Wipro, one of the largest campus recruiters in India, will not rely on its usual HR team to net students this year. Instead, its entourage will include several general managers who will represent the company in their respective alma maters.
The top brass from this year onwards has been given the responsibility of adopting their colleges, engaging with students throughout the year and being " brand ambassadors" for the company. Wipro started this initiative in 2011 end to make better inroads into colleges in a hyper-competitive market.
"It will help us focus better and understand issues the institute has," says Saurabh Govil, VP, HR. The company hopes to have an edge during the placement season when it has to pick up a large number of students from a limited talent pool.
Wipro hires over 5,000 employees every quarter, of which 60-70% are freshers and its competitors Infosys, TCS, Cognizant will also be hiring a similar number in the same time.
While Wipro sends its top brass for placements, Mahindra Satyam prefers to send freshers - those who have graduated in the past two to three years - because they know the faculty and some of the students, and are still emotionally attached to their colleges.
The top brass from this year onwards has been given the responsibility of adopting their colleges, engaging with students throughout the year and being " brand ambassadors" for the company. Wipro started this initiative in 2011 end to make better inroads into colleges in a hyper-competitive market.
"It will help us focus better and understand issues the institute has," says Saurabh Govil, VP, HR. The company hopes to have an edge during the placement season when it has to pick up a large number of students from a limited talent pool.
Wipro hires over 5,000 employees every quarter, of which 60-70% are freshers and its competitors Infosys, TCS, Cognizant will also be hiring a similar number in the same time.
While Wipro sends its top brass for placements, Mahindra Satyam prefers to send freshers - those who have graduated in the past two to three years - because they know the faculty and some of the students, and are still emotionally attached to their colleges.
This, it hopes will help them build a better connect with students. With the economy on a see-saw, having dedicated line managers as ambassadors helps companies hire the most appropriate set of employees who will stay for a longer tenure.
As a one-point contact with the candidate, an alumnus can see through his or her resume, knows the professors and can gauge the quality of projects done, says an executive of an MNC who has been short listed to go to his alma mater, IIM Ahmedabad, over the past two years by his firm.
"You can eliminate the wrong candidate, and it increases retention as well. You become a pseudomentor who will be approached by the newcomer with queries on processes and the company culture," says the executive, who does not wish to be named.
An industry academia interface is common with multinational firms, but Indian firms have are going a step further in asking their executives to dedicate time to this.
"Some of our alumni who travel from abroad to cities like Bangalore have been asked by their companies to halt in Mumbai for a day. They are expected to visit the campus, talk to students about the company and career opportunities," says Ravi Sinha, head of placement for IIT Bombay. There is a conscious effort from companies to engage with IIT students in a structured manner.
NIKITA SINGH
PGDM-1st year
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