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VOLUME-III | ISSUE 9AUGUST 2013

www.content.timesjobs.com

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

Find TimesJobs.com’s career articles, expert advise and tips @ www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, Jobs & Career section

Over 30% of the organisations plan to increasetheir spending on HR technology by 10-20% inthe future, revealed a TimesJobs.com study.

The “boundary less” work environment, of today,demands dynamism in recruitment, work process,organisation structure, internal and global workforceoperations, resulting in an increased need to have ITenabled HR services.

“Today’s fast changing business scenario bringsmany challenges on the HR management front, whichis going to continue for some time to come.Recruitment of efficient candidates, that will fit wellinto the categories, is really a challenging job fortoday’s mangers. They have a herculean task tocomplete when it comes to selecting eligiblecandidates. This could be through an increasedemphasis on training and engagement programs orby investing in areas that will optimise expenditure,such as integrated technology systems or improvedcandidate attraction schemes,” says Sudheer Nair,CEO, Eresource Infotech Pvt Ltd.

Lending a helping hand…HR is a very crucial function of any organisation.Technology helps the HR professionals to streamlinethe basic recruitment process, so that they have timeto focus on other vital aspects of their job.

“The continued growth of technology, social media,and easy communications now makes it possible formost knowledge work and team activities to occurremotely. Allowing top talent to work “wherever theywant to work” improves retention and makesrecruiting dramatically easier,” says Meenakshi Roy,sr. vice president-Human Resources, RelianceBroadcast Network in an exclusive conversation withTimesJobs.com.

HR technology helps reach out to a large, diversetalent pool, with minimal effort – saving on time,energy and money. The technology helps inorganising the vast database of HR departments andsimplifying the initial sifting and short-listingprocess. Further, it assists in setting up standardevaluation tools. Overall, technology employed in HRfunctions, aids organisations in taking quick andwise hiring decisions.

Evolving role of HR professionals…With the increase in use of technology in variousaspects of human resource management, the role ofHR professionals is also evolving. New skill sets areemerging and organisations are framing newbenchmarks to assess and hire prospective HRcandidates. The existing staff is also undergoingtraining and development, to be in-line with thechanging dynamics and requirements of the HRfunction.

Since, the hiring space is a highly competitivemarket; organisations are experimenting andinvesting in new technology very frequently, to stayahead of the curve. Thus, merely knowing aboutexisting technologies doesn’t help. HR professionals,today, need to be aware, informed and skilled toutilise HR-related technologies, efficiently andeffectively. For the same, there is need to constantlyupdate the HR staff with available options,innovations in the sphere, and to provide them withappropriate guidance and training.

More than just technological update, there is also aneed to re-work HR’s day-to-day operation. As Nairexplains, “There are several ways HR executives mustevolve if the profession is to be successful in thefuture, including recognising that organisations nowhave a collective leadership that "bubbles up"throughout the organisation, rather than stricthierarchal models. Moreover, what is to beremembered is HR is being defined by the needs andnature of their individual organisations, as well as bya dynamic external environment shaped byglobalisation; labour markets; economic, political andsocial policy; geopolitics; technology; and climatechange. Therefore, whoever is able to cope with thesituation and its demands, can succeed in this field.”

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VOLUME-III | ISSUE 9AUGUST ISSUE

www.content.t imesjobs.com

HIRING & BEYOND

Cover Story

Welcome to the Hi-Tech

world ofHR!

Industry expertsbelieve that any

HR teamfacilitated by

technology canefficientlymanage the

multi-culturaland multi-

generationalworkforce,

across the globe.



HIRING & BEYOND

3

Highlights

According to a recently conductedstudy by TimesJobs.com, 29% of theorganisations said that the biggest

advantage of implementing technology inHR has been the improvement in theapplicant quality and volume. Another 26% said that it’s the expansion in reachwhich has been the biggest gain of usingHR related technology.

Since, technology helps in reaching alarger talent pool, the volume ofapplications received for an open positionautomatically increases. The quality alsoimproves, since you can select the target

audience with greater ease and eliminateunsuitable applicants. Cost effectivenesshas been voted as the key benefit of usingtechnology in HR, by nearly 24% of thesurveyed organisations.

This is, in a way, the ultimate outcome ofusing technology in HR. By using technicalmethods to recruit staff, an organisationremoves the expenditure on physicalinfrastructure. Also, an organisation canaccess a larger applicant pool with theexisting HR staff and can also do awaywith outsourcing recruitment operations,thereby, cutting down the cost involved.

While there are benefits ofemploying technology in therecruitment space, it could also be

detrimental in many ways, if notsupervised carefully. According to theTimesJobs.com study, over 30% of thesurveyed organisations stated that thelooming concerns over safety andcredibility of data is a major impedimentto the use of technology for recruitmentpurpose. Organisations spend a lot of timeand money, trying to curb data thefts andprevent data losses.

Another 28% believe that greaterutilisation of technology in hiring can be

threatening for HR professionals, as itcould lead to job shortfall in this functionalarea. Although, there is lesser manualintervention involved in using technologyfor recruitment process, yet, if there is asystem failure it takes a lot of effort andtime to revive it. Consequently, nearly 22% of the surveyed employers feel thathandling system-related inefficiencies isthe biggest limitation of increased use oftechnology for hiring purpose.

Technological obsolescence has been votedby 16% of the organisations, as a keydisadvantage of growing application oftechnology in recruitment function.

The limitations of technology

28%

34%

22%

With the growing influx of technology in the HR space, the skill setsrequired in HR professionals have undergone transformation.According to the TimesJobs.com study, change management skills

are deemed essential in today’s HR professionals, stated 35% of thesurveyed employers. As a result of influx of technology in HR, the HR spacehas become more dynamic than ever.

Amid, fast-paced operations and functionalities, change management hasbecome a crucial skill for every HR professional. By acquiring changemanagement skill, HR personnel help the organisation to steer clear ofgetting caught up in the complexity and turmoil of change. In the era oftechnology, it is obvious that a greater importance will be placed onanalytical skills and knowledge of recruitment apps. For the same reason,24% of the employers voted analytical skills as the most crucial skill for anyHR personnel. Another, 23% of the organisations said that knowledge andunderstanding of recruitment apps is of utmost importance for the currentand future breed of HR professionals. In this age of smartphones, there aremobile applications for almost everything. The tech-savvy HR professionalsuse recuitment apps for easing the recruitment process and save on time.

Change calling

Technology to the rescue of HR

16%

Concerns oversafety &credibility of data

Technologicalobsolescence

Handling systeminefficience

Job shortfall for HR professionals

Examples of technology-supported expected solutionsare the following:

l Social media- Talent leaderswill need to increasingly seethe value of a combination ofinternal and external socialmedia approaches. Adaptingsocial media tools into thebusiness coupled with stronganalytics will allow a morefocused approach thatharnesses and directs theeffort of all employees onsocial media.

l Mobile platform – This isalsobecoming a dominantcommunications andinteraction platform, whetherfor prospective or existingemployee communication.The capabilities afforded tousers of smartphones andtablet devices growimmensely day by day.

l Using technology andanalytics to drivepersonalised customerservice - By leveragingpropensity-to-buy modeling,technology, training, andpersonalised sales processesto recommend complementaryproducts or services,generating revenue within thecontact center becomesseamlessly integrated withinthe customer experience.InConvergys for example,utilising easy-to-deploy

technology to integrate thesesystems into one 360-degreeview of the customer, ouragents become empowered topersonalise each customerinteraction in a way thatshows they care enough toreally know their customers.

Redefining skill setsAs the role of an HRprofessional continues toexperience a paradigm shiftfrom being transactional tostrategic, it is not so much thedecrease in the HR jobs as it isgoing to be a redefinition of theskill sets required to be effectivein the role. As strategic businesspartners, HR professionals will

be key to solving the HRchallenges mentioned earlier,must have the depth andbreadth of understanding andcompetencies to do so, should beable to anticipate needs based onthe trends in the marketplace,and be creative, flexible and ableto plan and execute with speed,and finally, effectivelycollaborate with keystakeholders in an increasinglyborderless, global environment.

A truly effective HR professionalwill therefore need to befamiliar, proactive, and adaptiveto technologically driveninnovations in HR andoperational processes to meetboth business and employee

needs. They should effectivelyand efficiently leveragetechnology platforms availablefor communication,recruitment, survey,recognition, and employeeengagement. Just as a verybasic example, employee portalsnow need to be more than just arepository of information but aone-stop shop with whichemployees can customise/personalise, get notifications,share, and interact both withinformation and with others;the HR partner serves as aconduit working withcommunications, leadership andother key personnel to drive adynamic engagement with theemployees.

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HIRING & BEYOND

Guest Column

Technology in the HR toolbox is an added advantageThe BPO industry comes with a unique set of HR challenges - the most important ones being:sustaining higher levels of service level standards, increasing retention/reducing attritionand quality talent hiring and talent development. While the company’s strategies must usemultiple tools, effective use of technology in the toolbox is an advantage in addressing thequality hiring, talent development, and customer service standards needs for employees.

Ashish Garg, Director-Recruiting, Convergys India

Some of the concrete examples of Convergys’ own success with use of technology inrecruiting are:

l Social media - Convergys India has a Facebook page with 600,000+ fans and a 24x7 onlineRecruiting helpdesk, as well as virtual job fairs. In social media, we promote everything fromrecruitment programs to engagement activities, showcasing who we are as an employer, ourculture, and building an extended community beyond our employees. This has helped us easilyreach our target hires (whose average age is 24 years and below and are very connected online),who can then apply online. Employee referrals are also coupled with social media. Employeerelationships can easily be turned into employee referrals. We experience this in our ownConvergys Employee Referral Program (ERP) in Convergys, and see that many companiesleverage such applications as a significant source of talent pipeline. In fact, for Convergys, ERPis a significant source of new hires.

l Global tool for recruiting process and documentation – Convergys First, our onlineapplication system for external and internal recruiting, provides job openings, candidateprofile/resume uploads, application forms with monitoring capabilities, notifications, etc. all inone tool.

l Mobile Platform - Convergys uses mobile application and SMS as one of our internalcommunication channels for everything from ERP, transport advisories, and other keycommunication.

l Technology to enhance transport safety – Transport safety remains a priority, and can be aselling point for prospective hires and leveraged for employer branding as an investment in ouremployees. At Convergys, GPRS is installed in all the cabs used to transport employees.

Other effective uses of technology in Recruiting based on what we see in the market:

l “Remote” campus recruiting to save from visits; because almost all college students are nowvisible on social media, a top trend will be shifting to a “remote” college recruiting program.Instead of visiting a handful of top universities, this process gets pre-qualifiers done internallyto get only the genuinely interested candidates to apply for the job. Remote live video interviews(eg. Skype), contests, online assessments, and simulations are used for student and internassessment. This technique can also go beyond college recruiting.

B E S T P R A C T I C E S

In-Focus



HIRING & BEYOND

Tracking the evolution of Applicant Tracking SystemHow to find the right resumes among a large and growing stockpile of resumes? Technologycomes to the rescue once again. Applicant Tracking System is a perfect tool that lets HRprofessionals store, manage and track huge volume of applicants’ data efficiently. Avi Gopinath, VP-Operations, 99ATS, explains this system.

There is nothing wrong in using good,old emails and spreadsheets if yourhiring needs are not that big. However,

what if your recruitment need grows to suchan extent that your simple recruitmentsoftware is no longer able to cope with it? Insuch a situation, an applicant trackingsystem would be the perfect tool to handlethe surge in applicants’ volume. It lets youstore, manage and track huge volume ofapplicants’ data without much effort.

An ATS comes with features to import,store, organise and manage candidates’information in a centralised database. Thishelps you in building a robust candidatepipeline to meet your current and futurehiring needs. Searching the right candidatesfrom a sea of applicants is not an easy task.Modern ATSs have been able to address thisproblem to a great extent through name,skill or candidate data search.

Nowadays, applicant tracking systems makeit possible to track candidates’ progress inthe hiring process. Apart from this, easytracking also allows you the freedom to planyour work ahead depending on the real-timeor future availability of prospectiveemployees or contract workers.

Perhaps, one of the biggest advantages ofATS is that you can have 24x7 access to acentralised database of candidates whichyou can share with your key managementpersonnel. This not only enhances thequality of hire, but gives it speed as well.

But the best thing about modern applicanttracking system is the degree ofcustomisation it affords to its users. Thisenables to make desired changes orimprovements matching the hiringworkflow that you want. Despite having allthese benefits, an applicant tracking systemcan never be a replacement for your hiringteam. What it does is give you a platform

towards making the hiring job simple andeasy for you and your team.

How does the ATS work?

Right now, with so many career websites, jobportals, social networks, placementagencies, etc., sourcing a candidate to applyfor a job is never a problem. But, what itbrings to a recruiter is tons of applicationsfor each available job; sifting through thispile for the entire recruiting lifecycle

just becomes a headache. The need for anATS is very much needed to keep thingsunder check and also keep the whole hiringprocess organised.

It all starts from the point a resume or anapplication is filled, the ATS does a

duplicate check to ensure the growingdatabase of a resume bank is not clutteredwith multiple applications which affects theintegrity of maintaining a candidate pool.

Once applications are all stored in therepository, recruiters can search forcandidates when ever needed and alsowhenever a job a requisition is createdwithin the ATS, the system brings up thebest available match for the positionenabling a recruiter to quickly start the nextsteps now that the short list is automaticallygenerated.

Further, the process flow of schedulinginterviews, managing feedback frominterviewers, rating candidates all the waythrough generating an offer can be donewithin the Applicant Tracking System.

“While, an ATS cannot ‘fully automate’ yourhiring process, it can indeed do all theheavy lifting and boost productivity at thesame time making your recruitment processtop-notch and it also gives the company agood image which in turn attracts the righttalent.”

Is it beneficial for the applicants as well?

Now that a lot of companies are adapting tothe Applicant Tracking Systems, ATS canalso benefit applicants, as with a goodstructured CV, they have a better chance tobe shortlisted by the system and not rely ona human who ‘might’ just pick up the firstCV on the top of the stack.

Apart from this, candidates are also wellinformed now since they get to track theirapplication status and plan accordingly.Gone are the days when recruiters wouldsay ‘We will get back to you.’

Also, since they would automatically be apart of the ATS, once applied, they would getnotified for suitable job matches wheneverlistings are created and one is a suitable fit.

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An ATS comes withfeatures to import,store, organise andmanage candidates’information in acentraliseddatabase. This helpsin building a robustcandidate pipelinein order to meetcurrent and futurehiring needs

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News Bytes



HIRING & BEYOND

IT sector to hire 1.20 lakh this year: Experts The country’s IT & ITeS industry would generate as many as 1.20lakh jobs this year even as campus hiring is likely to remainsubdued, experts say. While there has been a drop in campus hiringin IT sector as the industry reels under an economic downturn inthe West, jobs added this year will see large hiring from the market.“Last year, the campus hiring numbers had dipped from the normaland this year, it is not going to be any different. We estimate thatthere will be around 1,20,000 jobs created this year,” talentassessment company Merit Trac Head of Innovation and CorporateBusiness Rajeev Menon said. The IT sector is set to grow by 12 to 14per cent this year, as per Nasscom estimates.n The Economic Times, July 2013

NSDC to train 10 lakh youths in 2013-14: MDThe National Skill Development Corporation is all set to train 10lakh youths in various aspects of skill development in FY 2014, a topofficial said. “We will be training one million youths in skilldevelopment on various aspects in this financial year,” saidNational Skill Development Corporation ( NSDC) MD Dilip Chenoy,while speaking on the sidelines of a programme here. However,there are challenges in achieving the target of one million youths inthis financial year, Chenoy added. “The aspiration level of childrento get a degree in comparison to vocational training is more.Secondly, the recognition of skill by people of the industry has notreached maturity,” he said.n The Economic Times, July 2013

Hiring to witness slight difference from this year:NASSCOM Hiring for IT graduates in the country would witness a slightdifference from this year, as hiring patterns have changed and

priorities placed on soft skills and domain-based specialisation, atop NASSCOM official said today. “The hiring might not be the samefrom this year, since the hiring patterns has changed,” NASSCOMpresident Som Mittal told reporters here. He also attributed the slow.n The Economic Times, July 2013

Essar-owned Aegis to create over 5,000 jobs in US Essar-owned Aegis, a global outsourcing and technology servicescompany, today said it plans to create more than 5,000 jobs at itscentres in the US over the next four months. “We have expanded ourengagements with existing clients, which will result in our hiring ofmore than 5,000 people. This hiring will take place in all US cities, inwhich we have operations,” Aegis Global Chief Executive SandipSen said in a release here. In 2011, the company had joined thejobs4america Coalition and pledged to hire more than 4,000 workersin the US over the next two years, he said, adding Aegis have alreadyaccomplished this goal. “In addition to creating these jobs, we arecreating opportunities at many levels in our organisation,” he said.n The Economic Times, July 2013

SAIL gets 1.8 lakh job applications in 2013 Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), the leading steel producerhas received a massive 1,80,000 job applications in 2013, as part ofthe company’s drive to induct young, professional talent in itsfrontline managerial cadre. While SAIL did not say how many itwould recruit this year, the company has been hiring around 600engineering graduates every year, keeping in view the company’smassive on-going expansion and modernization programme at aninvestment of Rs 72,000 crore. The selection of candidates is basedon an extensive written examination followed by group discussionand interview. n The Economic Times, July 2013

NEWS BYTES

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HIRING & BEYOND

Kamlesh Dangi, Group Chief People Officer, Religare Enterprises Limited

Expert Speak



HIRING & BEYOND

Disclaimer: Information provided in this newsletter shall not be reproduced, published, re-sold or otherwise distributed inany medium without the prior written permission of TimesJobs.com and a clear acknowledgement to TimesJobs.com.Contact: TJinsite, TimesJobs.com, Plot No 6, Sector 16A, Film City, Noida. Write in to [email protected]

Copyright ©2013 Times Business Solutions Limited. All rights reserved.

Kamlesh Dangi heads thegroup's human resourcedevelopment, administration& facilities department aswell as group’s sharedservices function. He is partof group’s core governancestructure. He representsReligare on the board ofAegon Religare LifeInsurance and ReligareHealth Insurance Limitedand is also an alternativedirector in Religare InvescoAsset ManagementCompany. He has over 18years of work experience.

What are some of the key HRchallenges that organisations arefacing, currently?

Some of the key HR challenges, which Ibelieve, we face are:

l Significant slowdown in the Indianeconomy has led to many HRchallenges across organisations. Theseinclude, job losses due to excesscapacity that was created inanticipation of 8% GDP growth,dealing with expectations of ageneration of employees who haveassumed fast career growth which isnot going to happen. Since, margins ofmost organisations will be underpressure, organisation’s need to beinnovative.

l There is ambiguity about futuredirection. While many believe India’sstrong fundamentals are still intact,current political and economicenvironment indicates harder times tofollow. In such times, it becomesincreasing difficult for organisations toplan for the future. Organisationswhich are nimble in terms of strategy,culture, products and processes arelikely to tide over this environmentwith great success. HR therefore needsto prepare organisations for suchcapability. Employee alignment is thekey to build such capabilities.

l Social changes, mainly led bytechnology, indicate changes in the waypeople communicate with each other.Organisation’s needs to quickly adaptto these changes by creating differentplatforms for communication.Definition of ‘work’ itself isundergoing huge change and HRprofessionals need to be ahead of thecurve. Assessment of right talent forthe organisation or process and area ofleadership development are goingthrough transformation.

How is technology expected to offersolutions to these challenges?

Not all challenges can be dealt with onlyby technology, but an efficient use oftechnology will certainly help addressthese challenges. Some of theexpectations from technology would be:

l Integrate all data (including newerconcept of Big data) and provide realtime decision support to end users whocould be line managers or HRmanagers

l Reduce communication transmission

loss by ensuring right amount ofcommunication reaches right person atright time. This refers to all forms ofcommunication e.g bottom up, topdown, sideways and across depts.

l Support analytics and thereforeprovide insights for a better plan or asuperior / innovative business idea

l Continue to help organisation reducecost by exploring replacement of anexpensive people resource with moreefficient software or hardware

l Help organisation reach out to righttalent who is inside/outside theorganisation at minimal cost

What are some of the ways in whichtechnology has made recruitmentmore efficient?

Attracting, assessing and on-boardingright talent is hugely important for anorganisation and technology plays a bigrole across recruitment cycle; be itreaching a relevant pool of candidates,presenting the organisation’s valueproposition to create candidate interest,appropriate assessment of candidates ina timely manner and providing credibleand sufficient information to allstakeholders at all times during therecruitment process. Today, throughtechnology, you can reach candidates,irrespective of their location, interactwith them using various electronic mediaand use external capabilities to ensurethe right fit.

Access to social media has changedthe way people find jobs. How doesthis fit into your recruitmentstrategy?

We are yet to optimise this to oursatisfaction but initial inroads have beenencouraging. These days, fororganisation like ours, many prospectiveemployees use social media. Throughsocial media we have been able to reachout to passive job seekers who often makethe cut.

How do you see the role of HRchanging in future? Do you anticipatejob shortfall for HR professionals?

In the coming few years, being aware oftrends in technology will be one of thekey expectation from an HR professional.HR will be expected to know what’sworking and what’s not in technologyspace. If HR professionals do not changewith changing times then someone elsewill perform the role of ‘HR’ which maylead to shortfall in jobs for HR.

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