Online mortgage lender, Better.com, recently fired over 900 of its employees over a Townhall meet. On December 1, the employees were informed that almost 15 per cent of the workforce would be terminated and be rendered jobless, because of various reasons, including performance, productivity and efficiency. Vishal Garg, CEO, Better.com, chaired the webinar, where employees were informed of the mass firing. “If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,” Garg is heard saying on the call. It appears that the Company also wishes to keep the workforce lean and focussed on…
Author: Akshit Pushkarna | HRKatha
Akshit Pushkarna | HRKatha
A post graduate in journalism from Xavier's Institute of Communications, Mumbai, Akshit is keen to learn and pen down his observations. An adventurer at heart, he also competes as a boxer and a powerlifter.
For any good recruiter, the talent-acquisition process involves multiple variables upon which the suitability of a person’s candidature is judged. The robustness of the process allows companies to identify and acquire talent that they assess and find to be a suitable match for their culture, a critical factor in retention. At the time of recruitment, one of the things that a recruiter takes into account is the occupational history of the candidates, that is, their past experiences. This primarily helps them understand their competency for the job role at hand. Delving into the prior engagements, the recruiter looks at the…
One of the world’s leading professional service providers, Ernst and Young (EY), earned heavy criticism, both internally and externally, when it decided to retain an experienced professional even after he was found guilty of sexual harassment at the workplace. A disciplinary committee looking into the matter, found that Neil Hutt, a transactions partner for the company, had behaved in an “obscene and aggressive” manner during an annual company skiing trip. Hutt had passed sexually inappropriate comments at a junior woman employee. His vulgar comments addressed to the junior female colleague “amounted to an abuse of his position and power,” said…
Mirchi, India’s leading radio station, has been one of the top employers in the field of entertainment in the country. Formerly Radio Mirchi, the Company has now dropped ‘Radio’ from its name as it now work towards building a significant presence on other platforms. In addition to the already well-established radio presence, the Company is moving in the direction of establishing the brand over digital platforms. While restructuring business, it has been a major challenge for the Company to retain the existing workforce even while attracting talent for new businesses, reveals Vivek Kulkarni, senior vice president (HR), Mirchi, to HRKatha.…
The state of Haryana is home to a variety of industrial set-ups. Primarily regarded as an agricultural state, multiple industries — with automobile, chemicals and pharma being the prominent ones — have a significant presence in the state. In recent years, the expansion of IT and technological companies in the state’s economic hub, Gurugram, has also brought in significant business and revenue to the State’s coffers. However, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy observed that Haryana was the most unemployed state in the country for the May – August, 2021 period. Pegging unemployment at 35.7 per cent, the think tank…
Sports and games have always been an integral part of the culture of organisations. Private-sector companies as well as public-sector undertakings have always actively indulged in sports competitions, both within the company and between companies, to drive employee engagement even while bolstering their company’s culture. Ashwin Shirali, former VP – talent and culture, India and South Asia, Accor, deems sports as one of the most tried and tested team-building exercises a company can implement. “People realise that combined effort is required to win a game and that they all have to pitch in and work together. This, in turn, facilitates…
The NYC mandate dictates that if companies wish to employ artificial intelligence in their processes to screen, assess and select suitable candidates for various positions, then they’ll have to incorporate major revisions in their hiring strategy. City authorities will ban employers from using automated hiring tools unless a yearly bias audit can show that they will not be discriminating basis applicant’s race or gender. The legislation will see city authorities impose fines of up to $1,500 per violation, on employers or employment agencies. However, the onus of conducting the yearly audits would lie solely with the vendors, who will have…
With multiple functions getting digitised at companies across the world, one of the key changes witnessed in the hiring process is that virtual interaction with a prospective employee at the time of hiring has become almost compulsory. Video resumes, although not a new concept, have become increasingly popular. The trend set in globally when several people turned to social-media platforms such as TikTok to create and share short video resumes in a bid to leave a more lasting impression on the recruiter at the time of screening. This gave the candidates an opportunity to show and express themselves more clearly.…
Lenovo, one of the leaders in electronic products, has been expanding its presence in India over the years. As part of its continuous evolution, the computer hardware company is currently working on establishing a new business in the market. Given how lucrative the services and solutions business in the Indian market is, the tech company is now venturing into this new vertical. In conversation with HRKatha, Bhavya Misra, Director & Head of HR, Lenovo India, shares that even though a company such as Lenovo, with its strong employer brand value, finds it easy to attract talent for its conventional business,…
India is considered to have one of the youngest workforces in the world. After all, about 62.5 per cent of its working age population is between 15 to 59 years old. With ‘Gen-Z’ and ‘Gen-Y’ gaining more significance in the workforce each year, in terms of numbers, the age disparity in the workforce is bound to increase. This may lead to the issue of ‘ageism’, that is, stereotyping of and/or discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. This may be casual or systemic. “Discrimination on the basis of age has always been there. It is not…
Established in a small southern Indian rural area of Renigunta, back in 1984, the Amara Raja Group (ARG) has significantly expanded its operations in the past few decades. However, as the Group continues to achieve growth in business, its people have always been a central focus for the Company’s leadership. The HR practices and company culture have been studied by many prominent academic institutions. Not surprisingly, it has been the subject of several case study analyses, and even been included in the curricula of various IIMs, as well as the Harvard Business Review. The Group has earned significant recognition as…
Axis Mutual Fund (Axis MF), the subsidiary of Axis Bank, which is specifically dedicated to growing its mutual funds business, operates in a highly-competitive and dynamic sphere, where changes are frequent and it is essential for the workforce to be up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies. “We are in the money business where knowledge is super important. Employees need to be high on knowledge and technical understanding at all times,” says Meghna Gupta, head – HR, Axis MF. Currently, Axis Mutual Fund employs 650 people. In addition, it also employs gig workers to complete projects as and when required.…
It is often a dilemma for companies whether to go for ready talent from the market, or groom talent internally. However, that’s an old debate. The big question now is when companies start scouting for talent, both externally and internally, for any given position, should the assessment criteria also be the same for the two? In fact, it’s a common practice now to evaluate both options parallelly, and then go for the best one. Senior HR leader, Sunil Singh, questions why the criteria should be the same. It’s like comparing oranges and apples. “Companies need to bet more on internal…
The month of October 2021 was dubbed by media houses and industry experts alike as ‘Striketober’. As is apparent from the name, October of 2021 witnessed a plethora of organised employee strikes across India as well as the US. Amongst the most significant of these strikes that happened in the US, was the one where a bunch of Netflix employees protested against the digital streaming company’s decision to air comedian Dave Chappelle’s controversial standup comedy act, The Closer. In India, multiple employee strikes, primarily by workers in public-sector companies, such as MSRTC, Air India, KSRTC, AIIMS, among others, were witnessed.…
Ask a newbie about the reason for joining a startup, and the most common answer would be that it’s exciting and thrilling to be part of a start-up’s journey. They also enjoy the flexibility and the informal work culture. Startups, on their part, also lure the newbies with exciting offers and perks. However, this mutual love and admiration is very short lived. Industry estimates peg the attrition rates at startups between 50 and 80 per cent. Compare this with the attrition rate of a traditional, bigger or established company – even during ‘The Great Resignation’ the figure would hover around…
The packaging industry is one of the few exceptions that saw growth during the pandemic. As people started to rely more on delivery systems for their requirements, business for the packaging industry grew. The Indian packaging company, UFlex expanded its workforce during the pandemic along with its operations, into multiple other countries. Chandan Chattaraj, president – human resources, UFlex, tells HRKatha that since the Company was categorised as an essential services provider, its operations grew significantly during the pandemic. He also reveals that hiring saw an increase of 25 per cent during the pandemic, taking the total employee count of…
New York Times has found out that Amazon has been firing workers suffering medical problems or undergoing other life crises. The story reveals that the terminations, which spanned over a period of at least one and a half years, took place when the attendance software mistakenly marked them as no-shows. Findings of the report also identify that the Company was short-changing its workers due to its flawed tech system. “Amazon’s Worst Human Resources Problem” is what the report was dubbed as. Is this an HR error or a technological mishap? Or does it point to a more serious issue within…
Traditionally speaking, a person’s first job gives them an avenue to explore their capabilities and build the necessary skills to succeed in their professional skills. However, with the industry becoming more employee-driven, it is not uncommon to see people switch jobs with a frequency that might be considered preposterous by a professional from yesteryears. This shift has not been sudden either. The trend may, however, have been fuelled by the global phenomenon called ‘The Great Resignation’. For Dwarakanath P, HR leader & non-executive member, GSK, the trend has not emerged today but has been developing for the past 15 years.…
Global automobile manufacturer, Volvo, in a bid to further its diversity and inclusion agenda in India, has announced an initiative to include women restarting their careers in its workforce. With the second batch of the ExcelHer initiative, Volvo India has included 33 women as interns, who will work with the Company in the upcoming nine months. This is the second batch of women employed by Volvo who are making a professional comeback after a significant gap. The first batch, which will conclude by the end of November, saw 26 women with a career gap of more than a year, work…
This is truly the best time to be a techie. After all, the IT sector is witnessing a hiring boom, and demand is clearly more than the supply in the talent market. It is definitely talent that is in the driver’s seat in the IT industry and not the employers. While many top-tier companies continue their search for the right tech talent, others are developing ways to stand out from the rest as more attractive employers to draw the best techies. In economic terms, it may be the ideal time to be a techie. However, when speaking of work-life balance,…
Wipro, the Indian IT major, has launched a new programme called ‘Begin Again’, which specially caters to women professionals re-entering their careers after a break of six months to a year or more. Wipro’s Inclusion and Diversity will be in charge of helping the women recruited under the programme to restart their careers post their sabbatical or career break. The Company aims to reorient the women towards the present professional requirements of the industry. “The initiative enables talented women to explore career opportunities that will harness their potential and allow them to get back on track with the present demands…
Axis Bank has been systematically taking steps to ensure that its workforce is open to all, and truly inclusive. The most recent initiative aimed at making the Company more diverse and inclusive was the National Coming Out Day, which was celebrated on October 9. “Commemorating the National Coming out Day, Axis Bank announced a hiring drive focussed on candidates from the LGBTQIA+ candidates. This drive was organised in 15 locations across the length and breadth of the country,” Rajkamal Vempati, president & head – HR, Axis Bank, tells HRKatha. Axis Bank hosted the hiring drive across 15 tier- I and…
India is considered to be one of the most diverse countries in the world. Yet, the traditional mindset of its population has prevented this diversity from getting reflected at the Indian workplace. Specifically talking about gender diversity, women are often underrepresented in various industries across India. Manufacturing is one such industry. LinkedIn data from 2018 shows that there were only 15 per cent women employed in the manufacturing sector. However, Titan, one of India’s leading luxury watch manufacturers, is determined to change this. In fact, it has already succeeded to a great extent. With strategic policy implementation, Titan has been…
As we slowly return towards normalcy, employers and employees debate the workspace of the future. While some lean towards the reopening of workspaces, many who have adapted to the remote work model and are now comfortable with it, are keen to adhere to it for good. Employers continue to look for an innovative solution — one that will take the middle path. This is where the concept of a third office space comes into the picture. Redesigning the pre-existing office space to make it more dynamic for employees — offer them adequate space and designated workstations, while also providing them…
Merchant ships and the seafarers aboard them, form the backbone of global trade. Working on board merchant vessels for an extended period of time, sometimes months on end, ferrying cargo from one country to another, makes for a hard vocational life for the seafarers. The pandemic has posed more challenges for these seamen as well as the shipping companies. Speaking with a few junior-level merchant navy officials, the problem of deployment, irrespective of the shipping company, came to light. Many, who just started off their careers in 2020 have still not been on board. On the flip side, the more…
Paytm’s vice president – talent and organisational development, Vishal Shah, has left the organisation after one and a half years. He has now joined the pharmaceutical enterprise, Indegene, as the VP- leadership and organisation development. Commenting on his move, Shah told HRKatha, “The role is very attractive. Indegene is growing at a very quick pace and is at the becoming a formidable player in this industry. It was the right time for me to join Indegene.” He further says that the organisation is serious about its focus on people and company culture . In his new role, Shah informs that…