Even as it manages its employer brand with improvement in processes from within, RCom will partner other ADAG companies — Reliance Entertainment, Capital and Infrastructure — to visit B-schools as a team this year.
This is a first for ADAG companies, and stems from the formation of an HR council at the Group level this year.
“Last year, we did not go to the IIMs, but did recruit from other institutes such as XLRI, SP Jain and Symbiosis. We did have a couple of lateral hires from IIM Bangalore. This year, we are planning to go on campus in a big way, including to some of the IIMs,” explains Dutta.
An MBA Finance could end up in RCom or Reliance Capital, if there are roles available in both — that's a choice students will have. For companies, it allows each to leverage the strength of the Group. In terms of hiring process on campus, induction, orientation, compensation, benefits structure, grade and titles, they would be made uniform across ADAG companies from this year.
Synergies will also come into play in the case of IJP (Internal Job Postings). Currently, shifts between RCom businesses are facilitated across levels through an online IJP platform. With the new council in place, the intent is to allow transfer of employees (at the senior level) across ADAG companies.
Groups such as ITC have as a practice approached premier B-schools and technology institutes under a structured ‘Leadership Programme' representing all businesses. After a common induction and training programme, inductees are positioned in different businesses.
All managers recruited through the programme are flexible and mobile between ITC's businesses, notes Anand Nayak, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Human Resources, and Member of the Corporate Management Committee, ITC Ltd, in an e-mailed response to The New Manager. According to him, this serves as a huge attraction for young managers. From 50 to 75 inductees under the programme five years ago, ITC inducts 120 to 150 each year now.
There are other business groups such as ICICI that prefer to keep the campus hiring process company-specific. Judhajit Das, Chief of HR at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, notes that this is because the propositions are distinct for each group company. But here too, initiatives to help people shift from one company to the other are in place for employees, making the prospect of working for a large group more attractive.
(With inputs from N.S. Vageesh)
Keywords: ADAG companies, B-schools, lateral hires