Inspired by some real-time stories at Marico, the Company has come up with the Phoenix programme which focuses on giving an opportunity to people who have had to take a career break due to some or the other reason.
Though Marico has been very open to hiring people with career breaks in the past, it is only now that it has come out with an official programme to streamline things.
Marico has employees who have taken multiple breaks in their career. Rakhi Gupta (name changed) had to take multiple breaks in her career due to many reasons such as shifting to the US with her husband, childbirth and child’s health condition. Later, she unfortunately lost her husband at a time when she became a leader in a manufacturing setup. She was forced to take a break to take care of her own mental health and support her family.
However, she joined Marico in a full-time consultant role and is content with her job, and the facilities and flexibility it gives her.
To be the part of the Phoenix programme, a candidate needs to have a career break of a minimum of one year.
Phoenix is a “gender-neutral second-career programme curated to address these tectonic shifts,” says says Amit Prakash, CHRO, Marico.
Marico recognises that the new-age workforce envisions their careers very differently. In Prakash’s words, “While for some, career breaks may arise out of different life stages or family needs, for others career breaks may mean a chance to pursue their passions. Thus, we decided to extend it to all genders, without judging them on the reason for career break”.
Marico continuously re-evaluate its policies and programmes to build a workforce of tomorrow. With the Indian family system undergoing significant changes and the roles and responsibilities of caregiving being realigned, there is a substantial change in what the future workforce expects from the workplace.
This programme will help the Company tap into specialised and unique talent.
A unique quality of this returnship programme is that it is not focused on taking just women. The Company has recognised the changing world and the role of a father in caregiving.
The programme will include two types of hiring, project –based and lateral. In project-based hiring, the candidates shall be hired as consultants for a duration of six, nine and 12 months. The final absorption shall be based on their performance and role availability. In lateral hiring, based on experience, the candidates shall be hired directly in lateral roles.
