BUSINESS TODAY

Where had all the headhunters gone? Manufacturing sector execs had even quit asking, things were so bad. Guess what-that's history. And if your cubicle neighbours are dropping their voices sheepishly to whisper 'can't talk now' into their cellphones, you aren't imagining things. Job offers are back.

Ask Sachin Saxena, 34. When this 13-year veteran of HLL's soap wars signed up with Whirlpool a year-and-a-half back, he saw it as a lucky break. But four months ago, he was hired as General Manager (Production) at LG Electronics. And when he speaks to his former colleagues at his old department at HLL, he hears a new wave of excitement-they've started landing jobs again. And so too with other manufacturing sector execs. Soap sellers are selling washing machines, tractor vendors are selling paint and steel execs are doing textiles. It's all happening again.

So what explains the upturn? "Both exports and domestic markets are growing," says Atul Vohra, Partner at search firm Heidrick & Struggles, "and owing to the spur in demand, new capacities are being created, and this is translating into new jobs." By his estimates, the past year saw senior level positions in the manufacturing sector grow at a healthy clip of over 30 per cent.

Yash Yadav, Group Vice-President (hr and Industrial Relations), Escorts, echoes Vohra's ebullience. "In the last 12-18 months, there has been brisk activity in manufacturing, particularly in the auto sector and auto component makers," he reports, pointing to their financial results. It's not wholesale hiring, though, given the corporate cosiness with lean operations (and, of course, lack of greenfield projects). But it's hiring all the same-selective in nature, intended for mission critical work. Change-leaders and shake-up artists, for instance, are in special demand.

Placement firm ABC Consultants also has a bounce to report. Shiv Agrawal, the firm's northern region head, is particularly bullish on engineering. "In the last six months," he says, "we've more than exceeded what we did last year, since R&D wings are being set up by manufacturing companies." Names such as General Motors (gm) and Lear Corporation are on the prowl for high-brain positions. In all, Agrawal says, some 77 global firms have set up R&D centres in India, including equipment manufacturers, engineering design houses, automotive products, chemicals and plastics.

Speak to some recent job-baggers, and the story only gets better. Taran Sardana, 35, has recently switched from Essar Steel to Jindal Stainless as Assistant General Manager (Marketing) and he talks enthusiastically about the upturn. R. Sridhar, General Manager (Vendor Relations), Hyundai, signed up with the Korean auto major this March after a longish stint with Chennai-based tractor maker TAFE, and he highlights the renewed sense of confidence that MNCs-especially the Koreans-have started placing in Indian manufacturing.

Hyundai is busy raising its domestic production capacity from 150,000 to 250,000 cars. Therefore, according to the company's hr Head G.S. Ramesh, classic factory jobs are swelling. Over the last four months, the Korean auto major has recruited nearly 300 people.

Maruti Udyog (MUL), India's biggest car maker, has also been watching developments carefully. Market competition is set to intensify. "While we may not be adding jobs for the company per se, we will be creating vacancies downstream," says Jagdish Khattar, Managing Director, MUL.

What about the core sector? The cycle seems just right in industries such as steel, for example, which is witnessing another bout of activity. According to S.K. Jain, Vice-President (Group hr), Jindal Organisation, the uptrend will continue for the next two years. Bulk hiring, though, is still not being planned. "Today, the hiring is more on high-skill levels," he says, "and almost all manufacturing companies are looking at ERP, and need people to manage supply chains and logistics." Project managers and marketing minds are also in need, he adds.

Niroop Mahanty, Vice-President (HR), Tata Steel, agrees with that assessment. Specialised skills are in demand. "In the case of the manufacturing sector, job creation will not be so much in hard-core processes, but in the way you deliver to the customer," he says, "I'll reduce people in manufacturing and add to marketing." It's a re-gearing of the teeth-to-tail ratio. As competition grows, companies need sharper market bite and lighter production systems.

If you think cocktail creation is child's play, think again. Part-time it may be (for some), but booze-blending behind the bar is no simpleton's job. Even a three-year diploma in hospitality management is no good, though on-the-job apprenticeship helps. "We never put freshers directly on to the job," says Anmol Zutshi, Bar Manager, Ashok Hotel, "After all, it's a matter of skill, individual customer taste and experience that teaches the tricks of the trade. We cannot take chances." The salary, starting at some Rs 8,000 per month, "goes significantly up after confirmation". What would bar stardom require you to become? Think 'stress reliever'. Or 'advisor'. Or 'idea bouncer'. At a stretch, even 'shrink'. But not-repeat, not-'waiter'.

I have been an area marketing manager with a construction and chemical company for several years now. I want to do a Ph.D in logistics, with specialisation in product insurance, to achieve my ultimate aim, which is to become a consultant for export insurance and documentation. But I've got pressing problems at home and cannot quit my job to hone my skills for better career prospects. What should I do?

A Ph.D is a long-drawn process and if you cannot quit your job, it's going to be tough to pursue it while working. However, you don't need a Ph.D degree to become a consultant-what you need to do is a specialised course in your area of interest and gain hands-on experience in the same. I think you are confused-where did this idea of becoming a consultant for documentation come from? Do you know what remuneration to expect vis-a-vis your current prospects? You need to do a little realistic thinking before you give in to this fascination. If you still want to do a Ph.D, do it, but convince yourself first; you have much at stake-a good job and a happy family.

I am an hr professional with a mid-cap pharma company. For the last three years, I've been spearheading talent-development initiatives, with a fair amount of success. However, researchers in my company are a peculiar breed and seem to be lost in their own world, making it difficult for me to inculcate team spirit and leadership skills in them. They seem to perennially face problems in their inter-personal relationships and are, at times, very curt. What can be done?

I don't think your researchers are arrogant-they are just into different things. They are a breed with different personality traits and skills, and they would rather think molecules than feelings. That's not deliberate rudeness or insensitivity on their part. Also, most of them get away with it since their jobs do not involve interacting with the public. You need to counsel them in a different way. They need to be told that since they are working for an organisation where profits come from the efforts of the whole team, they should work in sync with others. However, if a particular individual is arrogant or rude, counsel him.

I am an engineer with an MBA in marketing from a second-rung B-school. At present, I'm working with a large FMCG company as an area executive. I've already spent two-and-a-half years at the job, but my career does not seem to go anywhere. Prior to this I was working with a pressure cooker major, where I spent about six months post campus recruitment. Now I realise that if I had stayed on in my previous job, I would have gone much farther in my career. I also feel that as an engineer-cum-MBA, I'm overqualified for my present job. Ideally, I would like to work with top-notch consultants. Do you think I can ever get a good break?

Never say never! However, with an MBA from a second-rung institute it may be difficult for you to get a plum job with one of the top consulting firms. Also, in the short term, consulting assignments in larger companies, especially for people with your kind of experience, are limited. But do not give up. Be realistic and try to switch to a position that is commensurate with your experience of three years, and also gives you better job satisfaction.

I am a single, 24-year-old working woman employed with a call centre. I and another girl are invariably made to do night shifts. I'm not averse to this, but the company seems to have made it a rule for the two of us to work only nights, amidst all the other men. I've had a word on this with my team leader and he gives me loads of false assurances. The call centre is teeming with girls during the day and my repeated requests for a shift rotation has fallen on deaf ears. It's not easy for me to work continuous nights and that too with men. What should I do?

Generally night shifts are rotated-unless of course, you were hired specifically for that shift. It is not unusual for girls to work the night shift in call centres; in fact, it is pretty common. However, if the situation is as unfair as you mention and you are uncomfortable, the best way is to go beyond your supervisor and tell someone in hr; they will surely take note. If you have genuine reason to suspect that your being single is the reason why the night shifts are being allotted to you, it would be wise to complain. Or even quit.

Answers to your career concerns are contributed by Tarun Sheth (Senior Consultant) and Shilpa Sheth (Managing Partner, US practice) of HR firm, Shilputsi Consultants. Write to Help,Tarun! c/o Business Today, Videocon Tower, Fifth Floor, E-1, Jhandewalan Extn., New Delhi-110055.

Cutting Edge Health Benefits
India Inc and hospital chains are joining hands.

Try looking up the 'healthcare benefits' under some of the new job contracts being signed in the corporate world nowadays, and you might have to reach for a medical encyclopedia. We'll spare you the gory details of the 'dread disease' covers (full reimbursement), but the vagueness is gone, and you have alliances between India Inc and private healthcare businesses to thank for it.

In the old days, of course, reimbursing medical expenses (often for family dependents as well) was an ad hoc goodwill decision, typically taken by a proprietor or corporate chief. The multinational companies, however, made the whole thing official-keen to use assured benefits as a recruitment bait. And now the trend is towards comprehensive corporate health protection deals, which includes regular checkups.

Ac
cording to Pradeep Thukral, Head (Corporate Marketing), Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, companies like ONGC, SBI, BHEL, IOC, oil, MTNL, MUL, The Times Group, HLL, L&T, Motorola, HCL Technologies, Hero Honda and TCS have group deals with the hospital. All that's needed now is for medical insurers to step in and make the alliance a three-way one. Synergy is the word.

Retirement Rethink
Reason must dictate retirement, not tradition.

Heard the opinion that people must retire at 30? Even Einstein, goes the argument, was at his creative peak in his 20s. Utter nonsense, says Ricardo Semler, the Brazilian 'maverick' entrepreneur. Why in this post-labour world do we chain people to their desks when their bodies are in the best shape to go skydiving, and then force them out when their minds are in the best shape to deliver intellectually? Retirement at 60, 65 or even 30 is rather arbit, is it not?

Ricardo Semler: Still in REM dream phase

G.C. Jayaprakash, Senior Consultant, StantonChase, agrees with Semler. Age should be immaterial, he says, so long as the person is adding value. Venkat Madhavan, Director, Ernst & Young, agrees only partly, saying that retirement has "lost much of its relevance", but the concept serves as a tool to "legitimately ease out older employees". Joydeep Datta Gupta, ED, PricewaterhouseCoopers, however, sees the definition of any 'peak intellect' age as equally arbit, and would rather go with the rationale of 'natural attrition'. "A young organisation is often more flexible, agile and innovative," he observes. Stanley Bing of Fortune thinks a midlife retirement break would be a swell idea. But the Indian ideal, perhaps, would be Deepak Chopra's solution: ageless body, timeless mind.

-Payal Sethi