'Indian companies way ahead of global peers in stafftraining'

Indian companies can teach the world, particularly the US, a lesson or
two on workforce training and development. The former disciple that
learned best corporate practices from the West has now become the
guru, says a latest study.

The study, titled ‘How the disciple became the guru’, was released by
Kauffman Foundation and conducted by Duke University’s global
engineering & entrepreneurship project team. It is based on
interactions with leading Indian companies across sectors such as IT,
BPO, banking and pharmaceuticals.

“We were absolutely astonished by India’s capabilities in R&D that
were as good as the West, despite a messed-up education system. It’s
not the universities which are training these R&D specialists but the
surrogate education system created by Indian companies,” the study’s
lead author and Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering
executive-in-residence Vivek Wadhwa s aid.

The study notes innovative practices developed by Indian companies to
tap the talent pool from an early stage. Companies are going to
colleges much before they hire to help students become industry-
ready.

For instance, 20 of Satyam’s 80 senior executives serve as mentors on
campuses, and employees are encouraged to serve as guest lecturers.
Infosys is piloting an initiative to hire and train final-year
engineering students to do 3-4 month project.

Genpact is hiring undergraduates to work for it three days a week for
a salary in addition to paying half their tuition fees.

For recruitment, Indian companies are using retail kiosks and stores.
While Genpact has about 22 such stores from where it hires 25% of its
staff, ICICI Bank has recruitment kiosks inside its retail branches
where candidates can submit resumes and appear for interviews.

The study notes that leading Indian firms recruit for general abili ty
and attitude rather than specialised domain and technical skills. They
rely on their own training and development efforts to impart the
skills required. For instance, all IT-BPO companies hire non-
engineering graduates. HCL Technologies’ goal is to have half its
recruits from arts and science colleges.

“Indian companies are doing way beyond the West. They are investing in
their employees to make them more competent. American companies, who
are worried about job loss and immigration loopholes, need to realise
that you can only compete by making your workforce competitive,” Prof
Wadhwa said. Attrition remains the biggest challenge for Indian
companies, but the study notes that their attrition rates are still
lower than most American companies.

“Indian firms have been able to keep attrition rates constant or
reduce them,” Prof Wadhwa added.

Source: Economic Times