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IT’s big recruitment time in small towns
HYDERABAD: You could well call this trend a trickle-down effect in economic theory. With IT services biggies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Satyam scaling up operations, the momentum in recruitment is shifting to small cities and towns across the country.
Hitherto unknown colleges and their students are finding a prominent place on the IT map. And this has also opened up an array of opportunities for training companies such as TIME, TMI and Globarena Technologies.
These coaching institutes, which were earlier focusing on large cities, are now busy tying up with colleges in Tier II and Tier III cities to offer softskill training programmes. Some of these institutes are also setting up new centres in small cities.
“As the IT service sector needs large number of people, most big companies cannot confine their recruitment programmes to big cities. Colleges in small cities can provide them much larger talentpool . But these students are not directly employable . Our softskill training programmes gear them towards a corporate job,” says Manek Daruvala, founder director of Triumphant Institute of Management Education (TIME), a leading coaching institute.
The IT industry will hire an estimated 4 lakh people, this financial year. But there’s a huge gap between demand and supply which can be bridged by colleges in rural areas.
Microsoft too has started recruiting students from small towns. “Our aim is to get the best talentpool available. As part of this effort, we are conducting job events in all parts of the country and we already have a fair mix of employees with different backgrounds,” said Murthy K Uppaluri, CEO, Microsoft India According to Mr Daruvala, the huge demand is the trigger behind the new trend in training.
“We have already tied up with about 70 colleges in the country, of which 50% are in small towns. We are also looking at expanding these tieups besides setting up new coaching centres in small towns. In a year’s time, we have trained over 20,000 students,” he said.
The Rs 106-crore company has over 30 training centres in small towns. With the pace of training gathering steam, TIME expects the share of revenues from this segment to double from 10% to 20% next year TMIFirst, a division of the HR consulting firm Talent Management International Network, has also launched employability coaching programmes in small towns and cities.
“We have partnered with about 35 colleges in ten states including Andhra Pradesh for running this programme. Eventually, we will expand our presence across the country. Our aim is to train 5 lakh students in five years,” said T Muralidharan, executive chairman of TMI Network.
TMIFirst, Tata Sons tie up to hire rural youth
TMIFIRST HAS ALREADY RECRUITED 300 STUDENTS FROM ANDHRA, K’TAKA, TAMIL NADU & KERALA
Sreekala G HYDERABAD
IT COMPANIES have finally realised that they cannot afford to ignore the bottom of the pyramid. To bring down attrition, E2E SerWiz Solutions (SerWizSol), the business process outsourcing arm of Tata Sons, has partnered with TMIFirst, a division of the HR consulting firm TMI Group, for recruiting rural youth. TMIFirst will identify youth from rural areas and SerWizSol will provide parttime employment and also offer them an opportunity to pursue their graduation.
“Apart from salary, the company would fund their education, lodging, boarding and food expenses. In turn, students would be contractually bound with the company for three years,” said T Muralidharan, CEO & chairman, TMIFirst.
These students will work for about 24 hours a week and earn Rs 3,000 a month. “We are looking at recruiting students, who are 12th pass and over 18 years old. The parameters being used to hire fresh recruits are group discussions and willingness to continue education along with employment,” he said.
TMIFirst has already recruited 300 students, of which 53% are women, from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is looking at sourcing another batch of 300 in a month. In the first year, SerWizSol will hire 600 people, constituting almost 20% of its work force.
TMIFirst is also in a pact with Nasscom Foundation offering similar services under the rural knowledge network programme.
SerWizSol, targeting domestic and overseas markets, is one of the largest third-party BPOs serving telecom, utilities, hospitality, entertainment, retail and media. “Among domestic BPOs serving the Indian market, the attrition ranges from 40% to 50% as their salary levels are low. Tapping the rural market will help them tide over this crisis as they want employees, who are proficient in local Indian languages. SerWizSol wants people who can handle the southern market,” he said.
As per the three-year agreement between SerWizSol and TMI, the company will recruit 1,800 students from rural areas. “We are also looking at expanding this partnership to Maharashtra. Besides, we are planning to adopt this model in the retail sector as well and are in talks with a few companies,” he said.
TMIFirst and SerWizSol have also tied up with Shanti Niketan College in Hyderabad for educating rural youth.
“We are also in talks with another college in the city. These colleges will offer students flexible timings to attend lectures,” Mr Muralidharan told ET. Tata Sons would give students an option to work with any of its six divisions including marketing and retail after completing graduation.
Tatas Trim BPO Attrition with CSR Initiative
E2E SerWiz Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (SerWizSol), the business process outsourcing (BPO) arm of Tata Sons Ltd. is connecting corporate social responsibility (CSR) to trim rising attrition.
It is hiring youth, especially girls from the economically backward strata of society, and essentially those residing in rural areas of the country.
The company outsourced the talent management and recruitment process for the project to TMIFirst, about a fortnight ago. The company already manages recruitment and talent management for the Tatas and L&T Infotech among other IT companies in India.
T. Muralidharan, CEO & Chairman, TMIFirst said, “SerWizSol had given me a mandate to get economically disadvantaged youth from the rural areas for employment. The deal was that the company would give them part time payment, pay for their education, lodging-boarding and food. In turn, the students would work at the call center for three years. The beauty of it is that the students would be absorbed in any of the Tata Sons companies at the end of these three years.”
At present, TMIFirst is scouting for students from rural areas of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It has identified four colleges from Hyderabad and Pune and is negotiating the details of the program with respective college directors.
SerWizSol will hire 600 people from the economically backward strata in the first year, Muralidharan said. “These students would constitute almost 20 percent of their work force. They would be contractually bound with the company for three years,” he added.
The parameters being used to hire fresh recruits are group discussions and willingness to continue education along with employment.
“The kids would learn soft skills and hone their abilities in communication further. They may not necessarily join the company and may pursue further studies,” he said.
TMIFirst has also entered into a similar agreement with the Nasscom Foundation, and also is searching NGOs for penetration into rural areas of India.
Nirmala Garg, Vice President-HR, E2E Serwiz Solutions Ltd, said that the company connected the issues and challenges related to attrition in its corporate social responsibility.
While refusing to disclose the attrition rate at SerWizSol, she said, “Call centers have high level of attrition. A call center job is not cerebral in nature. These students have passed class 12 and we decided to tap their skills. We decided to employ people from mofusil areas, especially girls. We are essentially targeting tier 3 cities.”
The benefits for the youth would be many said Garg. These include, honed skills on the job, learn while you earn opportunity, working for a big brand like the Tatas, enhancing communication skills as also personality development. All students would be issued a participation certificate at the end of three years, which could be used to apply for jobs in any of the Tata companies, she added.
The investment is in terms of bridge training, on-the job training and making these youth absorbable, she informed.
SerWizSol is also considering a similar project in partnership with TaraHaat, a NGO in Mohali, Punjab.
Director of Pragati College in the Vivekananda Nagar area of Kukatpally in Hyderabad, Ravindra Rao said that TMI has recruited 56 students from the college so far.
Pragati is one of the colleges earmarked by TMIFirst for its SerWizSol partnership.
Rao said that the initiative introduced a fantastic opportunity for students to earn while learning. He added that the college would accommodate these students in either the morning or evening batch. “Essentially all these students are in need of money,” he signed off.
An enriching experience for employment-seekers - The Hindu
"Everybody will get a job. Don't panic. Every time you don't get a job, its a learning experience," says T. Muralidharan, CEO of C&K Management Limited, a Hyderabad headquartered recruitment firm.
Coaching a fresher during an employability seminar at The Hindu Opportunities Fair 2005, he advised eager applicants to do their homework before a search.
Planned approach
Job search should be a planned, systematic, well thought out operation, he said. "Research the kind of job and industry, you want to get into. Remember employer research and referrals is most important," he said. Bringing a smile to many faces he added. About 40 per cent of all jobs in the IT industry are for freshers.
A new job service for freshers TMIfirst.com (http://www.tmifirst.com/) to be launched soon could also be accessed at the Fair. "It is a two-way platform that helps freshers to connect to companies and also companies to know that there is someone specifically looking at fresh talent, says Raji Raju, from TMIfirst.
With ideas like, "celebrating work,", "innovate, there's always a better way", "anything is possible," splashed in various counters, one had to agree with Durai Raja of Jobstreet.com, an online job portal, there' a job for everyone who thinks he can. He had collected almost 10,000 resumes. "There's a tremendous growth in IT and ITES sector, pharma, retail and even manufacturing," he said. You could see that as ABB was scouting for core engineering talent in electrical, electronics and instrumentation and control.
Anthony Joseph, Director of Human Resources of Convergys, came in to build a brand. "We are one and a half year old and we are competing with companies that have been here for 10 to 15 years for talent," he said.
TMI Network, ties up with Bernard Hodes Group - April 28, 2001
TMI Network, one of the largest recruitment and recruitment advertising agency in the country has tied up with Bernard Hodes Group - which is one of the largest recruitment advertising agency in US.
Bernard Hodes is one of the most influential names in the world-wide resourcing market and a wholly owned subsidiary of Omnicon Group Inc. of New York.
Bernard Hodes has worldwide network of over 40 offices which includes 32 locations across the US, three in Canada, and one each in Hong Kong, Singapore and France. In the UK, it has six offices which are complemented by the six offices of Macmillan Davies Hodes. In India, it is represented by TMI Network.
TMI Network, the largest recruitment advertising agency in India has consistently won Adex awards every year and in various categories and this year has won awards in both recruitment advertising, newsletter and corporate campaign categories.
TMI Network has consistently used the recruitment advertising medium to build a good employer image to the prospective candidates and help in building a employer brand equity over the last 7 years. TMI Network, also one of the largest recruitment companies in India, handles major accounts in both IT and non-IT customers across the country. It has seven offices in India with one supporting office in Singapore.
The Hindu appoints TMI Network as their Career Content Partner - December 9, 1999 The Hindu
India's most respected English Daily with over 2.2 million readers 'The Hindu' has appointed TMI Network to write and edit Career related content for their "Opportunities" supplement effective from 22nd December 1999.
The supplement will be targeted at a focused group of career aspirants and will offer a unique branded series of articles dealing with career enhancement, self-development features and items of human interest. The content will be unique in that it will provide young aspirants and seasoned managers with insights into areas of career management and knowledge development to make them realize the full potential of their individual talent and skill-set.
TMI Network is one of India's top 5 search and selection consultants and India's largest recruitment advertising agency. With offices in 6cities in India, TMI Network provides career consulting services to corporate professionals in the I.T. and the Non-I.T.segments.
Its all about the right fit.- September 10, 2000 Economic Times
T. Muralidharan not only figures out how to get software and other professionals into US jobs, he also advises them on how to fit in.
It was an exodus of a different kind - triggered off in 1998 by the millennium bug scare. India experienced the exodus and the world, especially the US, opened its arms to Indian Information Technology professionals in a big way. Y2K? No problem. The Indians would solve it.
Certainly, IT workers from India have an advantage over their counterparts from other developing as well as developed countries. Trained in India with an apparently inherent aptitude for computers, a good knowledge of the English language and to some extent their willingness to settle for less pay (which is still far greater than their Indian earning) the Indian computer professional seems to be everybody's obvious choice.
Cashing in on this global trend to recruit from India is T Muralidharan, managing director of the recruitment house, TMI Network, "We're in the business to market Indian talent world wide," says the founder and nurture of TMI, which stands for Talent Management International.
He's doing that in several ways. First with a tie up with Career Mosaic - the first job board in the world that has Fortune 500 companies as its clients. And other with headhunter.com to launch his own managementor.com.
"Our job is to make Indian talent globally acceptable," he emphasises. Having already placed 150 doctors and other professionals in the USA last year, and expecting to send 300 more of them there this year, he seems to be working at it. "The global culture of how Indians are being perceived is changing."
But having been in the business for a while new, Mulralidharan knows all the ropes. A chemical engineer from IIR, Chennai then MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad, Muralidharan decided to launch his own recruitment firm in 1991. From then to 1998, he placed 1000 people in jobs every year within India. But boom time came in 1998 with the sudden global spurt in demand for Indian IT workers.
But Muralidharan doesn't just confine himself to placing Indians in Silicon Valley or where ever else. He realises that he needs to orient each new recruit to the life to expect when he reaches the USA. "You know, people think let me just get to the USA and everything will be fine. But it isn't that way." Muralidharan realised this when he went to the USA for the first time.
"The guys who go out there are making a mess of themselves. Then they want to come back. There are simple things, for instance, I didn't know how to buy a ticket for the bus, or to order at a restaurant. It can be a daunting experience for a first timer, " he says.
Weather, he says, is the first unexpected thing. "People here are used to warm weather conditions. So when we tell them to prepare for the cold, they can't understand how cold. In some places in America, temperatures can dip to - 21, and there is an added 'wind chill factor'," he warns. So he educates the new recruits what to expect and how to equip themselves.
Next point is he prepares them about is self-sufficiency. "There's nobody there to come in and do your housework, cook your food or wash your clothes. You have to do it yourself. We give them tips on how to do their laundry and other such things that one would normally take for granted," he says.
The third factor on which they warn new recruits is food. Accustomed to spicy food here, those who land in the USA have a hard time adjusting to the rather bland American food.
Yet another adjustment factor is using deodorants and perfumes. "The air-conditioning systems there are so strong that any little body odour can get magnified. We teach Indians going there that they need to use perfumes and dress to code to fit in at the workplace," he says.
Based in Hyderabad, TMI Network proposed to open a training arm soon for recruits who would be going abroad. TMI is also opening a division in San Jose, USA. "We will be changing our recruitment system soon. All our recruits will remain on TMI roles for six months, when we will be in body shopping mode. That way, we can offer them adjustment services, and they would be paying us back for placement services," says Muralidharan. Thereafter, the recruit is expected to be on his own.
Major hurdles he's faced in his area of operation"? Ignorance, he says. "There are lots of people who are duped by agents. They get H-1B has and are left selves." The AP government is now trying to regulate these things. Meanwhile, it seems to be Muralidharan who's regulating several of those Injuns going Silicon Valley-ward.
Schneider Electric, Hyderabad appoints TMI First to hire undergrade girl candidates
Schneider Electric, Hyderabad has got into a tie up with TMI First for hiring of Trainee Assembly Operators. Schneider Electric is the world’s power and control specialist. Present in 130 countries, Schneider Electric serves its international customers throughout the world and meets the needs of its markets with products adapted to the standards and practices of each country.
The plant in Hyderabad, one of 4 locations in India, has been in operation for slightly over a year, with work commencing from their world-class site at Gagillapur village in Ranga Reddy District just earlier this month. With Schneider Electric’s strong market position, and products destined for distribution from the Asia-Pacific distribution hub in Honk Kong, the Hyderabad operations has a tough recruiting challenge ahead, both in numbers and in terms of quality.
"Schneider Electric has the vision to give the best of the New Electric World to everyone, everywhere, at any time and to make electric power safer, easier and more environment friendly to use. Our plant at Hyderabad is very new and there is a steep learning curve ahead for our people who need to meet global expectations. We are confident that we can hire and train fresh young female candidates with an intermediate degree over a period of time into a flexible and adaptive work force to meet the complex and demanding challenges of a global marketplace. TMI First, a specialist organization for hiring freshers, head quartered at Hyderabad was the obvious choice for us" Says Head HR, Schneider Electric, Hyderabad, Kaustubh Kulkarni.
TMI First is a new venture from the eighteen year old TMI Group which is in the domain of recruitment, recruitment advertising and e-learning. TMI First which has a target of touching ten thousand lives through placement of freshers this year operates on the belief that connecting education to employment is one of the best ways of serving the society.
"Besides hiring fresh MBAs and Engineers, we also want to help the undergraduates especially the girl child. We believe that we have been given a golden opportunity by Schneider Electric to connect with a large number of undergraduates in the region." Says Mr T Muralidharan, Chairman TMI Network.
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