A paradigm shift is bound to happen as multinationals in
telecom arena are planning to recruit students from the campuses.
The campus graduates should now pay more emphasis on creativity,
reflexibility, initiative, speed, quality, and communication
skills.
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Liberalization of Indian economy has attracted
a lot of multinational companies to set up their shops in India
and telecom is no exception. Almost all the major telecom players
in the world like Alcatel, British Telecom, Casio, Ericsson,
Hewlett Packard, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, Qualcomm, and
Siemens are directly or indirectly present in India through
liaison offices, joint ventures, and subsidiaries. MNCs who were
unable to make it earlier are now planning to enter India through
the existing telecom services and through new services like basic
telephony, satellite telephony, and Internet. The MNCs will help
in setting up the infrastructure, commissioning the
infrastructure, maintaining the infrastructure, and also in
providing excellent services to differentiate theirs from
competitors.
Seeing the enormous potentiality of the Indian
market, MNCs are planning to diversify their activities in
different geographical areas. Apart from this, the companies are
also planning to jump into new product areas for different market
segments with different market positionings. This diversification
strategy would result in the recruitment of sizeable number of
telecom professionals specializing in different areas.
Most of the MNCs in India do not recruit fresh graduates. They prefer experienced professionals in the respective fields so that there is a zero lead time in terms of implementation of projects as the professionals do not require major training. |
According to one guesstimate, MNCs are planning
to recruit around 1,000 employees in 1998. Qualcomm, the promoter
of CDMA world-wide, recruits around 200 professionals every week
from different parts of the world for its world-wide operations
which depicts the scale of operation that they perform.
Most of the MNCs in India do not recruit fresh
graduates. They prefer experienced professionals in the
respective fields so that there is a zero lead time in terms of
implementation of projects as the professionals do not require
major training. It also helps the corporates in consolidating
their positions in India quickly, thereby eliminating the risks
involved in appointing a fresher. But a couple of years down the
line, MNCs would recruit M-graduates and B-graduates from premier
institutes as there would be a greater demand for telecom
professionals in the country for running different services
effectively and efficiently.
Regarding recruitment of students, according
Seema Grover Barooah, human resources manager, Nokia Pvt Ltd,
"Initially when we were in the start up phase and we did not
have the luxury of picking up students as it takes a time of one
to two years for completely transforming the new recruitees from
the student mode to working mode."
The recruitment methods are normally the same
for MNCs and Indian players, as they look for technical and
managerial competence in an individual but with minor additions
here and there. After the initial screening tests, MNCs look for
attributes like creativity, reflexibility, response time,
communication skills, and attitudes which reconfirm the
individuals capabilities and instill faith among the panel
members.
KC John of Qualcomm International feels that
one should pay more emphasis on creativity, initiative,
reflexibility, speed, and quality while making new recruitments.
According to John, reflexibility is flexibility in terms of
adapting to new technologies.
Speed is one of the prime factors which helps
the companies to have a cutting edge in technology for new
emerging markets. An important aspect which can act as an
obstacle for the selection of the candidate is communication
skills. As MNCs have operations in different countries, one has
to communicate in different time zones and in different
geographical areas, the candidate should have excellent
communication skills.
Multinational companies recruit people to perform Indian operations but in some cases they are sent to perform the overseas assignments. After the completion of the project, they join the Indian group. |
Seema Grover Barooah of Nokia lays more stress
on psychometric test for recruiting people in her organization.
Psychometric test is a combination of analytical, logical, and
psychological qualities that an individual is said to possess.
For recruiting people in her organization, Nokia conducts PAPI
test developed by PA Consulting.
Some of the other attributes which cannot be
neglected while recruiting people are ability to work in a team,
ability to work individually and independently, and level of
confidence in handling projects among others.
Once the professionals are inducted into an
organization, MNCs pay more emphasis in developing them by
providing the right kind of training. MNCs make significant
investments in training by knowing the development needs of each
profession and each person and then designing the training
program accordingly. Besides training on theoretical courses, the
company gives hands on experience in different technologies by
simulating different conditions at their development centres. For
instance, while Qualcomm pays more emphasis on CDMA technology
products and infrastructure, Nokia pays more stress on GSM-based
training on GSM test bed.
A few years down the line, MNCs would recruit M-graduates and B-graduates from premier institutes as there would be a greater demand for telecom professionals in the country for running different services effectively and efficiently. |
The training duration varies from six weeks to
three months depending upon the training need of the individual
and the job that they are handling. Lot of companies do conduct
short training as and when the need arises. As there is a high
degree of obsolence in telecom, MNCs motivate employees to learn
by devoting 5-10 percent of their time in training.
For the first time in India, Nokia is planning
to train professionals for their developmental needs by
conducting tests, exercises, and simulation programmes. The
training centre is more of an experiential learning which helps
in building a cohesive team.
MNCs recruit people to perform Indian
operations but in some cases they are sent to perform the
overseas assignments. After the completion of the project, they
join the Indian group. In Nokia, the Global Field Engineering
group moves from country to country to complete the project. As
new projects are coming up in the developing countries with the
liberalization of telcom services, and especially where there is
a shortage of manpower in these markets.
KC John feels that they are not in body
shopping mode and manpower recruited for Indian operations would
be helpful in developing a sustainable team to cater to the
business needs of India.
Most of the MNCs are giving more importance to
transcendental meditation and yoga to release the tension of
people working in telecom where there is a high degree of stress
as people are always under the pressure to do something new. To
reduce tension, some of the corporates mingle fun with work and
spend lot of time together as a family in outdoor activities.
With high degree of job hopping seen in the
telecom sector, it has become a necessity for HR personnel to
provide learning opportunities to their employees so that there
is no stagnation and there is no frustration. To eliminate this,
learning opportunities are provided by MNCs to employees. This
acts as a catalyst in their growth and motivates them to stay in
the organization.
In future, MNCs are planning to recruit people
from educational institutes. Nokia is planning to recruit
students from Microwave Radio Institute, Delhi University very
soon. Multinationals are planning to take professionals from
major industry programs where companies would not act as a
parasite but would help in developing a synergic relationship
with selective institutes.