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