New leaf for flexibility?: The HLL office in Mumbai

Corporates like to have a lot of things endure through the decades: the values, culture, appeal of brands, and above all, profitability. Human resources do not always form part of that list. In fact, keeping profitability intact often calls for a churn of the management. It happens. It's a dynamic market out there, after all, which must be matched in all its diversity by organisational flexibility. 'Transformation.' 'Rejuvenation.' 'Restructuring.' These are some of the labels that go with it. Some people stay put, some get shaken out.

Some get hurt. A senior manager at a well-known bank still can't believe it. Just back from a 15-month training programme overseas, he was looking forward to greater responsibilities as part of the global management team. Imagine how numb he went, then, when he returned to the Mumbai office to find a subordinate two rungs his junior appointed as his new boss. ''Maybe I was naive to think that managerial abilities were all that mattered,'' he rues, at his new office in a utility firm, ''maybe I thought things had changed since the last century.'' The consolation is that he wasn't alone: some 50 others left the bank after he left earlier this year. ''People are fed up of constant roadblocks to their growth and progress,'' he claims, reeling off the ''better'' assignments they've all got.

Yet, the insecurity phase can turn anybody into a raw case of nerves. A senior-level manager at a durables firm who claims to be meeting ''111 per cent'' of his targets, but was publicly hauled over the coals for lagging ''by 3 per cent'' on a single deliverable, has thought it best to float his resume-before being forced to walk the plank.

Periodic Motion

Speak to headhunters, managers and other sources, and you hear tales of corporate churn in sectors as diverse as finance, consultancy, FMCGs and durables. Entire teams, they whisper, have been sent packing. The reasons for the churn vary, according to Anindita Banerjee, Lead Consultant, Stanton Chase India: ''It could be internal restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, non-performance by the company or personal commitments of senior managers.'' The real triggers, however, are difficult to spot, since companies are good as disguising these things as non-events.

Whirlpool, LG, Hindustan Lever (HLL), Ranbaxy and Ernst & Young. These are just some of the companies that have become the subject of such 'churn' talk in corporate circles, in recent times. But an HLL spokesperson describes charges of managerial disquiet over its recent reorganisation as ''completely baseless and incorrect''. He also denies the bandied-about figure of '150 managers' having been rendered surplus. The attrition rate, he adds, is what it was: 6-7 per cent per annum.

"Attrition has become something of a norm across the globe in most industries," says Garrick D'Silva, Chairman, Whirlpool of India Limited, "including ours."

Yet, complacency is for fools. Executives across industry know better than to ignore the possibility of losing their job in a reshuffle. Ears tend to get especially sensitised to warning signals. Corridor murmurs. Voices dropping abruptly at water-coolers. Eyeballs darting left and right. A sudden formality to all exchanges. Awkward body language. Performance anxiety. Palpable tension at meetings. The ex-banker recalls how ''everybody was on the phone with headhunters and potential employers''.

The most sinister aspect of it, according to a senior manager at a Delhi-based durables company, is the atmosphere of fear and distrust. While people start playing the waiting game, meetings become more about making the right noises than accomplishing anything. The urge to quit is enormous.

Those who succumb to the pressure need not always fear a stigma. ''Even if the churn is due to corporate 'non-performance','' reassures Banerjee, ''it does not necessarily rule out the manager or even reflect personally on him. Sure, the reference and background checks may be more thorough, but a company's poor performance often does not have to do just with an individual's abilities.''

Survival Instinct

Survival entails more than just sensing an oncoming crunch. Ensuring a proper performance record is the first priority, without letting the jitters sink your morale. Beyond that, keeping your cool is survival tactic number one. It minimises any potential loss of self-confidence or esteem. ''The idea is not to panic,'' says Mohit Mohan, Senior Vice-President, Gilbert Tweed, ''an incredible track record will help. It's a setback-don't be down and out. Don't make hasty decisions. Usually something good comes out of the churn. There's a turnaround, and people become stronger. They get a chance to prove themselves.''

Remember, headhunters look for survivors. Adaptive managers who've seen tough times are better than those who've had it easy. According to Sangeeta Sabharwal, a consultant at Mafoi, those who take the initiative to multi-skill themselves tend to survive churns. ''The environment may not encourage it because it may be construed as aggressiveness,'' she says, ''but indispensable people survive the churn.''

Advisors also recommend lying low, and avoiding run-ins with others. Faced with insecurity, a middle-level manager at a Delhi firm adopted the practice of ''keeping my own ego a notch lower than anybody I spoke with, without going ineffective''. Instead of dilly-dallying on decisions, he sped up his own work, and survived by the skin of his teeth. ''Blend in, they said, don't stand out,'' he says, ''but I stood out without attracting the wrong attention.''

SPOTLIGHT
IT Consultants

Titus & Co.'s Diljeet Titus: Keeping the taxman at bay

People recoil in horror at the mention of 'income tax'. Which is why becoming an IT lawyer or consultant is such a smart option; you get to cure one of the most frequent sort of headaches. Who might such a person be? ''Typically, a ca at the appellate tribunal and it department levels, and a qualified lawyer at the High and Supreme Court ones,'' says Diljeet Titus of Titus and Co. Advocates, ''and while 70 per cent of the basic market comprises the former, you need lawyers to sort things out once issues of it law come into the picture.'' The skill-sets needed: ''analytical and persuasion powers, and an excellent accounting background.'' The remuneration? How's Rs 10,000-15,000 per month as a start?

-Ananya Roy

COUNSELLING
Help, Tarun!

I am a 21-year-old commerce graduate. Initially I was pursuing a bachelor's degree in commerce from a top-rung college in Delhi, but had to quit mid-way due to ill-health and had to finish my graduation through correspondence. I ended up losing a year in the process. Now I wish to enrol in an MBA programme, preferably in a top B-school. Will the fact that I graduated through correspondence hamper my chances of getting into a top B-school? I have always been a good student with an excellent track record in school. I am even pursuing a course in financial planning. Given this, what are my chances of getting admission into a good B-school?

There are several criteria considered by B-schools for admission into their MBA programmes-grades are just one. You need to find out whether any of the B-schools you are interested in applying to have a problem with a graduate degree through distance learning. If not, then this is not something you need to worry about. However, there are other criteria such as co-curricular activities in which you may score less, given that you have not been a full-time college student. I would recommend that you consider the second-rung business schools as well. A ca course could also be an option.

I am a 30-year-old post graduate in rural development with a science background. I decided to join an NGO for monetary reasons and have been working with it for the last four years. I now want to switch to a corporate career and feel my best chances of doing so would be through obtaining an MBA from a reputed B-school. Do you think it is too late for me to make such a switchover? Will my age restrict my chances of doing well in the corporate world? Finally, is it possible for me to obtain financial assistance to pursue further studies?

Your work experience in the NGO sector is not a hurdle at all to your making a career in the corporate world. In fact, many corporates even place a premium on B-school grads with such experience. As for financial assistance, it is available in form of scholarship from numerous educational institutes as well as that of study loans from most banks. Given your previous work experience, the agri-business management course offered by the IIMs is particularly suited for you.

I am a 27-year-old MBA from a second-rung B-school with specialisation in marketing. I have been working with a reputed private banking and insurance firm as a bank assurance officer for the last couple of years. I worked for three years with a reputed cellular service provider prior to this. I feel my salary has not kept pace with my experience. Most of the companies I have approached for a job have failed to offer me a package that is much of an improvement over what I am already getting. Do I need to acquire additional educational qualifications?

Your current pay package sets the limit to what you can ask of prospective employers. Most prospective employers ask what your current pay is and then offer a pay that is a respectable increase over it. If your current pay is low, chances are that the pay offered to you will also be low. Having said this, you need to first decide what you define as low pay. You should worry only if others working in the same capacity as yours are being paid more. In that case, you should take up the matter with the hr head of your company. However, if everyone who works at a similar position is paid the same, then you should just resign yourself to whatever your company chooses to pay you.

I am a 38-year-old teacher working with a reputed public school for the past 10 years. I obtained a master's degree in economics and followed it up with a BEd. Simultaneously, I also did a hotel management course in PUSA, New Delhi. I then joined a five-star hotel and worked there for three years. Later, I took up a teaching career after marriage. However, I now realise that there is little scope for growth in my present line of work. Is it too late for a person of my age to go in for a corporate career? Do I need to acquire additional qualifications ahead of making such a move?

If you are decided on switching over to the corporate world, the best bet for you would be the hospitality industry. Your three years in the hotel job should hould you in good stead there. You could also take up a job at a call centre. However, since your teaching experience would not be considered relevant, you may have to compromise at least initially on the position and compensation you are offered.

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.

Head hunting Etiquette
Awkward when a headhunter calls? Don't be.

Handling job offer: Being prepared is everything

Oh, it's a cold call from a headhunter. Instead of mumbling awkwardly, not knowing what to reveal or even how to appear, it would help if everyone knew the 'done thing'. So, what's the best way to respond?

In a word, with discretion. "Response is a function of how we communicate," says Sangeeta Sabharwal, Executive Director, Mafoi. And discretion makes for instant credibility to cold-callers outlining a job for you. Assessing the caller's credibility is critical too. A professional will confirm your identity, give a quickshot introduction, and present a snappy outline of the client. If you're still listening, a job description will follow.

What you, the call receiver, mustn't do is convey racing-pulse enthusiasm for the offer. What you must never, never, never do is reveal details of your current job description and pay package. Not until you're actually sure of the offer's authenticity and are in an advanced stage of discussion.

-Amanpreet Singh

Tech Intake
Tech firms are recruiting by the shipload. Hurrah!

Back with bang: Cubicles are set for a population explosion

Infosys will hire some 9,000 professionals this year. You heard right: 9,000. Ditto TCS. In fact, TCS is adding on so many new people that it has hired a Vice President, Transformation, P.S. Viswanathan, just to handle all the change this is likely to set off within the organisation.

And then there are the foreign players too. Accenture, EDS, CSC and IBM Global Services are relocating some 50,000 jobs overseas from the US over the next three years; according to research firm IDC, some 30,000 of these jobs could come to India. On a recent trip to India, Charles Phillips, the Global President of Oracle Corp, spoke of adding on 250 people a month in the country. Microsoft is upping its headcount for the IDC operations to 500 by 2005, from the current 300. Hughes Software Systems (HSS) hired 450 people in the first quarter of 2004-05, and the company will be hiring around 1,000 more through the year.

Will the hiring continue? ''Seems like it,'' says Parijat Chakraborty, Head (Communications Research), IDC. A word of caution, though. Jayaram Easwaran, Vice President (Human Resources), HSS, cautions against grabbing any job on offer instead of working to a career plan that meets long-term aspirations.

-Sudarshana Banerjee