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n Viewpoints: PAGE 4&5 Industry take

n Events: PAGE 6&7 TimesJobs Conversations

ARE YOU READY FOR ‘THE MILLENNIAL’?Organisations should redesign physical and cultural elements of a workplace to suit millennial needs, says the TimesJobs study

VOLUME-VI I ISSUE 10 I OCTOBER 2016www.content.timesjobs.com

TimesJobs Survey

2

Reshaping workplaces for the MILLENNIALSMillennials are no more a novelty at India Inc. but attracting them and managing them still remains a challenge for employers. TimesJobs brings you the ‘Millennial Survey’ to help the HR fraternity and employers understand the needs and desires of millennial workforce. This will help to understand the changes required in creating a workplace suitable for the millennials, says Apeksha Kaushik

How many employers do you expect to have in your career?

30%

4-5 employers

2-3 employers

1 employer

More than 5 employers

40%

20%

Millennials matter. Here’s why

SAMPLE this: Baby boomers are retiring and millennials already form 25 per cent of the workforce in the US and account for over half of the

population in India. They are the future and are the only ones capable of dealing with the new tech-savvy world. They have the right skills to manage business process and operations of the future. Their knowledge and use of technology and affinity with the digital world makes them a critical part of today’s and tomorrow’s workplace.

Given this…It is important for organisations to

attract, hire and engage millennials well. However, the challenge lies in here itself – as getting best talent, hiring and managing the millennial workforce is not like doing the same for any other previous workforce generations. Following takeaways from previous TimesJobs study makes it evident: nMillennials are pro-flexibility. Rigidity at work, workplace puts them off big timenThey expect rapid progression, an interesting career and constant feedback nThey don’t want to be ruled. They like to have quality discussionsnRegular feedback, encouragement, public recognition counts from them

The key findings of the new study shows that corporates must re-align workplace strategies, processes and settings to suit the needs of millennials to have a better and productive workplace.

How should you do it?

Which of the following factors most influenced your decision to accept

your current job?

How has your work life balance lived up to any

expectations you had before starting your job?

Worse than I expected

As I expected

Better than I expected

65%

25%

10%

Salary and benefits package

Working hours/flexibility

Job role

Brand name

Opportunity for growth

Work location

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

3

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We are the hoppers Millennials are job hoppers. Nearly, 40 per cent of the respondents say they expect to have atleast 4-5 employers in their career. Just 20 per cent feel they will stick with just one employer for their entire career. Nearly 65 per cent respondents said they don’t think they would be able to rise to senior positions in their current job. This, clubbed with a desire to rise up the ladder quickly and make big bucks, drives 60 per cent millennials to change job as soon as they find a good opportunity.

Flexibility tops it allNearly 40 per cent millennials in the survey said that flexible work arrangement is the most important aspect of an attractive employer. Good salary and benefits package is secondary and employer brand takes the third place. A good work-life balance and strong diversity policies are also their priorities at workplace. However, 65 per cent millennials say that the expectation they had with respect to work-life balance before joining the organisation wasn’t fulfilled. Infact, the flexibility scenario of their job is worse than what they had thought. About 25 per cent say it is what they had expected it to be and only 10 per cent say the work-life balance is better than what they expected.

Money is a concernWhile salary may have been a secondary decisive factor when taking up a job but it is still an important one and not many millennials are happy about the way they are paid. Almost 80 per cent survey respondents said they are unhappy with their current salaries. Nearly 20 per cent of these unhappy millennials are in their first jobs and 40 per cent have changed about 2-3 employers.

We are ready to go globalMillennials have a strong desire to work overseas with 70 per cent respondents wanting to do a global assignment during their career. This is great news for organisations who are looking for foreign expansion and growth. However, this also indicates brain drain phenomenon.

Manage us differentlyNearly 60 per cent millennials say they are not happy with the leadership styles of their boss. Most feel that their managers do not always understand their ways of working, use technology or handle various situations at workplace. There are differences in opinions, work styles and comprehension of tasks, challenges and ways to deal with them. Infact, 70 per cent millennials are not happy with their company work culture.

Brand matters to usAbout 30 per cent millennials are serious about a brand’s reputation when taking up a job, hence its high time organisations put in that extra effort to up their brand game. Nearly 40 per cent respondents said they have/will avoid working in a particular company if they believe it has a negative image.

What the millennials say?

Are you happy with your current salary?

Are you happy with the leadership style of your boss? Would you like to work outside

your home country in your career?

Are you happy with the company culture and workplace environment?

70%Yes

80%No

60%No

20%Yes

40%Yes

30%No

30%Yes

70%No

How satisfied are you with opportunities for career progression in your current role?

Do you feel you will be able to rise to the most senior levels with your current employer? 65%

35%

50%Not

satisfied

35%Somewhat

satisfied15%Very

satisfied

Yes No

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India Inc. evolving workplaces for millennials

‘Workplace should tune with the millennial’s aspiration’

IT IS imperative for every organisation to understand the needs of millennials and create a workplace that is in-tune

with their aspirations. The young workforce demands respect, trust, understanding and transparent communication. They are tech savvy, want workplace flexibility and growth opportunities. At The PRactice we cater to the aspirations of our young workforce by offering non-hierarchical set up. We encourage and provide support to employees to take up new initiatives and projects irrespective of their level in the organisation. This has enabled us to be an organisation where leaders have grown from within. We have

a robust rewards programs that is peer driven. Employees select winners for their individual and team contribution. We offer a robust training program to equip employees with skill sets that will keep them abreast with changing landscapes. We offer internship opportunities through our global brand partner Porter Novelli to provide employees with international exposure.Our leaders spend time to train and mentor young managers. We foster collaborative workplace by leveraging technology solutions like Google drive, mobile apps etc. to offer flexibility at workplace. It helps employees to work remotely.

Sudipta Gupta, Director Human Resources, The PRactice Strategic Communications

Matching the millennials expectation of a new-age workplace is nothing less than finding the way out of ‘Alice in the Wonderland’. They need a workplace where they can ideate, create, innovate and recreate. How should organisations redesign workplaces for new-age employees? Neha Singh Verma spoke to industry experts.

‘Millennials should feel proud of the company they work for’

AS WE head towards becoming the youngest country (by the workforce age) in the world, many companies are revising their policies to meet the

demands of this younger generation. Therefore, our focus through various L&D efforts is to nurture first time managers and grow mid-level managers into leaders of tomorrow. A millennial employee seeks the following:nTechnology and innovation: The new generation is tech savvy and willing to experiment. If an organisation can provide them a culture of innovation, they will be able to attract and retain this talent pool. nOn job trainings and L&D programs: The millennial workforce is ambitious, passionate about quality work and willing to take risks. They come to work asking, “What is going to excite me today?” We believe that ‘learning’ is not meant only for professional development but also for personal growth. For eg, we encourage our colleagues to learn music. We run guitar classes for employees within the

Vinita Shrivastava, Senior Director, India HR & Global Mobility, HARMAN International (India) Pvt. Ltd

Interviews

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‘Create an atmosphere that millennials feel excited about’

‘Millennials prefer accessibility to leadership’

WE BELIEVE that satisfied and engaged employees are more effective and

productive. As employees spend most of their day at the office, a workplace becomes an essential part of an employee’s life. Hence, having a happy workplace is a mandate rather than an option.We have recently shifted from a small office to a bigger workplace. This shift was essential for Sulekha considering our growth in terms of workforce strength and ambition. But along with that we also wanted to do justice to the diverse workforce we have. To engage our workforce more effectively, we decided to provide them with an atmosphere in the office which can excite them. This includes a recreation room, a study cum library and lounges to relax. Additionally, we also have meeting rooms named after inspirational sports persons. These include legends like Roger Federer, Mary Kom, Jahangir Khan, Michael Phelps, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams etc. For this exercise we received more than 100 entries for 20 meeting rooms from our employees.All in all, we understand that the changes have worked extremely well towards employee enthusiasm and well-being.

IN A country like India which has a young demographic, there is no dearth of talent but to keep

them engaged is the huge task that most employers need to undertake. Millennials are now entering the workforce and they are bringing with them a new perception of what office life should be like and how relationships between employers and employees should be structured. A passionate lot, millennials ensure they do their best. It is important to help them feel both valued and financially secure as employees. We understand that millennials prefer an open culture, a conversational approach and expect greater accessibility to the leadership. They prefer being mentored and fostered rather than being directed. They respond better to an open channel of conversation, a nurturing environment where the boss isn’t a boss but a coach. Employers need to provide them with opportunities for growth with a clear focus on learning and development. Companies need to be sure that they provide the millennials with opportunities to stretch their creativity and develop their own initiatives and goals.

Soumendu Ganguly, VP-Product & Marketing, Sulekha

Tina Balachandran, Head HR, LeEco India

organisation. Mentorship also plays an important role. Millennials seek real time constructive feedback from mentors at work. nPride factor: Millennials should feel proud of the company they work for. Today’s employees judge a company not only by its financial status but by rankings of surveys such as great place to work, awards won for path breaking ideas etc. nFlexibility: This group does not believe in the ‘9 to 5 job’ culture. They need freedom to work at their convenience - whether it’s flexi timings or work from home which lets them balance personal and professional lives well.

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TimesJobs Bureau

INDIA has a huge workforce available but organisations often struggle

when finding the ‘right talent’. This hints at a clear mismatch between the talent available through academia vis-a-vis the industry needs. To address this need, TimesJobs in association with Sona College of Technology, got together a power packed panel from industry and academia for discussion titled ‘War for Talent 2.0: HR Meet 2016’ in Chennai.

Industry and academia call for stronger linkage for better talent outcome

War for Talent 2.0: HR Meet 2016, Chennai

n Professor KB Akilesh, Senior Professor, Department of Management Studies, IISC

There are many aspects to talent – first one includes skills and attitude of professionals. Second is the need of organisations because now companies look for competent people with global outlook. Third is the seamless flow of information coming from social media, internet etc. When we say ‘talent’, all these elements come into play.

n Thyagu Valliappa, Vice Chairman, Sona College of Technology

The gap between talent available and talent required depends hugely on mindset. We need to build a mindset right from beginning at school level to the time a person finishes his education and takes job. Strong industry-academia connect can help fill this gap.

n Chandrasekhar Chenniappan, Head Of Human Resources, Atmel Corporation

One important aspect for talent gap is because professionals often forget basics in a run-up to jobs. My organisation is strongly based on R&D and we often feel that professionals are weak on fundamentals and basics when working on the floor. Another big

challenge is attitude - the will to learn and innovate.

n Nandkishor Dhuri, Head-Human Resources, Saipem India

Unfortunately the ranking and grading system defines talent mostly. When someone starts working in the industry, his marks are not important. Albeit, his grasp on core subjects is more pertinent for quality deliverables. Hence, the definition of talent itself needs to be re-looked upon.

n Chocko Valliappa, Vice Chairman, Sona College of Technology

At Sona, we work very closely with the industry. We are an autonomous institution and often play with curriculum to respond to industry needs and preferences. We have 10,000 students in the campus and another 2,00,000 as alumnus.

n Rajendran Dandapani, Director of Engineering, Zoho Corporation

At our company, we give freedom to new joinees to decide their career paths. Also we encourage them to learn cross-functional skills while working. We also let them explore entrepreneurial ideas or new innovations at work.

TimesJobs Events

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n Uma Rao, Vice President Corporate HR, Ashok Leyland For heavy industries there is a definitive challenge to get right people on board and keep them excited about work. A good brand name helps in getting good people on board but after some time peer comparisons can get one thinking about his career choice. We have launched ‘Young Talent’ programme to help mid-career level people experiment with their work/skill domains.

n Anil Kumar Singh, VP-Talent Acquisition & Recruitment, Capgemini India

At Capgemini, we have three months training programme for new recruits after which they are put on shadow programme on projects for next three months. While most new employees have sound knowledge but a job requires technical knowledge, problem solving skills, prioritisation, communication skills etc. Academia needs to focus here too.

n B Jagadeesh, Head HR – India, Danfoss Industries

It’s paradoxical that a country rich in human resources is poor in employable talent. We go to many colleges for hiring and meet many students. At times, we see that students with good grades seem scattered in group discussions. If we want talent, pan-India or global, we need to reconsider the regional biases as well.

n KY Ravikumar, Head HR, Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Limited

The oil and refinery industry has come a long way in terms of finding talent. In initial years, we had no industry ready talent but now things are better. The gap between industry and academia will always remain. The industry faces a grave issue with professionals being weak in conceptual

HR bracing to accommodate millennials at workplace

The New Recruitment Paradigm 2016, Hyderabad

In the digital age, the Human Resources (HR) roles have transformed from being people-focussed to workforce oriented. Sensing this trend, TimesJobs hosted a boardroom dialogue in Hyderabd titled ‘The New Recruitment Paradigm 2016: Technology, Talent, Transformation’. Here, HR leaders of top companies discussed how the HR sphere is adjusting to the demands of millennials. Excerpts:

n MV Chalapathy (Bobby), Associate Director & India hiring head, VirtusaPolaris New facets have come up like how to engage well with talent, how to relate with them and further. With digital technologies coming in and the millennials joining workforce, there are more aspects to be considered like encouraging employees to voice their opinion, letting them shape organisation’s opinions.

n Sunil Parambath, Head-Talent Acquisition, Arcesium India Digital is a huge challenge. In the earlier days, the HR had specific talent acquisition strategies but these don’t work in the new work world. Today, its an era of how the brand is attracting talent, what is the millennial experience when they first contact you for example through the social pages.

n Amtul Ali Lubna, Vice President-HR & Operations, Efficacy Systems Today, before you recruit people your brand has to be very strong. Branding includes internal and external channels like social pages, company website etc. Internal channels include your employees since the picture they present has more impact on outsiders.

n Suresh Kumar T, Director - TAG (India & Middle East), OTSI - Object Technology Solutions Inc. The HR person must understand why an employee will stick with the company for long. Today employees come and talk about their expectations openly and how they see their careers growing. These expectations are sometimes high, for example an associate wants to learn new technologies to upgrade himself in a two year old work stint.

n Naren Parcha, Head – HR and Talent Management, People Tech Group Inc Employees have a lot of information about company now, mostly due to internet. For example, when hiring a fresher recently I was asked, ‘What is the work-life balance here?’ It’s interesting because someone who is starting his career is concerned about his work-life balance, he already has an expectation from his new employers. This means that employees now have a vision for themselves.

Disclaimer: Information provided in this newsletter shall not be reproduced, published, re-sold or otherwise distributed inany medium without the prior written permission of TimesJobs and a clear acknowledgement to TimesJobs.

Contact: TJinsite, TimesJobs, Plot No 6, Sector 16A, Film City, Noida, 201301. Write in to editor@timesjobs.comCopyright ©2016 Times Business Solutions (A division of Times Internet Ltd). All rights reserved.

RECOGNITION

KEY WORKPLACE ELEMENTS TROUBLING CURRENT WORKFORCETimesJobs �nds the key workplace elements that bothers the current workplace generation the most. Bad work culture and unclear career growth path rated as the biggest workplace nuisance by India Inc. employees

What worries you most at workplace?

50%Bad work culture

47%Unclear career growth

30%Bad reporting manager

Which statement stands true to you?

52%My company’s

work culture is bad

20%My company has a

strong work culture

28%My company is

working on building a strong work culture

WORK CULTURE

CAREER GROWTH

Do you feel valued at work?

How often do you feel valued at work?

O�ers40%Abundant opportunities for career growth

60%Limited opportunities for career growth

35%Monotonous

and less challenging

work

60%Biased

manager

Hinderances

REPORTING MANAGERAre you happy with your reporting manager?

30%Yes

70%No

45%Yes

55%No

Quite Sometimes Neveroften

20% 50% 30%30%

People feel unclear vision and favoritism are the trait of manager that pose a

challenge for one’s career growth?

TimesJobs Workplace Diaries