Telecom sector witnesses downsizing in India but expect demand from Africa and Middle East The hiring opportunities in country's telecom market continues to witness a downward trend as around 28 percent of the senior telecom professionals expect further downsizing in the industry, according to a recent report by a prominent job search portal. The good news, however, is that there is a strong demand for the Indian telecom professionals in new markets like North Africa and Middle East. Companies like Etisalat , France Telecom, BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA) and Bharti Airtel Ltd. (Mumbai: BHARTIARTL) are expanding their operations in Africa and recruiters believe that demand for Indian telecom executives will continue to grow because of the recent technology roll-out experience. Source : 22-11-12   Light Reading India   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Pantaloons Ex-CEO To Head Future Fashion Future Group has appointed Kailash Bhatia head of Future Fashion, the entity that will house all the fashion businesses of the group. Mr. Bhatia was previously CEO of Pantaloons and has been a whole-time director at Pantaloon Retail India since April 1, 2010. Source : 21-11-12   Financial Chronicle   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

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HR Articles: Dec-13 (Part-10)

For more article, Visit at : www.pmiralumni.co.in Hiring Prospects In Next Quarter Seen Weakening

A Manpower.com survey concluded that hiring in the country is likely to witness a slowdown. The impact will be felt particularly in the public administration, education, transportation and utilities sectors. However, net employment outlook remains positive, the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey said. During the fourth quarter, the number of employers planning to hire was 20 times more than those who planned to keep their headcount the same. The hiring sentiment reflects caution among employers as Indian companies gauge the impact of the global slowdown, said Sanjay Pandit, managing director, ManpowerGroup India. While employers do not plan to shed staff, they are definitely planning to cut back on hiring. The outlook was weak for all four regions of India and across all seven industry sectors. In five sectors, it fell by 20 or more percentage points on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Source : 03-10-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Jobs In U.S. Climb To 8-Month High In Oct

The U.S. job market picked up pace in October with private sector companies adding 158,000 jobs. The gain was the biggest in eight months, the revamped report on the private sector labour market showed. The gain in October was the biggest jump since February and topped economists' forecasts of a gain of 135,000 jobs. The ADP National Employment Report was revised as part of the new methodology. It was used for the first time in October. September's increase has thus been halved to 88,200 new jobs from an initially reported 162,000. The overhaul is meant to bring ADP's numbers more in line with the government's final revised job figures. The closely monitored non-farm payrolls report is expected to show that employment picked up in October, but not enough to prevent the jobless rate from recovering from a near four-year low.

Source : 03-10-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Financial Sector Jobs In London Climb 10%

More than 2,700 new finance-related jobs were created in London in October. According to a report by headhunters Astbury Marsden, the figure was up 10 percent from the previous month. Smaller, specialist firms in the city are picking up executives laid off by big investment firms. Thousands have lost jobs during the euro zone crisis, with Europe adapting to stricter capital rules. Smaller investment banks and brokerages have been the beneficiaries. They can pick from a large pool of executives left in the lurch by new pay rules and uncertainty over strategy. However, staff should not be celebrating yet, said Astbury Marsden's COO Mark Cameron. The job market is still very difficult and City jobs in October were still 14 percent lower than a year ago, when many firms were already slashing staff.

Source : 03-10-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Senior-Level Hiring Seen Slow This Fiscal

Hiring of senior professionals is likely to remain sluggish until March, compared to the first half of fiscal 2012. A Headhonchos.com survey found that only 51 percent of employers are looking to boost employee numbers over the next five months after filling up vacancies. Firms want to downsize and 49 percent of employers expect to freeze headcount or trim staff by the end of 2012-13. About 26 percent employers are planning to cut employee numbers by March. Only 23 percent expect staff levels to remain the same at the end of this financial year. Those planning to increase their workforce expect the headcount to rise 10.3 percent. Of these, 87 percent expect staff numbers to grow 6 percent to 20 percent. Senior-level hiring is expected to increase 2 percent and mid-level hiring 3.4 percent.

Source : 07-11-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Euro Zone Braces For Job Losses Across Sectors

Large-scale job cuts are in the offing at big European companies cutting across industries. The crisis has intensified in the euro zone and auto makers and financial groups have already announced big cutbacks. Swedish mobile telecom equipment maker Ericsson said it would shed nearly 9 percent of its staff. Sweden was viewed as being largely immune from Europe's debt woes. German steel distributor Kloeckner & Co. is culling 1,800 jobs, up from the previously planned 1,300. The cuts amount to 16 percent of its workforce. Dutch financial group ING said it would reduce its workforce 2.5 percent amid difficult operating conditions. Swiss giant UBS is planning to let go of 10,000 and German lender Commerzbank may shed 5,000 to 6,000 employees. Euro zone unemployment scaled new heights in September, with 18.49 million unemployed. This was 146,000 more than the previous month.

Source : 07-11-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Survey: Manufacturing Set To Expand In Dec Quarter

A survey said manufacturing is likely to witness modest growth in the third quarter of the current financial year as new orders increase. According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry survey, the sector grew 2.9 percent in August after recording negative growth in June and July. The survey polled 364 respondents. About 45 percent of the respondents from large, small and medium-scale enterprises expect production gains during the quarter ending December. In the previous two quarters, the increase was 44 percent and 46 percent, respectively. Production in the eight core sectors has improved. Tyres, ceramics and electronics are likely to record growth of more than 10 percent in third quarter. Consumer care goods and food, capital goods, cement and leather and footwear may clock moderate growth of between 5 percent and 10 percent.

Source : 07-11-12   Financial Chronicle   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Young Employees Take More Stress-Related Sick Leave

Young workers are 40 percent more likely to report sick because of stress than older employees. According to a survey, almost seven in ten workers between the age of 18 and 24 called in sick due to stress in the last year. The study by a U.K. provider of financial products and services said the younger generation feels more stressed as they carry a bigger burden of expectations. Experts say young workers are also more likely to be aware of the signs of stress. Only 43 percent of people aged between 45 and 55 called in sick. This figure rose slightly to 49 percent among workers over the age of 55. Dr Ian Drever, consultant psychiatrist at The Priory Group, says younger people are more time-pressured and face more demands during challenging times.

Source : 07-11-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Peter Frawley To Head Accor Group In AP

Accor Group has appointed Peter Frawley as the General Manager Delegate for Accor Hotels, Andhra Pradesh. Mr.Frawley joins Accor Group in Andhra Pradesh with more than 30 years of experience in the travel and hospitality industry.As a General Manager Delegate he will be responsible for the overall vision and future direction of all the properties of Accor in Andhra Pradesh including Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and HICC, Novotel Hyderabad Airport, Mercure- Abids, and Novotel Vishakapatnam Varun Beach. Mr. Frawley started his career with Sheraton Hotels in 1982. He holds an unrestricted pilot's licence for flying and an instructors licence in gliding.

Source : 05-11-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

World Bank Debuts At IIM Summer Placements

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Lucknow, Kolkata and Kozhikode saw a large number of companies participate in the summer placement season this year. Stipends also rose about 20 percent across institutes. Students of IIM Lucknow bagged about 500 offers from companies such as Amazon, Accenture Management Consulting, Headstrong Consulting and Aditya Birla Group. The average stipend was about Rs 50,000 a month for domestic locations. At IIM Calcutta, about 230 offers were made in just two days of placements. The World Bank recruited interns for the first time. DuPont also made a debut at the institute, recruiting for its marketing leadership development programme. Other offers came from consulting firms such as Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Co. and AT Kearney. IIM Kozhikode managed 100 percent placements for its batch. About 140 recruiters made offers to a batch of 366 students. The highest stipend was Rs 1,50,000.

Source : 05-11-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Eye On Expansion, MNCs Ramp Up India Headcount

Multinational companies (MNCs) are expanding their workforce in India. Fujitsu Consulting is planning to double its India staff to 6,000. The company is targeting mainly tier II and tier III towns. Its India Vice President Sunil Bhave said it looked to tap into the vast talent pool, especially adding to its NOIDA and Pune facilities. Fujitsu is looking to increase its presence in key growth markets and expanding its IT services from India. Oil and gas company Shell will hire an additional 600 researchers and engineers at its Bangalore technology centre. The firm set up the centre in 2006 and currently has 900 R&D staff. It will move to its new campus in Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bangalore by 2015. The centre is one of only three such facilities in the world.

Source : 05-11-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Firms Hold Back On Diwali Bonuses

Most companies are not giving out the much-anticipated bonus this Diwali. Instead of a fixed bonus this season, they are linking benefits to individual performance. The corporate world has become very meritocratic, says Pankaj Bansal, co-founder of HR firm PeopleStrong. While bonuses have shrunk, Diwali parties and gifts have seen an increase. Firms are veering towards performance-linked pay, since they serve to motivate staff better. Raheja Developers extends incentives in the festival period but the bonus is also linked to performance, says Dimple Bharadwaj, deputy general manager. Even state-run companies such as Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and MMTC have dispensed with seasonal bonus. At ONGC, bonuses are performance-linked and vary from person to person. This year, the pay-out has come during the festive season. The remainder will be paid out by December-end.

Source : 13-11-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Cognizant's Hiring Mix Changes

The mix of direct college hires and experienced professionals in global information technology (IT) major Cognizant Technology has witnessed a change in the recent past, according to data available from the company.During the third quarter of 2012, around 35 per cent of the gross additions were direct college hires, while about 65 per cent were lateral hires of experienced professionals. Direct college hires during the corresponding period of the previous year were 52 per cent of the gross additions, while the lateral hires of experienced professionals were stood at 48 per cent.

Source : 15-11-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Hiring At IIMC, XLRI Shows Positive Curve

Despite the bleak economic scenario, hiring sentiments were very positive at two of the leading B-Schools in eastern India—Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and XLRI during the first few days of summer placement. For the records, World Bank visited IIMC campus and already offered three positions in its financial instruments and treasury departments. This is the first time World Bank is recruiting from any of the IIMs. Altogether, IIMC has already received over 230 offers from a cross section of top companies in the first two days of summer placement. XLRI, on its part, also received an unprecedented 282 offers, reflecting more than 100 per cent placements for a batch of 240 students.

Source : 08-11-12   Financial Chronicle   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Kingfisher Promises May Salary

Kingfisher Airlines has assured its employees that May salaries will be paid by Thursday, an airline staff member said.This is even as a section of the airline's employees said they would decide on their future course of action after Saturday, in case May salaries were not credited by then.Some employees claimed that a technical glitch in a private sector bank was the reason behind the cash-strapped airline being unable to keep its promise of paying May salaries before Diwali. Airline officials were unavailable for comment on when the over 4,000 employees of the airline would be paid their May salaries.

Source : 14-11-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

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HR Articles: Dec-13 (Part-9)

For more article, Visit at : www.pmiralumni.co.in Better Bonuses In Offing This Diwali

Employees may expect good bonus payouts from their employers this Diwali, as positive sentiments are trickling in at the companies from a slew of reforms announced by the government amid an improving economic climate in the country, according to experts.More companies are planning to give out bonus to their employees as compared to last year this festive season, HR professionals have said.These bonuses can come in form of cash payouts as a percentage of the total salary, special festival incentives, gifts and a larger portion of employees' total variable pay.According to a survey by human resource consultancy MyHiringClub.com, 65 per cent of private sector employers and 95 per cent PSUs are planning to give bonus to their employees this festive season.This is an increase by 12 per cent in private sector and 3 per cent in public sector employees last year.

Source : 28-10-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Indian Firms Add To U.S. Jobs In Reverse Offshoring

The U.S. says Indian companies have created 50,000 jobs in the country.. Describing their relationship as a two-way street, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said both countries were focused on attracting growth and investment. The Tata factory in Ohio has given jobs to thousands of Americans. India, on the other hand, has created a huge number of opportunities for small, medium and large U.S. businesses. Many Indian and U.S. companies that have outsourced jobs are now reversing the trend, adds Business Standard. Among them are icons such as General Motors, General Electric and software developer Galaxe.Solutions. The thinking seems to be that it is better to have some complex functions such as HR and software development closer to their own operations and customers. State tax breaks are also an incentive to hire locally.

Source : 28-10-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Ad Agencies Prime Up HR In Scramble For Talent

Advertising agencies are launching various HR initiatives to attract and retain talent. Senior talent has been crossing the floors in JWT India, Mudra Group and Dentsu India, for instance. Now RK Swamy BBDO is offering profit-sharing and long-term benefits to employees. Chairman and managing director Srinivasan Swamy says the cost of talent is continually on the rise, so remuneration rates have to be competitive. Agencies are also focusing on talent development. Draftfcb Ulka has launched a Star One Trainee Programme at the entry level. Group M India, of the WPP Group, is attracting talent with marketing plan creation and execution opportunities, according to Vikram Sakhuja, who is preparing to head Maxus Worldwide, another Group M company. The Advertising Agencies Association of India is also looking at major initiatives for attracting talent into the industry, said President Arvind Sharma.

Source : 28-10-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Family Businesses Fare Well, But Need More Talent

Family businesses in India seem to have weathered the economic slowdown. According to the Family Business Survey 2012 conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a significant number of Indian family firms are anticipating steady and aggressive growth in the next five years. However, they need to continually innovate and recruit skilled staff. PwC India Executive Director Indraneel Roy Chowdhury said Indian family businesses are less shaken up by the general economic situation. About 74 percent firms witnessed growth in sales last fiscal, compared to the global average of 65 percent. The business structure was a resilient model for the 21st century, offering significant advantages, especially in terms of agility and flexibility, continuity and longevity, the survey said. Only 8 percent of family businesses in India saw sales come down from last year's levels, compared to 19 percent globally.

Source : 28-10-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Employee Performance Review Is No More A 'Dreaded Day Of Judgement'

Companies are doing away with annual reviews. In their place, periodic reviews are being used for getting staff input and making management more participatory. Half-yearly reviews have picked up as companies realise that it is important to hold regular conversations with employees, says Muninder Anand, director, information product solutions, Mercer. A host of companies have moved to half-yearly reviews and still others are looking at quarterly performance appraisals. Performance management systems are being seen as a cutting edge talent retention strategy. They are becoming more relevant as the workforce gets younger and increasingly restless. According to Sameer Wadhawan, vice-president, HR and services, India and South West Asia, Coca-Cola India, appraisal was earlier perceived as a tool for taking decisions on the quantum of increments, but of late it has evolved into a tool for career development.

Source : 28-10-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Electronics Policy Aims At 28 Mn Jobs In 8 Years

The Government has announced a national electronics policy that will create 28 million jobs in the next eight years. The policy is expected to create an indigenous manufacturing ecosystem for electronics in the country. It is seeking to channel $100 billion investment into electronics systems design and manufacturing (ESDM). Electronic manufacturing clusters will be set up for promoting ESDM and preferential market access will be given to electronic products manufactured domestically. The $1.75 trillion global electronics industry is the fastest growing sector in the world. It is expected to grow to $2.4 trillion by 2020. In India, it has strategic importance as it will lead to greater economic growth and more employment. The policy will lay special focus on skill development by augmenting postgraduate education with a view to adding about 2,500 PhDs a year by 2020.

Source : 27-10-12   Financial Chronicle   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Vivaki Exchange Ropes In Harsha Joshi As COO

VivaKi India has appointed Harsha Joshi as COO, VivaKi Exchange, to spearhead and oversee the media buying for Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia. Prior to this, Mrs. Joshi was with Spatial Access Media Solutions, where she was CEO SA3 - Media & International. In her new role, Mrs. Joshi will report into Mona Jain, CEO, VivaKi Exchange.

Source : 25-10-12   Exchange4media   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Gallup Says One In Four Indians Holds A Good Job

A Gallup survey has found that the number of Indians with good jobs is on the rise. About one in four Indian adults, or 26 percent, was employed full time in the first half of 2012, said the "Payroll to Population" survey. The data does not prove that the economy is on the mend. It is a clear indicator of employment which remains unaffected by the shifting size of the workforce and is highly correlated with GDP, the study said. Indians between the ages of 15 and 30 are as likely as their older counterparts to be employed full time for at least 30 hours per week, but nearly five times more likely to be unemployed and twice as likely to be underemployed. However, more than one in five young Indians, or 22 percent, with full-time employment held white-collar jobs.

Source : 27-10-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Titan Industries Names Chairman

Vikram Kapur will be chairman and director of the Titan Industries board.Mr. Kapur is principal secretary of the Tamil Nadu Industries Department. He succeeds Mr. N Sundaradevan.

Source : 26-10-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Women Still Trail Men In Jobs, Wages & Boardrooms

Women are still far behind men when it comes to getting top jobs and salaries. The Global Gender Gap report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) covered more than 90 percent of the world's population and looked at how resources and opportunities were distributed between women and men. Nordic countries, headed by Iceland, Finland and Norway, came out tops in gender diversity. Chad, Pakistan and Yemen had the worst rankings. While almost all countries had made progress in closing the gap in healthcare and education, only 60 percent of countries had managed to narrow the economic gender gap, the report said. A separate study on "Board Diversity in India", conducted by the Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad, placed India 38th in the world in terms of women representation on boards.

Source : 25-10-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Lack Of Skills A Dampener On Big Data Potential

Big data is expected to create 4.4 million jobs in IT but there is not enough talent to meet the requirement. A study by research and analyst firm Gartner found that IT spending is estimated to exceed $3.7 trillion in 2013, up 3.8 percent from the projected expenditure of $3.6 trillion in 2012. According to Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president and global head of research at Gartner, 4.4 million IT jobs will be created globally by 2015 to support big data. Of these, 1.9 million jobs will be in the U.S. However, enough talent is not available in the industry. Because of the inadequate public and private education systems, only a third of the jobs will be filled, Mr. Sondergaard added. With big data set to be the future of IT, industry leaders need to focus on how to attract the skills required.

Source : 23-10-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Internal Networks Get Popular, Foster Collaboration

Employee interaction and ideation are getting a boost with companies using their own social media networks. Today, when ideas are shared more informally through blogs or status updates on social media, it makes sense for companies to have internal networks. It fosters collaboration and aids knowledge management as well. At Infosys, employees communicate through the InfyBubble. Emails or messages centred on a topic of discussion are circulated among employees. The whole project team starts giving their ideas on the thread itself, says Nandita Gurjar, senior vice president, group head of HR. A solution is arrived at based on the most "liked" comment. Networks are also leveraged to improve learning. Deepa V Mukherjee, head training and development, NIIT Technologies, says the company uses Yammer's customized enterprise social network as its internal social media platform for employees.

Source : 23-10-12   Mint   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

UBS To Cut 10,000 Jobs In Fixed Income Retreat

Swiss bank UBS (UBSN.VX) unveiled plans on Tuesday to fire 10,000 staff and wind down its fixed income business, returning to its private banking roots as it adapts to tough capital rules that make it harder to turn a profit from trading.Zurich-based UBS will focus on wealth management and a smaller investment bank, ditching much of the trading business that ran up $50 billion in losses in the financial crisis.

Source : 23-10-12   Reuters.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Hiring At Senior Level Takes A Hit, Caution In Job Market

A mood of caution will prevail on hiring front over the next six months as recruitment in some sectors is off-set by headcount freeze or retrenchment in others, according to a survey by a job search portal. "A mood of caution amongst employers sets the tone for recruitment in the coming six months with hiring in some industries being offset by a headcount freeze or even retrenchment in others," HeadHonchos.Com has said.The outlook is even more subdued in the case of senior positions, raising concerns around investment in greenfield projects and future growth plans of India Inc, it said in 'Management Hiring Perspective Report 2012' released today.Of the 51% 'optimist employers' - those who anticipate an increase in head count in their organisations - 87% expect to grow the total employee strength by 6-20%, the report said.However these gains are offset to an extent by stagnant headcount or active downsizing in the remaining 49% of employers. Against an overall projected increase in headcount of 5-5.5% across all levels, a weak 2% growth is expected at senior levels.

Source : 30-10-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

Persistent Systems Picks Innovation Head

Persistent Systems has appointed Sridhar Jagannathan as the chief innovation officer. He was earlier heading technology and global engineering at Intuit.

Source : 25-10-12   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

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HR Articles: Dec-13 (Part-8)

For more article, Visit at : www.pmiralumni.co.in Pharma hiring may remain flat in H2 Driven by bleak market sentiments and recent policy changes, pharma companies are adopting a cautious approach to hiring in the second half of the year. Ms. Sumeet Singh, senior vice-president, marketing and communications, Info Edge India said "Although the overall hiring activity in the pharma sector has been moving at a steady pace in the first half of the year, recruiters are now preferring to adopt a cautious wait and watch mode in the coming quarters". The new drug pricing policy has been recommended by the Group of Ministers (GoM) proposes to control the prices of essential drugs using a weighted average price (WAP) of all brands with a market share in excess of one per cent. According to rating agency ICRA, "While the exact impact of the new pricing policy will depend on multiple factors, we believe that the impact of new pricing mechanism is likely to result in 10-15 per cent reduction in prices, thereby implying an erosion of 3-5 per cent in market size of the domestic formulations market." A recent Naukri.com survey with recruiters from the pharma sector revealed a drop in overall hiring sentiment. It said that around 51 per cent recruiters are expecting to add new jobs in the second half of 2012 which is 16 per cent lower than what was predicted by them in January-2012 survey. The survey also added that now around 11 per cent recruiters in the pharma space are saying that hiring will come to a halt in the next six months. Source : 11-10-12   Business-standard.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Alcatel-Lucent to cut 5490 jobs globally Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent has said that it plans to cut a total of 5,490 jobs worldwide as part of a cost-cutting drive unveiled in response to sliding profits. The job losses, from a total workforce of 78,000, are designed to help Alcatel trim 1.25 billion Euros ($1.6 billion) from its annual costs by the end of 2013. Since Alcatel and Lucent merged in 2006, the group has carried out several restructuring plans that included heavy job losses. In 2006, the company eliminated 20,000 positions worldwide, followed a year later by 12,500, union sources said. Source : 19-10-12   NDTV   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Vikram Pandit exits Citi, but golden parachute is missing Vikram Pandit may leave Citigroup Inc without a rich exit package, compensation experts said, although final terms of his departure likely will not be known for several days. Pandit, who stepped down as chief executive of the bank on Tuesday is not eligible for a "golden parachute" - a pre-negotiated severance payout - according to Citigroup's recent annual proxy filing. Still, as is typical in departures of high-profile CEOs, the company may end up hammering out a financial arrangement with Pandit that would include agreements not to disparage or compete against the bank, executive pay experts said. Pandit's pay has riled many Citigroup shareholders, who rejected his proposed annual compensation in a non-binding "say on pay" vote earlier this year. The Citigroup board is likely feeling pressure to rein in any further payouts to Pandit, said Mark Borges, a compensation consultant with pay consultancy Compensia. The company declined to comment on financial terms of Pandit's departure, and he did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Pandit arrived at the bank in 2007 with a deal of $165 million. He accepted a $1 salary starting in 2009, after the financial crisis that led to a government bailout of the bank. After Citigroup repaid the bailout funds, his annual salary jumped to $1.7 million in 2011. He was awarded a bonus, options and other payments that year potentially worth about $13.2 million. Pandit holds bundles of Citigroup stock options, but the bank's languishing share price has left many of them worthless. He has no pension plan, and leaves with $21.5 million in stock he owns. Under a separation plan, the bank could allow Pandit to accelerate his options, receive payments under the long-term incentive plan or negotiate a pro-rated 2012 bonus. Source : 17-10-12   Hindustantimes.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan GM to shift 3,000 Hewlett jobs to its payroll General Motors Co will shift 3,000 Hewlett-Packard Co employees to its payroll as part of a sweeping program to overhaul the automaker's information services. Most of the new employees are located in the United States. The two companies declined to provide the value of the contract. They said an unspecified number of HP employees will remain at the computer-services company to work on the GM business. Over the past two months, GM had said it will hire 2,000 workers to staff new IT centers in Austin, Texas, and Warren, Michigan, with plans to open two additional centers in the United States. Source : 19-10-12   Reuters.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Hero Moto Corp unions ask for more The labour union at Hero MotoCorp is said to be pushing for a wage increase following Maruti Suzuki India's announcement of hikes at its Gurgaon plant. Industry observers said the final three-year wage settlement is expected to be ratified by both parties around Diwali. Hero being the industry leader, the workers are hoping the management will match the trend set by other major auto manufacturers. The union at Honda Motorcycle's plant at Manesar is also negotiating a wage agreement. It has reportedly demanded wage hikes of up to Rs 15,000, along with free housing and interest-free loans. Maruti Suzuki announced a hefty 50 percent wage hike for its Gurgaon plant workers in September, also to be offered at Manesar. The move was perceived as a morale booster for the workers, coming a month after resumption of work at Manesar. Source : 18-10-12   Financial Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan A study by Aspiring Minds says only 10% fresh MBAs employable An Aspiring Minds survey found only 10 percent of management graduates to be employable. This is particularly true of graduates in the fields of HR, marketing, finance and HR, according to the National Employability Report by Aspiring Minds. Varun Aggarwal, COO and CTO, said there was an urgent need to assess whether graduates being trained were industry-ready. While the focus on capacity building had increased, a similar emphasis on building up employability was missing. Employability of MBA graduates stood at 2.52 percent in business consulting, and just 7.98 percent for the analyst function, the report said. In corporate sales (B2B) it was 10.56 percent and was almost half of that in consumer (B2C) sales (21.72 percent). For customer service roles, it was only 16.01 percent. The survey covered 32,000 MBA students of the class of 2011. Source : 17-10-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Richard Rekhy, new CEO of KPMG India Richard Rekhy has been appointed as the new CEO of KPMG India succeeding Russell Parera who led the firm for six years. Rekhy has been with KPMG India for more than eight years and has held many leadership positions in the firm. In his previous role as the head of advisory at KPMG India, he successfully led the advisory practice making it one of the biggest advisory practices in the country and also within the global KPMG network. Source : 15-10-12   Hindu Business Line   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Yahoo CEO raids Google to hire top lieutenant Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has lured away one of Google's top advertising executives to help engineer a turnaround at Yahoo. Henrique de Castro is leaving Google to become Yahoo's chief operating officer in early next year. The surprise move is Mayer's highest profile hiring since she left Google in July to run Yahoo. Source : 17-10-12   Hindustantimes.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan ONGC looking to hire RIL's unutilized facilities Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is in talks to hire Reliance Industries ' unutilized production facilities on the east to quickly bring to production its gas find in the Krishna-Godavari basin. ONGC has made nine gas discoveries in its KG block KG-DWN-98/2, which sits next to RIL's flagging KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block. It plans to club these finds with discoveries in another neighboring block to begin gas production from 2016-17. Source : 21-10-12   Moneycontrol.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Retail outlets hiring differently-abled Celebrity hair stylist Jawed Habib is launching a new format salon, Hair Yoga, this Diwali but with a difference. The hair and head massage salon will only employ persons with disabilities (PWDs).Hair Yoga has tied up with the New Delhi-based non-governmental organisation Sarthak Education Trust, which works towards providing education and employment to differently-abled people."We already have about 5-6 PWDs working for us in our Jawed Habib salons. With Hair Yoga, the numbers are bound to go up. We need to identify their talent and train them accordingly," Mr. Habib said. With the retail sector getting organised, the need for trained workforce is rising. Currently, the sector employs about 33 million people and is likely to add a similar figure over the next decade, according to industry experts. However, retailers are facing a severe challenge in getting good talent, and are zeroing in on persons with different abilities. Source : 19-10-12   Thehindubusinessline.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Expedia opens R&D centre in India, to hire 300 people by year-end Online travel agency Expedia is setting up a research & development centre in Gurgaon as part of its overall expansion plan in the country. The company will also hire 300 people by year-end to ramp up its India operations. Mr. Edmond Mesrobian, chief technology officer of Expedia, Inc., said, "India is of strategic importance to us and offers us access to a pool of technology talent. We are bullish on the long-term potential of the market and are expecting to hire 300 resources before the end of the year. "The new development centre will be instrumental in creating travel apps for both local and global markets. With this initiative in place, India will be the only other location besides Bellevue (US) where the Expedia Group will work on solutions across all brands and platforms. Mr. Vikram Malhi, the India head of the OTA, said, "Expedia has seen tremendous success in the Indian market over the last three years. The new technology centre being set up in Gurgaon will be the platform for taking our engagement in the Indian market to the next level." Source : 19-10-12   Techcircle.vccircle.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan TCS to keep hiring, apply for more H1 visas Tata Consultancy Services, the country's largest software exporter, has made a net addition of 10,531 employees in the second quarter ended September 2012. Net addition is the difference between total employees hired and attrition. The IT major made a gross addition of 18,654 employees in the June-September quarter, taking its total headcount to 2, 54,076 personnel. Mr. Ajoy Mukherjee, Global Head of Human Resources at TCS, said the company would be applying for more H1 visas (job visas) and would continue hiring both in the domestic and overseas markets. "We plan to hire 25,000 freshers from campuses and have already finished hiring half of this number," said Mr. Mukherjee. The company reported the lowest attrition rates in the last 10 quarters at 11.4 per cent (IT and BPO business). The software firm expects to add 50,000 employees in the current financial year. Source : 19-10-12   Thehindubusinessline.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Temporary staffing to soar in India: US firm Temporary staffing is fast emerging as a key hiring strategy for Indian companies and the segment is poised for strong growth over the next five years, an industry official has said. "Temporary staffing is fast emerging as a key hiring strategy for Indian companies. The Government should give proper recognition to the staffing industry," said Mr. Mehul Shah, Managing Director and Head of Professional Services (India and the Asia-Pacific) of Collabera. The US-based Collabera offers temporary staffing solutions for IT/ITeS firms. Collabera has opened an office in Vadodara for carrying out its Indian operations and employs about 1,000 persons here. At present, the IT staffing industry is an Rs 1,200-crore market and it will expand rapidly over the next five years, Mr. Shah told press persons here yesterday. Mr. Shah, whose firm is a member of the Indian Staffing Federation (IFS), said the staffing industry is growing at 35-45 per cent despite the economic downturn in India. The industry provides a platform for recognized employment, work choice, compensation, annual benefits and health benefits for the temporary workforce that constitutes almost 90 per cent of India's total workforce, he said. Mr. Shah said he will soon make a request to Finance Minister P Chidambaram to exempt the staffing industry from paying service tax. Source : 18-10-12   Firstpost.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan Infosys hires ex-defence personnel in US to win govt orders Infosys, India's second largest IT services company is banking on ex-defence personnel in the US to staff its subsidiary which works in the highly-sensitive government and healthcare segments in the country. Majority of the employees of Infosys's US subsidiary, Infosys Public Services, are ex-army and marine personnel who help in enhancing the credibility to bag projects sponsored by the national and state governments in the US. They also help the company in getting various security clearances faster what civilians might find quite difficult. While all the employees of Infosys Public Services are based out of the US, a significant chunk of them are ex-military personnel. They get security clearances required to work for various government projects faster than normal civilians even though we don't do any defence works in the US," said Mr. Ashok Vemuri, Head of Americas who is also in the board of Infosys Public Services. For example, Mr. Eric Paternoster, CEO and President of Infosys Public Services (IPS) is a former Army captain who led infantry units in Korea and the US before joining the corporate world. Infosys Public Services (IPS) was set up as a subsidiary of the Bangalore-based company in late 2011. However, the subsidiary started hiring and ramping up only towards the beginning of the fiscal year after obtaining the necessary approvals from the US government. The company which employs about 200 people has signed about 40 contracts with the US government and federal states in a span of just eight months. Source : 22-10-12   Business-standard.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan GM Plans to Hire 3,000 HP Employees as It Insources IT Work HP has agreed to transfer 3,000 of its employees to the General Motors payroll, as the automaker moves IT operations in-house, the two companies announced Thursday. GM CIO Mr. Randy Mott said the car company hopes to add the HP workers, part of a team running GM's IT operations under outsourcing contracts, over the next six months. Mr. Mott, named CIO of GM earlier this year, decided early on in his tenure to bring most of the automaker's IT work in-house, a major shift for a company that has long relied on outsourcers. Source : 30-11-99   Computerworld.in   Compiled by Amresh Anjan

 

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