Cage Them Before They Fly

Job rotation leads to retention

For those who fear that their bright employees will be ‘poached’ by major
competitors, here is a solution–"Cage them at any  cost or simply
lose them!" The message is clear–it’s better to lose employees to other
departments, where they remain within the same resource pool, than to lose them
to competition. So, besides offering juicy pay packets and international working
styles, the flavor of the year is well thought out strategies and operational
models to promote internal job rotations that offer cross border/department
career growth and an opportunity to build competencies and achieve career
aspirations.

Interestingly, this tool is also proving to be an effective incentive in
retaining employees, especially more premium is now being attached to
competencies rather than the conventional experience salary based model.

The
future spells services

Despite the current pause in the infotech sector, the number of IT
professionals employed during the current fiscal is tipped to register a 21.4%
growth to 522, 250. According to the National association of software and
services (Nasscom), the IT-enabled services sector is expected to clock a 51.4%
growth, while software exports is likely to see only a 5% growth in the next
fiscal.

No retrenchment for two years

Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) employees can heave a deep sigh of relief, at least
for the time being. The Tata group has decided that for at least two years,
there will be no retrenchment in VSNL. The group has voluntarily doubled the no
retrenchment period from one year committed in the shareholder agreement.

e-Recruitment catches on

Despite the downtrend in the employment arena, online selection has become
the preferred recruitment strategy for many a corporate house these days.
"Indian bosses and recruiters are increasingly becoming more open to the
idea of e-recruitment although it might be a while before the mindset of the
Indian employers changes," Dhruv Shenoy, marketing head, monsterindia.com
said.

CSC to increase Indian workforce to 7,000

Part of the $12-billion CSC Corp, CSC India plans to increase its workforce
to 7,000 during the next five years. "This will constitute almost 10% of
the current workforce of the parent company," says Arun Maheswari, managing
director and CEO of CSC India.

IT
companies remain the best employers–Hewitt survey

An IT company remains one of the best places to work because its human
resources (HR) policies are firmly centered around employees, say industry
watchers. In a list of the 25 best employers in India, released by the global HR
consulting firm, Hewitt Associates, 40% of the companies were from the hi-tech
sector. Infosys Technologies topped the list. "The most important thing
that we observed in IT companies is that employees are more empowered to do the
work they want to. Also, these companies are highly oriented towards employee
learning and have strong systems to support upgradation of skills," said
Purva Misra, Hewitt Associates.

Sleep while you work

Vechta, a German town has found that sleeping on the job, although in limited
doses, can boost workers’ efficiency. For two years, civil servants in the
small town of Vechta southwest of Hamburg, Germany, have been allowed 20 minutes
after lunch to go home and take a nap, doze in their chairs or otherwise relax.
"In the beginning, employees were skeptical about the project, but then
they were happier and they started working better," says town spokesman
Frank Kaethler. He added that Vechta started the project because it had too much
work for too few employees and no budget to hire new civil servants.

Ushacomm to hire 250 new professionals

Ushacomm will expand its development capacity, leading to an increase in
workforce to 750 professionals, from the current 500. Arun Kapur, director and
CEO, India, Ushacomm India, said. "We would invest $10 million during the
next one year for facility, infrastructure and communication links. The
investment would be made from of internal accruals."

Dataquest