New Vistas for Engaging Talent
The ways of acquiring talent and making productive use of the talent have changed as a result of the pandemic. CEOs of tech and fintech companies reveal their revised strategies:
It is simple to say that when organizations hire the right talent and treat them well, they will work efficiently and stay longer. But there are nuances in attracting the right talent at the right time. How can organizations gain a magnetic touch when it comes to recruiting and retaining talent and how do chief executives contribute to framing the right policies and practices in this regard?
Anand Awasthi, CEO, Avhan Technologies, believes that giving them an early and quick peak into new and disruptive paradigms acts as a motivating factor for the right people to remain with the organization. He says: “For example, our innovative (and patented) ‘Jodo World’ framework and the digital cloud ‘Communication-enabled Business Process’ Management (CEBP) technology usually work to engage job seekers’ interest and it helps us in attracting the right-sort of passionate talent we want.”
STRUCTURE AND PROCESS
Anuj Gupta, CEO, Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic, insists that the success of any organization is directly dependent on its people. And as an organization, he says Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic has implemented a structure and process to optimize workforce performance, engagement and productivity. “We knew we had to take some fundamental steps to transform our hiring process to attract talent considering the limitations imposed by the pandemic. Therefore, we simplified our hiring process, established workflows and enabled consistency with automation, guidelines and self-service tools. We also introduced flexible work policies for new hires as well as existing employees. Our hiring accelerated for the large opportunities and we have been able to cater to demands of our customers even during the pandemic.”
Ashwin Chawwla, CEO, Escrow Pay India, is of the confirmed view that a person joins a company or business because of the leadership more than anything else.
3-PRONGED APPROACH
According to Balaji Vishwanathan, CEO, Expleo, while employee referrals have been an established source to attract talent, his company realized that doing it the traditional way of giving a standard 10k-20K is not attractive enough as the compensation is going up. “We came up with a 3-pronged approach, the employee referral scheme and cost to be attractive even though it’s cheaper than channels; approach the employees who had left us in the last 3-5 years through a campaign by their peer group: and open up referrals and the data base not just for the current positions but for the upcoming ones in the next 6 to 9 months,” he says.
He says under the current circumstances, social media posts, micro sites and postings through college/campus networks also helped the company to attract talent during the pandemic.
Chirag Patel, CEO, Acute Informatics, the right way of getting the right talent is to focus on results. He argues that with the pandemic, the WFH is the best suitable approach for both employees and employers. Collaborating on-line and finishing the tasks within the deadline matters, no matter where the employee works from, he says.
CORE MISSION CRUCIAL
Ganesh Jivani, CEO, Matrix Telecom, points out that the talent market is turbulent due to major disruptions all across - economy, businesses, organizations and people. But, stopgap solutions neither last long nor bring expected outcome. Instead of being swayed by the prevailing turbulence and losing focus, he would prefer to be continuously reminded himself about sticking to the company’s core mission
and strategies based on l ong-term deep understanding of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
For Gayatri Balaji, CEO, Nanobi, past performance is undoubtedly a factor while attracting talent, but she says it is very important to assess cultural fit into the organization as well. “The right frame of mind, appreciation of the organization’s work ethic and passion to contribute are considerations that are sometimes more important than just past performance,” she insists.
Govind Ramamurthy, CEO, eScan, points out that not every talent that joins the organization lives up to its potential. It is very disappointing to see talented people lose their way due to various reasons, he says, and adds: “Hence, we ensure that anyone who joins our organization is given the most conducive environment to grow in. We as an organization feel great joy when an employee realizes their true potential and achieves their dreams.”
Although brands attract talent to join an organization, Pramod Sharda, CEO, Icewarp, states that one needs to have proper processes and it is the experience that counts as an overall perspective to attract and retain talent.
EMPLOYEES KEEN ON VISION
Rohit Mathur, CEO, Exponentia argues that it is extremely important to show the organization’s vision to the candidates and have them buy into that vision. “The candidate decision should not be solely based on increment, career progression or possibilities of working on hot technologies but they should want to contribute to the vision as well,” he says.
Srikumar Kumar, CEO, Alpharithm Technologies, maintains that most senior roles are fulfilled only when the management is able to sell the company’s vision to them. “They don’t agree to work for us just based on compensation. They need to see the company’s growth and where they fit in that growth strategy. They are also seeking flexibility to work from home even after the pandemic is over, as they have tasted comfort in working from home and spending time with the family. We are offering these things to attract potential employees,” he says.
WFH A KEY FACTOR
Vijender Yadav, CEO, Accops, narrates the instance of the company engaging new talent amid the lockdown and travel restrictions and allowing people to work from anywhere they want, be it a big metro or a tier-3 city or a village. “We found people to be more motivated and at their productive best when allowed to work from their native villages or towns, sitting next to their families. Now, we pick the bright minds from anywhere, get them onboarded quickly and provide them the flexibility to work from wherever they are,” he reveals the strategy.
Another key learning for him is that while recruiting exceptional talent, the ability to engage the talent’s potential (challenging work, autonomy, etc) is more important than compensation offered. “Though compensation does play a major role, other factors like work, vision of the company, values and culture also go a long way in not just attracting talent but also retaining and engaging it,” he says.
“I don’t see it only as attracting talent to my organization, but I see it as attracting my organization to the talent also,” asserts Vinod Govindan, CEO, Oceans.ai. He elaborates: “See, people have dreams and aspirations, and organizations have dreams and ideas. A good entrepreneur or a leader is one who can align the two in her or his organization. I have always strived to align these two to attract the best to join the journey.”
It is imperative that enterprises must not just recruit the right talent, but aim to improve their candidates’ experience with engaging outreach, an effective interviewing process and informative onboarding. It is also key to examine how fast or slow a candidate moves from one stage of the recruiting funnel to the next. And the aim should be to rectify the problematic stage and not show her or him the exit. For, the talent has been identified after a due process and always the right talent is hard to come by.