10 secrets-to-success of employee referrals in india
DESCRIPTION
Indrajit Sen's presentation from the ERE Expo 2009 Spring.TRANSCRIPT
10 Secrets-to-Success of Employee Referrals in India -Ere Expo 2009 Spring , March 31, 2009
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Agenda
Understanding India Snapshot of Indian IT Industry The Hiring Environment in India Aricent at a Glance Introducing Aricent’s Referral Program The 10 Secrets-to-Success During Current Recession The Future
Understanding India
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India…Basics
Smaller : Area: 34% of US Crowded : Population: 3.6 X US Poorer : GDP: 5.5% of US Younger : Population under 15: 32% vs. 21% US Rural : Population in
– Agriculture: 60% vs. 1% US – Services: 23% vs. 76% US – Industry: 17% vs. 23% US
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The India Differences …Contradictions to Complexity
CONTRADICTIONS Multi-party democracy with universal
franchise
27.5 % below the poverty line
Chandrayan-1 orbiting the moon for the last few months
Adult Literacy 61%
Nuclear power since mid-70s
7.6% children die before reaching 5 years
Largest producer of milk
53 % drop out of school after enrolment
~8% GDP growth last 3 years
COMPLEXITY 28 States & 7 Union Territories
22 official languages (1000+ dialects)
8 significant religions
Sub-tropical, desert and Himalayan terrains
Appx 250 political parties (including 6 National parties)
5 European colonial legacies
1000+ castes/sub castes in dominant religious group
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India .. IT Trends
Indian IT-ITES sector-export revenues (USD billion)
Revenues :
Total IT-ITES industry - USD 71.7 billion (expected) accounting for 5.8% of India’s GDP
Software revenues - USD 60 billion
Software export revenues - USD 47 billion in 2009
31.3
40.4
47.0
FY2007 FY2008 FY2009E
~ 29%
~ 16 -17%
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India…IT Industry (Manpower)
Direct employment in Indian IT-ITES to reach nearly 2.23 million in 2009
Indirect job creation estimated at ~8 million
Industry remains a “net hirer” and employment creator
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India IT …. Hiring Environment Access
– Multiple communication channels: • Only print media till ~2000 • Small but growing internet penetration: individual/ ‘cyber cafes’ • Explosive mobile phone usage
Expectations – Lifetime employment – Annual double-digit salary hike – Matrimonial value – Overseas travel & stay – Technology exposure – Co-location with spouse – ‘College Batch’ parity: compensation & title – Reduced travel after children
Influence – Multiple agents:
• Parents & ‘Extended family’ • Peers / Seniors (-including teachers) • Spouse
Aricent at Glance
Co-Create
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Aricent an international leader in the field of communications software
Believes in restricting to niche telecom skills
Operations in 19 countries business to niche Telecom areas rather than spreading thin into multiple worldwide
Current Revenue $382M
Strength of organization: Approx. 8000. 85% in India
Milestones and Industry Firsts 9 of the top 10 telecommunications equipment suppliers 8 of the top 10 mobile phone manufacturers 1.5 billion mobile users connected to industry leading base station 400M handsets shipped with Aricent middleware World’s 1st commercially available Femtocell solution 1st ever In-flight Broadband roll-out for American Airlines and Virgin
America
Aricent: Powering Communications
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Co-Creating with Our Customers Simplification of mobile content discovery New platform for services & developers Addresses largest obstacle to mobile data
usage
Relationship since 2003 Engagements ranging from strategy, device
software design & development, and the online experience
Pioneering new products in FMC and 4G Industry’s first Femtocell gateway; Leading
WiMAX base station
Co-developed marketing leading DSLAM Supports 85% of global DSL ports
Co-developed the world’s first in-flight wireless broadband system
Introducing Aricent - Employee Referral Program
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Aricent … Employee Referral Program
Our Global referral program is known as “iRefer” Earlier the program was known as “Heads u Win” (HUW)
The Philosophy of the Program :
Opportunity to work with friends/ ex-colleagues/ class mates Building a better working environment Win-win situation for both the company & employee Earning attractive rewards & bonuses
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Our Success Story
Added hands in hiring….approx. 3000 participating employees supplement the Recruitment team !
Dedicated team members for employee referral channel across all channels
Performance: 10% of referred candidates are rated as ‘Best Performer’ constituting top 20% of the organization’s manpower
Longevity : 74% of referred candidates are still working with the organization which is 17% higher in comparison to those hired through staffing agencies
Hiring Contribution: 39% of total hiring through this channel globally Lower Cost per Hire (CPH): 50% lower as compared to Staffing Agencies (STA) Better selection Conversion Ratio : 1:3 interviewed get selected compared to
1:4 through other channels Better Joining Ratio : 79% through referrals. 72% through other channels
Few Facts
Quality of Hire
Business Value
We co-create – along with our employees to build a culture and strong team
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10 Secrets-to-Success in India
Inspiring Awards and Recognition
Adhering to Service Level Agreements (SLA)
Enhancing Participation
Branding and Communications
Special Hiring Programs
Catching “Boomerangs”
Analyzing Metrics and Success Measures
Feedback Mechanism
Benchmarking Industry for Improvement
Overcoming the Negatives
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Inspiring Awards and Recognition
Country specific reward structure
Level wise referral bonus
More bonus as the number of referred candidates increases
Announcement of successful referrers on intranet
Monthly winner on giving maximum joinees: – Special awards such as mobile phone & gift vouchers
Mega draw at the end of financial year : – Holiday package/ car/ bike/ laptop etc
T-Shirt to all successful referrers
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Transparency & Effective Communication – Adhering to defined SLAs – Duplication check feedback SLA: 48hrs on online recruitment tool i.e. Ehire – Qualitative feedback SLA: 24hrs – Process feedback SLA at different stages
The ‘Pampered’ Channel: – Longer validity for a referred profile (3 months vis-à-vis 45 days for other channels) – Every new requirement is first exclusively open for referrals for one week before being
flashed to other channels
Referral Reward Pay-out: – On completion of 2 months by the referred candidate
Adhering to Service Level Agreements 2
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Enhancing Participation
Progress : Base participation has increased to 35% (target for this year was 25%. Over achieved!)
What works – Transparency in process – Timeliness throughout process – Reaching out to employees personally through
iRefer kiosks – Communication: regular promotional activities
through poster campaign, mailer campaign, competition amongst different Business Units to increase participation
Challenges/ Speed Breakers – Lack of time & interest – Bypassing online application – Improper feedback for rejected candidates – Managing Perceptions:
• Duplication • Referrers confused with faulty feedback • Lack of policy awareness in spite of regular
communication through various modes
• Maximum participation by Junior & middle level • Low participation by senior level
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Branding & Communication
Tools for Internal Marketing – Poster campaign – Mailer campaign – Reaching out to employees through iRefer stalls – Ex-factor special campaigns – Special reward structure for critical & niche hiring – E-banners on the company intranet – Orientation to new joinees – Extending the program to prospective joinees
Events – Creating competition amongst different SBUs – Linking with corporate gaming contests – Quarterly newsletter – Special program on friendship day – Open house sessions
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Special Hiring Programs
Objective: Ramp-up of Middle level high end technical professionals in 2 months. Launch of special time bound referral program : Attractive additional bonus & Trip to Singapore Gains: Hired 38% though this program which is 10% more than the total hiring through referrals
Objective: Mass ramp-up of fresh engineering graduates within challenging timelines Launch of Special hiring program exclusively through referrals Gains :
- 25% lower Cost per hire as compared to direct college recruiting - 34% higher joining ratio as compared to direct college recruiting - 30% reduction in timelines as compared to direct college recruiting
Quick ramp of Technical Leaders
Large ramp up of Freshers (College Recruiting)
Case Study I
Case Study II
‘Toppings’ - Over and above base program - Short term special programs
Case Studies
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Special Hiring Programs Contd…
Hiring CCNA certified professionals with good communications skills (voice & Accent) in one month for one of our Strategic Business Unit.
Quickly “billable”
Launch of “Technical Assistance Center (TAC) Academy” − Hiring of any technical graduates with Good communication skills. − Imparting training on ‘Voice & Accent’ , CCNA & on customer products. − Certification sponsored by Client
49% of total joining through iRefer as compared to 39% thru STA 100% position closure within 30days 52% lower Cost per hire as compared to STA Interview to selection ratio is 5:4 as compared to 5:2 from other
sources
Objective
Solution
Gains
Challenge Unavailability of dual skill in the market & lack of in-house skill
Case Study - III
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Gaining customer confidence thus Opening doors for future opportunities
57% of ‘boomerangs’ came via iRefer
Productivity from day ONE resulting in faster delivery
Catching ‘Boomerangs’ : Ex-Factor Program
67% of middle level technical Professionals hiring came though iRefer
38% lower joining time than the standard lead time for joining
The ‘Ex- Factor’ Program- Re-launched in 3rd Quarter Poster campaign
Special reward announced which is over & above the regular reward amount
Less “on job” training
required Quickly “billable”
Support Hiring
Build good culture
Cost effective
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Analyzing Metrics and Success Measures What we track & Analyze
Quality of referral candidates through Hiring Accuracy tool – Performance – Longevity
Internal Customer Satisfaction – Referrer/employee satisfaction – Hiring manager satisfaction
Hiring Metrics – Total number of referrals. – Overall employee participation rate – Total number of referral hires – Total time to fill – Percent of referrals from events /Customized activities – Referral participation by BUs – Percent of key jobs filled by referrals – Offer acceptance rates – Percentage of applications submitted on ehire vs mail
Cost per hire Payment Time to Employees
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Analyzing Metrics and Success Measures Contd…
Case Study: Earlier TA team used to send mails directly to
employees regarding referral activities We were not happy with outcome Involved Business Heads as Ambassadors of
iRefer and they sent mailers and propagated Improvements were evident
Aricent could achieve the above through • Targeted and sustained internal campaigns • Employee friendly feedback mechanism • SLA Adherence • Meticulous tracking, and timely corrective measures • Leveraging network of prospective joinees & new
joinees
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Feedback Mechanism
Helpdesk mechanism: to give immediate attention to the referrers queries.
Dedicated email id to receive queries & also the same id being used for all kind of communication
Responsibility chain: dedicated person for each center with a escalation point
ISAT (Internal Satisfaction survey): This helps in knowing the pulse of the program which helps in bringing improvements in the program.
Few of the highlights: – More than 65% employees feel that iRefer reinforces
culture of ownership. – More than 70% employees feel that Rewards offered
under iRefer excite them to refer more. – 75% employees find our RMS (Ehire) easy mode for
referring candidates.
Rewards offered under iRefer excite me to refer more
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Benchmarking Study
iRefer
Referral program name
Employee Strength
Hiring % through referrals
Referral Bonus Range
WipLinks 20%
Connect Infy
Friends 350 23%
8000 39% $330 - $800
95000 $220 - $660
103000 40% $220 - $1100
$330 - $780
Buddy Management 25000 18% $220 - $1220
Bring your buddy 108229 33% $110 - $ 1100
Company wide recognition for winners.
Special consideration to referral cases.
Feedback survey
Regular internal branding activities.
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Overcoming the Negatives
Maintaining Transparency – Two way feedback mechanism – Automated tool linking feedback with referrers mailbox – Adhering to SLAs boost trust and confidence – Accuracy of feedback – Dedicated person for each center with a escalation
point – Helpdesk mechanism gives immediate attention to the
referrers’ queries. – Dedicated email id to receive queries & also the same
id being used for all kind of communication
Managing Nepotism – If the referrer is the hiring manager than he is not
involved in the selection process – If the referrer is Immediate & 2nd level supervisor than
they become ineligible for referral reward
‘Money’ Affecting Relationships – Educating new joinees about the program – Building a culture of accountability & ownership
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During Current Recession
Low Hiring
Bad news for Staffing Agencies, Referral programs to the fore at lower costs
Increase in Boomerangs hiring
Staffing agencies looking at outsourcing opportunities to manage other channels of Corporate
Decrease in portal licenses, increase in hiring through Social Networks
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Some Questions for the Future
Referral Programs Potential Drawbacks – Reduces Diversity? – Encourages “clustered” movements?
Unexplored Advantages: – Creating Opinion Leaders? – Creating “clustered” influence?
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Data Sources
World Development Reports 2009 Wikepedia information The ‘Economist’ : World in Figures Nasscom (India) IT data Tribune India Cartoon Aricent MIS
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Thank You!
Indrajit Sen Asst. Vice President (Talent Acquisition), Aricent