The Hindu Business Line : Retail jobs may not go the BPO way

Advantage Retail
Talent pool for retail sector is almost industry-ready
Hiring from rural and Tier 3 towns to increase the talent pool
Retail industry to face lesser problems than BPO

Bangalore , June 12

Though a latecomer in the hiring line, retail is fast catching up with BPO in terms of the sheer numbers it needs to lap up in the next couple of years. But the good news is that history may not repeat itself. At least, not on the same scale. Outrageous attrition rates (going up to 80 per cent) and overwhelming entry-level salaries (Rs 18,000-20,000) may not hit the retail industry, say headhunters and HR experts.

Mr Tarun Bali, Executive Director, Manpower Services India Pvt Ltd, attributes this to the strong processes that foreign players have already put in place. "Their experiences will certainly help us though India is a different market altogether." More important, the talent pool for retail is `somewhat trained' and industry-ready. "All they need is a little tweaking," he says.

Eligibility for retail sector entry is 10+2 pass, a category that boasts of a lot more talent than what the BPO needs: Graduates. Moreover, hiring from rural and Tier 3 towns is not an issue for retail as familiarity with local area is an advantage. All this adds to the talent pool available.

attrition rate

Mr Kris Lakshmikanth, Managing Director, Headhunters India, feels that retail would see an attrition rate of around 40 per cent, "but this is the figure the sector is facing world over." He feels that the country has enough manpower to meet the manpower requirement (estimated at three lakh) in the next two years for the retail sector.

But hiring conversion rates of 8-10 per cent will be felt here too, according to Mr Madan Padaki, Director, MeritTrac Services, a Bangalore-based assessment company that tests candidates for both the sectors. Retail's customer-facing jobs do require some amount of intelligence and domain knowledge and the pool with these assets may deplete as more players are let in. But retail sector players such as Pantaloon Retail have smartened up to the issue and are already tying up with colleges to train students to suit their needs.

Adds Mr Lakshmikanth, "As more players come in, problems of circulation, short-term and vacation jobs will continue to haunt the industry, but not to the same extent as in the BPOs."

More Stories on : Human Resources | Retailing

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Essilor India's rural project

IMI to start MBA course in HR

Retail jobs may not go the BPO way

Online gaming firms see scope for ad revenue

SET Discovery ties up with Dish TV

LG sees 40 pc sales coming from big retail chains

Walt Disney, GroupM team up to explore kids' market

Menswear brand Crocodile to be made `youth-friendly'