• You are here:
• Home
•  / 
• Interviews
•  / 
• Story

Advertisement

Interviews

What's your story idea?

Consequent to the slow recovery from the economic slowdown, there is an upsurge in hiring which also means a lot of attrition too  (View Comments)

Yasmin Taj

Posted On Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 12:59:40 PM

B Jaikrishna, Group Vice President – Human Resources, Amara Raja Batteries Ltd. (ARBL), talks about the hiring trends in the manufacturing industry

Please give us an overview of the industry and how it is doing presently.

Going ahead, the Indian economy is expected to post a better performance on the back of the automotive and telecom sectors, which look bullish. The automotive sector is expected to have new product launches, India becoming a global automotive sector outsourcing hub and the growing popularity of electric vehicles. In the Industrial sector, roll out of new telecom operators, 3G spectrum auction, likely entry of new service providers and deepening telephony penetration in the country is expected.

Please give us a brief overview of your company.

Amara Raja Batteries Ltd, (ARBL) is the largest manufacturer of Standby Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) batteries in the Indian Ocean Rim comprising the area ranging from Africa and the Middle East to South East Asia. Based in Hyderabad, with a fully integrated manufacturing unit at Tirupati, Amara Raja Batteries has reached a position of leadership in a very short span. Amara Raja is part of a global supply alliance that includes Johnson Controls Inc., USA, and JC Batterien in Germany. This alliance supplies batteries to every major auto manufacturer in the world including General Motors, Ford, Daimler Chrysler, Toyota, Volvo, Hyundai, Maruti, Nissan, Honda, Volkswagen and Fiat among others.

Can you describe the current employment trends in your industry?

There's lot of hiring happening in this industry (manufacturing) which stands next to IT and ITES. The quarter now July-Sep 10 is likely to witness a net employment outlook of +42%.

What kind of career opportunities are available in this industry?

Unlike the historic past, high performing and potential engineers and management graduates have a tremendous opportunity to grow on a fast track and occupy leadership positions at late 30's and early 40's. Earlier, manufacturing sector provided slow career growth for engineering grads and management grads. This is all arising out of the aggressive growth plans the industry is going through. However, the sector is cautious in terms of the economy and making its move in a measured fashion.

What are the recruitment processes that you use to employ talent for your organisation?

We do have recruitments happening at the lateral level and also at the freshers level to meet our growth plans. ‘Nava Prathibha’ is a unique initiative we have on infusing fresh talent into the organisation across categories of workmen, staff and executive levels. Nava Prathibha, the comprehensive fresh talent acquisition initiative has three sub programs which helps the company to induct fresh talent across levels in line with the business goals, which are Navaprathibha – ARTS (Amara Raja Trainee Scheme), Navaprathibha – ARGTP (Amara Raja Graduate & Technician Trainee Program) and Navaprathibha – ARGMP (Amara Raja Graduate Engineer Trainee & Management Trainee Program).

What are some of the challenges HR professionals face in this industry? How do you deal with attrition?

Key challenges are two fold - huge hiring which also means a lot of attrition too and increasing employee cost and the need to mange overall costs to remain competitive. Consequent to the slow recovery from the economic slowdown, there is an upsurge in hiring which also means a lot of attrition too. Post the recession revival, there is a significant increase in the compensation levels across board this year. Business leaders and HR leaders in general are facing a great challenge in the retention of people in this dynamic scenario and also getting quality talent for critical positions. There's also the challenge of increasing employee cost and the necessity to manage overall cost of business. Challenging and transient times – in a way interesting times!

Attrition is a reality and therefore we don't look at attrition and instead focus on retention. We've several programs that focus on employee engagement which in turn takes care of retention to a great extent.

What are some of the traits and qualifications you look for in the people you hire?

Attitude and Aptitude. Attitude for us would mean positive outlook, hunger to perform, fitness/alignment to our culture, values, beliefs and our leader behaviours. One of the important leader behaviour expectations is commitment to society. Beyond these, we look for the talent suitability to the competencies required for the job.

Most Searched Tags

Advertisement

Thought Pool

Here's your chance to be our 'Student Journalist of the Month', a contest for aspiring students to pool in their ideas and views on burning issues in the Human Resource space. It's simple! Post your article here and you could be the winner.

Topics of the month

• The need for CSR
• Role of EQ in a successful career
  

Terms & Conditions