The Hindu Business Line : A look at changing worker expectations

Across the student population, company image and reputation command a premium. Companies engaged in CSR initiatives are also viewed more favourably than those that do not offer voluntary work opportunities.

Anjali Prayag

When it comes to choosing an employer, each generation has its unique requirements and distinct career expectations. Two research studies presented at the National HRD Network’s conference in Chennai shed light on the future workforce and its expectations.

While one study provides cues on what companies can expect from their future workforce, the other focusses on industry-academia collaboration for talent solutions.

Dr Arup Varma, Professor of Management Studies, Graduate School of Business, Loyola University, Chicago, who is studying various aspects of ‘Future Workforce Expectations,’ says that the objective of the study was to provide pointers to the industry on the expectations of the future workforce and also make international comparisons.

The data collection process for the study is still on in the US and UAE and about 5,300 students from India have been included as respondents in it. The student profile includes both engineering and non-engineering graduates and management students from premier and other institutions. The survey was conducted in September-October this year among students who would be eligible for employment in the next one or two years.

The area of study included students’ criteria for evaluating and selecting a company for a career, their preferred industry and work location and expected compensation. Though the final conclusions are yet to be drawn, initial findings reveal that across the student population, it is company image and reputation that commands a premium.

Surprisingly, companies with active CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives are also found more attractive for employment than those that do not have voluntary work opportunities.

More specifically, for engineering graduates, it’s the company size, image and management profile that matter. For non-engineering graduates, it’s the type of industry and job security that is important and not so much compensation levels.

Post-graduates from premier institutes prefer companies that have strong training programmes. They are also conscious of the company image and the management profile, but are indifferent to the size of the organisation. For post-graduates from other institutes, factors such as job profile, industry type and compensation matter.

“Though the study is still on, initial findings show us that companies that have strong training programmes, come with a clean image and have an inclination for societal good, stand a better chance of attracting talent. This means that companies have to revisit selection and attraction strategies continuously and create targeted strategies,” says Dr Varma, who works with AssessPeople (formerly CareersIndia ), a Chennai-based online workforce assessment services firm. He guides the organisation’s strategic research initiatives and facilitates moves for partnerships with academic and research institutions in India and abroad.

Research competence low

The other research project titled ‘Talent Solution: Industry-Academia Collaboration,’ being conducted by Professor Rafiq Dossani, Senior Research Scholar, Stanford University, reveals that while India is developing an undergraduate factory model with adequate technical competence, research competence is low.

In a study of 25 colleges in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu where approximately 1,000 interviews were conducted, it was found that certain colleges like the IITs and NITs (known as Centres of Excellence), produce the best undergraduate students due to high funding and commitment to teaching.

“We also found that private providers are addressing the quality gap between COEs and state colleges in these states,” according to Prof Dossani.

The study points out that higher quality output of students is associated with higher faculty autonomy and industry linkages. The study is yet to collect information from colleges in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.