INTRODUCTION

According to Edwin B. Flippo, Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation. A few definitions of recruitment are: A process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applications from which new employees are selected. It is the process to discover sources of manpower to meet the requirement of staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force. The main objective of the recruitment process is to expedite the selection process. Importance of recruitment Attract and encourage more and more candidates to apply in the organisation. Create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organisation. Determine present and future requirements of the organization in conjunction activities. Help increase the success rate of selection process by decreasing number of visibly under qualified or overqualified job applicants with its personnel planning and job analysis

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

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This project has been taken up to evaluate the effectiveness of SAP recruitment process of L&T Infotech and suggest techniques to further enhance the process. It also aims at analyzing and comparing the existing sources which have a major role to play in the recruitment process. The time constraint and knowledge constraint have limited me from exploring the recruitment process followed in the IT Industry. Overall the project will be able to help the organization to tell whether the recruitment process has been effective and efficient enough to fulfill the requirement . The scope and objective of the project was to have an in-depth understanding of the recruitment process followed in L&T Infotech. The areas covered in the project include: Recruitment and Selection Buddy referral System

METHODOLOGY FOLLOWED
The basic idea was to start the project by firstly getting an in-depth knowledge of the recruitment process and identifying the positives and the negatives and later on analyzing the data to suggest proper changes. For the initial 40 days I was on the job of understanding the entire process by handling the job of Vendor Management. Later on in the project I started collecting data and then analyzing it to find what all were the positives and what all were the negatives. The data collected was from January 2007 to April 2007. The data was collected from the Resumer software, the tracker sheet maintained for the consultants and the record of the offers made in a particular month.

Industry Overview
When asked by reporters what IT stood for, India's the then Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee responded India's tomorrow. India is proud of its software industry. Moreover, in 1999, more than 203 of Fortune companies outsourced their software requirements to India. India's biggest advantage over other nations is the fact that India possesses the worlds second largest pool of scientific manpower, which is also English speaking. Coupled with the fact that the quality of Indian software is extremely good with relatively low cost, it provides India a very good opportunity in the world market. A buoyant Indian IT and ITES sector, including the domestic and exports segment is growing at an estimated 28 per cent in the financial year 2006-07, offering unlimited opportunities to the aspirants, Wipro Corporation Chairman Azim Premji said. Total revenue for the sector is expected to exceed US $48 billion, nearly a ten-fold increase over the revenue of $4.8 billion, reported in 97-98. Premji said as a proportion of national GDP, the revenue of Indian technology sector has grown from 1.2 per cent in 1997-98 to an estimated 5.4 per cent in FY06-07.

The domestic market is also picking up and its total size is expected to cross USD 15.9 billion in 2006-07, a growth of 21 per cent over the previous year.

As we look forward, India continues to enjoy an unmatched superiority as an offshore destination for IT and ITES services. The success of IT has now spread to other industries including Biotechnology, Auto ancillaries and Pharmaceutical industries.

Another worrisome aspect is the continued dependence of the IT companies on the routine applications development and maintenance (ADM) tasks and their inability to scale up significantly to the higher billing and more complex tasks in areas like logistics, retail, automobiles and aerospace.

Says Sid Pai, partner TPI International (a global advisory firm), Sustaining top line growth will be a challenge. Adds Kiran Karnik, president, Nasscom Margins will be down 1% to 2%. M&A activity will also be impacted with valuations coming down. Some studies estimate the share of Indian players to be 50%. While demand is there, the fact is that there is a limit to how much you can grow with routine services. Adding to the problems is the fact that billing rates are flat and companies do not have the capability to deliver the much talked about high value tasks. While there is lot of room for the IT companies to grow which in effect could ensure top line grows at rates witnessed in the past that is upwards of 30% it is the large players who will have to evaluate their options. Says Karnik, I dont see a reason why top line could be impacted. Though there could be constraints in managing the growth. For instance, the industry could find it difficult to get the right kind of talent. Apart from the shortage of skilled manpower, another issue is the increase in wages which will impact profitability. Says Vikram Bapat, associate director, Price waterhouse Coopers (PwC), Wages have been increasing at about 12-15% a year. I see a combination of factors including wages, minimum alternate tax, fringe benefit tax on ESOPs, sluggishness in the US economy and the strengthening rupee together denting operating margins.

Typically, for every 1% fluctuation in foreign currency against the Rupee there is a 0.4% impact on operating margins. Says a CFO of IT major, companies usually takes forward cover for one or two quarters to take care of currency fluctuations. Though if the rupee continues to remain strong, as is anticipated, there will be a squeeze on margins. A large exposure to the US market makes the companies more vulnerable to currency fluctuations. To overcome the hurdles on the growth path companies now have little choice but to accelerate growth in new markets and new services.

PROFILE OF L&T INFOTECH

Corporate Profile Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited (Estd. 1997), a 100 percent subsidiary of the multifaceted and diversified US$ 2.8 billion Larsen & Toubro Limited, offers comprehensive, end-to-end software solutions and services. Leveraging the heritage and domain expertise of the parent company, its services encompass a broad technology spectrum, catering to leading international companies across the globe A Range of Products & Services Committed to a focused business approach, L&T Infotech offers its services across a wide spectrum of technologies to include: Focus Areas outsourcing of Application Maintenance as well as

Offshore

Application Development ERP-II implementations, upgrades, rollouts, production support, maintenance and enhancement Integration of systems within and across enterprises Industry Solutions Banking & Securities, Insurance, Utilities,

Manufacturing,

Communication & Embedded Systems Services

Package Implementation & Support, Application Development & Maintenance, Enterprise Application Integration, Data Warehousing & Business Intelligence, Infrastructure Management Services, Strategy Consulting, & Value Added Services Delivering Total Solutions 6

With its wide-ranging technical expertise and experience, L&T Infotech offers flexible engagement models for involvement in all or any of the phases; from the inception stage of identifying the problem space for the customer and recommending the appropriate solution to the execution and deployment of the solution. It offers structured methodologies and frameworks for a faster time-tomarket Drawing upon its resource pool of business and technology experts, L&T Infotech consultants offer customized solutions for a range of services like architecting, integrating, developing and maintaining the system. These flexible, tailored solutions provide onsite or offshore execution or a combination of both. Commitment to Quality With an unswerving commitment to quality, L&T Infotech's welldefined quality policy for technological and managerial processes has helped to establish the company's quality credentials through objective assessments: Among the first few software entities in India to be awarded the ISO 9001:2000 certification CMM-related processes conforming to SEI-CMM Level-5 guidelines Assessed at PCMM Level 5, ver-2.0 across Bangalore, Chennai, and Mysore

Innovating for Excellence L&T Infotech has set up a dedicated Center of Excellence (CoE) to adapt cutting edge technologies for business solutions. Identifying and researching on generic as well as specific technologies, the CoE 7

team focuses on initiatives aimed at assimilating and disseminating knowledge from different technology areas to the various delivery groups within the organization. Alliances The Center of Excellence works towards identifying leading

companies in the varied technological space to create new partnerships and alliances in niche as well as general areas. L&T Infotech has alliances with: EAI Solutions: Web Methods, TIBCO, IBM (MQ-Series), Microsoft (BizTalk) Business Intelligence: Informatica, Business Objects, Oracle, Computer Associates CRM: Siebel, Oracle, SAP, People Soft, Computer Associates, SCM, i2, SAP Collaborative Product Commerce: Matrix One, SAP/ PLM Enterprise Application Systems: SAP, Oracle, People Soft, JD Edwards. Technology Solutions: IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, HP, Computer Associates.

Our People - Our Strength A world-wide network of more than 4000 vibrant, well-focused professionals, from leading academic institutions, play a critical role in L&T Infotech's successful implementation of the key business and technological needs of its customers. Besides 14 international

offices and six software development centers in India, the company has a Proximity Development Center in the US. A Wide Area Network connects the development centers in India with business offices in the US, Europe and Japan, through a combination of high-speed satellite and terrestrial links that can be extended to the client premises at a short notice. VISION Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited shall be: A globally benchmarked solution provider A preferred partner, through creation of high value for customers An enriching workplace for employees to excel through innovation & teamwork committed to delivering high fidelity services and solutions, Time Tested institutionalized processes, with a firm belief that quality is a cost-saver L&T Infotech Differentiators 1. Right Size Partner L&T Infotech is an agile and a flexible outfit. L&T Infotech leverages its financial stability and simultaneously inherits its long-term sustainability from the parent company.

2. Customer-Sensitive At L&T Infotech, we understand the user-perspective better than anyone else does.

3. Program Management

L&T Infotech has a deep project and risk management expertise that is inherited from its parent company and continues to build on this superior legacy. 4. Best Practices L&T Infotech has acquired the best practices and business processes in the chosen domains. 5. Valuable Assets L&T Infotechs Human Resources principles and philosophy are built on the foundation that our employees are our greatest strength. We attract some of the best talent owing to L&T brand name, and retain them through innovative HR policies. Over 4000 consultants including 300+ Domain specialists Industry benchmarked HR Practices. L&T is a Preferred Employer for many career driven professionals. Top 1% of Indian engineering graduates choose Larsen & Toubro as their employer. 6. Strategic Alliances L&T Infotech has alliances with: o EAI Solutions: Web Methods, TIBCO, IBM (MQ-Series), Microsoft (Biz Talk) o Business Intelligence: Informatica, Business Objects, Oracle, and Computer Associates o CRM: Siebel, Oracle, SAP, People Soft, Computer Associates o SCM: i2, SAP, JD Edwards o Collaborative Product Commerce: Matrix One, SAP/ PLM o Enterprise Application Systems: SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, and People Soft o Technology Solutions: IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, HP, Computer Associates

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7. Center of Excellence Center of Excellence focuses on the improvement in the technology, tools, and methodologies employed in L&T Infotech with the intent to improve software quality, increase productivity and gain a competitive edge for L&T Infotech. 8. Domain Expertise Vertical Focus Manufacturing, Utilities, Financial Services (Insurance, Securities, Banking) and Telecom

Revenue Mix

Ge ographical Reve nue Mix

Health care, Insurance, Utilities 30%

Mftg 20% Others 30% financial services 15% ODC 10% Europe 30% US 40%

US Europe Others

embedded systems telecom 5% 20%

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ORGANISATION STRUCTURE

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The Problem
In todays organizations recruitment has become one of the major HR functions. But the question generally raised in any organization is that is the recruitment process being followed in the organization the best in the industry which is helping the organization in meeting the requirement in time? forces the HR department to derive techniques to prove to the organization that the process followed in the organization is the best in the industry and the various sources are helping them in meeting the requirement. For this purpose the HR department has to evaluate the recruitment process on a whole at all the stages and finally needs to compare the various sources.

Genesis: SAP applications, built around their latest R/3 system, provide the capability to manage financial, asset, and cost accounting, production operations and materials, personnel, plants, and archived documents. The R/3 system runs on a number of platforms including Windows 2000 and uses the client/server model. L&T Infotech has a very stringent requirement and the criteria set for the candidates is to assure that the organization gets in employees who are the best in the industry. Thus the recruitment process plays a major role in helping the organization gaining that extra edge in this competitive world where human resource is the only differentiating factor.

Rationale: L&T Infotech is a rapidly growing organization. The demand for its products and services is increasing at a very high rate. With this increase the number of employees needed to keep the momentum going is also increasing. So to cope up with the rapid growth in business the recruitment process has to be the best in the industry and if it is not then it has to rectified according to the

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changing needs. The recruitment at L&T Infotech SAP SBU is done for two categories Laterals Functional Trainees (FTR)

The process followed is nearly the same except for the criteria set for both is different and the sources to meet both the requirements is also different. For example for FTR the work experience is not necessary and also FTR recruitment is done through consultancies while the laterals is entirely dependent on the consultancies. So the project would concentrate on comparing the various sources through which recruitment is done. Benefits: Evaluating the recruitment process will : give a detailed feedback about the recruitment process as a whole test the various sources which help in the recruitment process help in identifying the areas which need immediate attention

Problem Formulation As mentioned above this project aims at evaluating the

effectiveness of the SAP recruitment process. This project will give a descriptive comparison between the various sources of recruitment.

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Literature Survey
Introduction Human Resource Management
Human resources management is a specialty within the broader field of management that focuses on managing employees. Human resource management consists of a framework of activities and practices that support and develop a motivated workforce while at the same time complying with legislation and regulations that govern the employer/employee relationship. "Human resources management refers to the management of people in an organization." Human Resources Management in Canada by Dessler. "The design of formal systems in an organization to ensure the effective and efficient use of human talent to accomplish organizational goals." Human Resources Management by Mathis and Jackson. Importance of good Human Resources Management: Good human resources management directly contributes to

organizational effectiveness.

From high rates of turnover to

unresolved conflicts between staff members, poorly managed staff can be very costly to an organization both in terms of productivity and actual dollars. Conversely, we intuitively know that competent employees who are happy with their work and their workplace are more productive and make great contributions to organizations and the people they serve, and are likely to stay with the organization longer (research supports this).

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The purpose of good human resources management is to: Create meaningful jobs that link to the organization's mission Maintain the right mix of people with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to accomplish the work of the organization Provide a structure that helps employees be effective at their work Provide fair and consistent treatment of employees Nurture an organizational culture that supports and motivates staff Create a positive work environment Help retain effective staff members Help staff and the organization manage change

Human

Resources

Management

related

to

other

management tasks
Every organization begins with a mission or reason for being that guides the activities of the organization. Based on the mission, many organizations develop a strategic plan to guide the work of the organization for a period of two to three years. On an annual basis, the strategic plan of the organization is expressed in the annual operating plan and annual budget. However, your organization can have great strategic and operational plans and all the money it needs, and still fail to achieve result because of 'people' issues. A good human resources management framework

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and practices are also part of the solid foundation for organizational success.

Guiding

factors

of

Human

Resources

Management

practices in an organization:
First and foremost, human resources management practices and activities must comply with all legislation and regulations that govern the employer/employee relationship. All voluntary/non-profit organizations from the largest organization to an organization with just one paid employee are responsible for complying with employment legislation and regulations. Secondly, good human resources management practices are based on human resources policies, which establish the parameters for fair and consistent decision making on people issues and reflect good workplace practices. The HRVS section on
HR Policies and Procedures

provides examples of different human resources policies. The policies that are developed for each organization should reflect the values and ethics of the organization as well as its culture.

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The typical Human Resources Management practices and activities

Human resources management is usually organized into broad management practices or tasks with their associated activities. These include: Human practice
Staffing

resourcesHuman

resources

activity Job Analysis Job Design Job Descriptions Recruitment Selection

Meeting your staff requirements

Training and Development

Orientation Training Employee Development Job Evaluation Compensation Plan Benefits Retirement Plans Work Plans Supervision Performance Management Recognition Conflict resolution Discipline Termination Day-to-Day

Developing effective staff

Compensation and Benefits

Establishing fair compensation

People Management Building effective employer/employee relationships

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HR Administration

Workplace Management

Work-life Balance Health and Safety

Creating a good place to work

Diversity The human resources management practices adopted by an organization organization. Example: When establishing pay, a good human resources management practice is to base pay on factors such as level of responsibility and experiences as well as the principles of fairness, equity, and transparency (staff should know what factors are used in the decision making process). In a small organization, this may mean that a very simple look at the skills and experience required to do one job relative to another will be used to set pay. In a larger more complex organization a full job evaluation process, which assigns value to various components of each job, would be used. Getting started Many voluntary/non-profit organizations have no framework for their human resources management. There is little structure and no consistent approach to the human resources management decisions that are made. For organizations without formalized human resources practices the following are usual priorities: Ensure that management understands and complies with all legislation related to employment should be tailored to reflect the size of the

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Develop human resources policies that comply with legislation and reflect the priorities of your organization Develop written job descriptions for each job in the organization and Establish a reporting structure.

Once these key pieces are in place, you can establish a human resources framework, which consists of the tasks, and activities that will become part of the way people are managed in your organization. In doing this, it is important to remember that all the human resources management practices are interrelated and begin with a good job description. Good human resources management requires a thoughtful, planned approach. Your investment of time in developing and implementing a supportive human resources management framework should result in: Staff with the knowledge and skills needed to achieve organizational goals; Staff who understand what is expected of them and how their work contributes to the mission of the organization; Employees who are committed to the goals of the organization; A work environment which brings out the best in your employees; Employees who are continuously learning; Employees who understand and respect the diverse nature of the organization: its staff, clients and the communities it works in; and A work environment that is safe and healthy.

HR in L&T Infotech

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The HR department in L&T Infotech is divided into corporate HR and Central HR. The function of Corporate HR is to frame the policies and guidelines while the function of Central HR is to look after all HR administration of a particular center. implements these policies and guidelines. Thus the central HR The corporate HR is

located in Powai (Gate No : 5) while the central HR is located in various development centers like Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore etc. At L&T Infotech, people are their greatest pride and resource. Their focus lies in bringing aboard some of the finest professionals in the software industry and providing them with opportunities that match their drive and ability. With one of the lowest attrition rates in the industry, L&T Infotech's people-force is inspired, committed, and thoroughly professional. If you have what it takes to become an integral part of an organization that's built and driven by people, then you are the person they are looking for. Simply access the "We Need You" section to post your resume on their site. It could be your first step towards getting closer to an organization full of self-driven people.And closer to becoming a part of the collective peopleenergy that's L&T Infotech- "A software force that's driving relationships globally." At L&T Infotech you are faced with a challenging Work Environment that is shared by a highly motivated group of over 4000 people who choose L&T Infotech because they believe that it's all happening here. They provide:

Opportunities for Entrepreneurship Freedom to inspire ideas and be inspired In-house training programs for personal and professional growth Infinite access to the latest technologies Opportunities to take on leadership roles early in your career Freedom to experiment and be innovative HR polices that are aimed to strike a balance between work and personal welfare

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L&T Infotech, a PCMM Level 5 company, has a successful competency-based HR system. Recruitment, training, job rotation, succession planning and promotions-all are defined by competency mapping. Competencies are enhanced through training and job rotation. All people who have gone through job rotation undergo a transformation and get a broader perspective of the company. For instance, a person lacking in negotiation skills might be put in the sales or purchase department for a year to hone his skills in the area. L&T has been rated amongst the top 5 preferred employers for the class of 2005 by AC Nielsen

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HR DEPARTMENT HEIRARCHY

HR ACTIVITIES IN L&T INFOTECH

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Mentoring Here in L&T Infotech they have two types of mentoring taking place at different levels. Firstly they have a mentor for each module viz (ABAP, BASIS, MM, PM, PP) etc. Each module will have one mentor and some modules that are similar in functions are clubbed together with one mentor. Mentee. The other type of mentoring is done for People Capability Maturity Model (PCMM). Here each PCMM trainee is attached to a mentor for 2-3 months where the mentee develops certain skills and this is attached to a contractual agreement. Career Planning The company conducts career workshops. Their policy for career The role of the mentor is to take care of his Mentee with regards to any help or guidance required by the

planning is a well thought out, planned process. Aim is to develop and prepare people for higher responsibilities. It assists them by identifying various roles they could undertake and skills they may need to develop in order to do full justice to their new role within the organization. At L&T Infotech, they place People first. In this knowledge industry, they empower their employees with the strength of knowledge and create a 'climate' that is conducive to learning and personal and professional growth. They are a People driven organization that helps it's employees gain a level of freedom that provides security, satisfaction and, most importantly, a sense of professional fulfillment.

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Induction The new entrants - Fresher as well as experienced persons joining the organization, across all levels, attends Induction programs individually and/or as groups. The objective is to begin the process of integration of the incumbent with the organization and ensure smooth entry into the organization. This consists of inputs on the following: Company Values, Business Philosophy Corporate Culture Work Culture Quality Process Project Management Information on Business and Future Plans Information on Organization Structure Systems and Policies Performance Appraisal Emphasis on building lasting Relationships & Team Effectiveness Team Development Workshops aimed at enhancing intra-team cohesion They believe that it helps the goal accomplishment when people are able to relate with one another and build lasting relationships & sense of belonging to the organization. They believe that its the teams of committed people who eventually deliver results. Intragroup cohesion in terms of shared understanding of goals and objectives, co-operation, and collaboration is given a priority.

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Reward and Recognition Systems They believe that their people are their greatest assets and that they are not just employees but strategic partners in their journey to achieve organizational objectives. In furtherance of their stated philosophy, their well-developed policies help us to recognize performance at work. Recognizing Individuals and Teams They understand the crucial role recognition plays in motivating employees to demonstrate superior performance. There are many ways in which they acknowledge and appreciate good performance from a sincere sharing of an I Appreciate Note for a specific job well done to granting honors through an established formal Employee Award Plans. So if you're an achiever with a passion for setting and attaining goals, you'll find many opportunities for being recognized at L&T Infotech. The Employee Motivation Plan at L&T Infotech is another success story a unique experiment to empower their line managers to recognize and give spot rewards to individuals and team in pursuit of excellence. Recognizing Collective Excellence In addition to the above, they have mechanisms to recognize collective excellence at an organization level, on an annual basis. One such initiative is their CEs Award for Best Managed Project. The award recognizes excellence in the management of projects and encourages a competitive spirit amongst the Business Units to achieve better performance through higher standards in project management.

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To encourages and foster the growth of a customer-oriented culture in the organization and within a business unit in particular, the Rolling Trophy for the SBU with Best Customer Orientation has been institutionalized. This award encourages a competitive spirit amongst the business units to achieve better performance through higher standards in customer service. Work culture (Competency based HR) L&T Infotech is one of the sixteen

companies in the world to get the PCMM level 5 certification. For an organisation, which takes great pride in its rich HR culture, it is not surprising that many of L&T Infotechs centres in India have achieved the coveted PCMM level 5 certification. Incidentally, L&T Infotech is among the 16 companies in the world that have earned this batch of recognition. The company got the award thanks to its people processes and practices and a dynamic HR team which actively spearheads all people-centric activities. The company currently has a workforce of more than 4,000 professionals. L&T has always been focused on HR. The organisation believes that there are four major pillars of HR acquiring talent, enabling talent, grooming talent and building the culture. Competency-based HR is the essence of good HR. It is the dream of all HR people that everything in the organisation be linked through the competency matrix. Competency for every role is well defined (technical as well as behavioral), even at the time of recruitment and succession planning. Adding that once people are shown a particular career path, they should be equipped with the skills to reach that particular position. And enhancing competencies enables this. Competency development is at PCMM level 3. The HR vision of the organisation is to maximize Sigma motivation and the

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organisation believes that implementing the PCMM model in letter and spirit will help it achieve that.

Experience Profile

L&T Infotech, a PCMM Level 5 company, has a successful competency-based HR system. Recruitment, training, job rotation, succession planning and promotions-all are defined by competency mapping. Competencies are enhanced through training and job rotation. All people who have gone through job rotation undergo a transformation and get a broader perspective of the company. For instance, a person lacking in negotiation skills might be put in the sales or purchase department for a year to hone his skills in the area. In no two organisations can competency frameworks be the same, it will vary over time even in one organisation. It is not timeless, it is contextual. "We call it the DNA of successit is what makes star performers work in a particular way. Isolate the DNA and make it available to ten others. When the company started competency mapping the whole process took eight months for six roles and two variations. Eventually, 16-18 profiles were worked out. The company uses People Soft for competency mapping. Behavioural competencies do not change every month. Two appraisals are done 28

subsequently

every

project-end

for

skills,

and

annual

for

behavioural competencies. The company acknowledges that there was resistance from the line people, but when the numbers started flowing they sat up. Every quarter, an SBU-based skills portfolio is published. It has been a very rewarding experience. As far as training and development is concerned, instead of asking people to attend classes, they themselves get pulled to the classes. Introduction of competency mapping to assess has also involved on introducing competencies. skill "The appraisals best in performance appraisals. This has also led to training people on how subordinates human resources development is when people in the line department do HR. Where the HR department is the enabler, the line people see the advantage and drive us." Competency-based HR makes this almost-utopian dream attainable.

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SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT FOR PROCURING KNOWLEDGE WORKERS

1. BUDDY REFERRAL SYSTEM Objective: To encourage L&T Infoknights to refer suitable candidates for the specified posts. To encourage them to refer the kind of employees they wish to work with. To create an environment of healthy competition where each work with their friends for mutual all-round enhancement. To reward L&T Infoknights in appreciation of their efforts if their referred candidate joins L&T Infotech. To motivate all by making them a partner in the strategic activities of the organization. The category in which the referred Equivalent Reward Amount Rs.15000 Rs.20000 Rs.25000

candidate joins L&T INFOTECH Grade Associate Software Engineer/Software A-1-0/A-1-1 Engineer Sr. Software Engineer/Project Leader A-1-2/A-1-3 Project Manager and Above B and Above

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These rewards tend to increase with the criticality of the module and goes up to 30,000; 40,000; 50,000 Rs respectively.

L&T Infoknights will receive the reward only if: The candidates referred by him/her are selected for the post advertised. Both the referee and the referred candidate are on the rolls of L&T Infotech three months after the date of joining of the referred candidate, as the reward payment is made after duration of three months. However, as a special case, Rs. 5000/- will be paid in advance which will be credited to the referees salary account once the referred person joins. Candidate referred should not have either applied to or been referred to HR in the past six months directly or through any employee/ agency etc. Selection of ex-employees who have resigned in the past 18 months will not attract any monetary reward. In case the same resume is received from different sources, date and time of the receipt of the resume will be considered, and the person who has sent the resume first will be considered for the reward. The reward amount is taxable as per the provision of Income Tax act.

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All the expenses incurred in obtaining the resume and in forwarding it to the HR would be born by the referee. Buddy Referral Form' will have to be filled and submitted by the referee in order to become eligible for the reward. The referee would be eligible for the reward only if the referred candidates mention his/her name as reference in their application form.

2. CAREERS: L&T Infotech has its own website called careers@lntinfotech.com. This enables candidates to apply and upload their CVs online. The candidates can view the various job openings along with the profiles. This is the direct source for information for candidates who desire to work with the company. 3. EXTERNAL JOBSITES: Apart from the L&T Infotech website, various CVs are also downloaded from external jobsites by the recruiters in the SAP department. The jobsites are one of the biggest cost components in the entire recruitment process. Recruiters also post the job opening advertisement on these jobsites and mass mail the advertisement to the candidates who have posted their resume on these sites. Jobsites include the following
www.naukri.com www.monster.com www.timesjob.com www.jobsahead.com

4. JOB FAIRS:

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The concept of a job fair is to bring those interested in finding a job into those companies who are searching for applicants. L&T Infotech use Job fairs to attract talent in their organization. Job fairs are open forum where they can exhibit the best their companies have to offer so that job seekers can make informed choices. Generally HR professional from various SBUs go to the Job fair to represent their SBU and collect the resume of their respective domain to process it further. Then the resumes are given to the recruiters to work upon. 5. CONSULTANTS: One of the recent practices of sourcing candidates which L&T has adopted is through Placement Consultants. Consultants usually shortlists candidates and conduct preliminary interview thus saving lot of time for HR department and enabling them to recruit the best talent available. The Fees which L&T Infotech pays to these consultants is approximately 8% to 14% of the CTC given to the candidates which were referred by them (subject to the candidate working with the company for a minimum of six months). Name of the consultant include the following ABC consultant Manpower consultant Proton consultant and many more

6. RESUMER: This is Companys Database, which consists of all candidate s who had applied earlier for different job vacancies, some of which were selected and few others who were not selected because their profiles did not match the job profile back then, or those who were working on different technology, or those who did not have relevant work experience but this database could prove to be rich resource for sourcing of candidates for some future vacancies. 33

7. ADVERTISEMENTS THROUGH NEWSPAPER: The oldest and most popular method having maximum reach is through advertisements in the daily newspapers. Ads regarding various job vacancies are placed in newspapers along with information like Position, Number of vacancies, skills required, educational qualifications, location and job code with email address where candidates can apply.

THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS

The recruitment process in L&T Infotech SAP SBU starts with the resource manager of different modules sending in their requirements to the recruiting managers also stating as to what the prerequisites are which the candidate must have. The resource manager then allocates a panel which would be available to help the recruitment team in evaluating the candidate as in conducting interviews to evaluate the technical skills of the candidates. This involves the co-ordination of the following 3 teams: The Database Management team The Recruiters team The Offer team

The Database Management Team The database management team consists of people who have to check the following details: o Candidates Full Name o DOB o Current Location o Contact Details o Current Employer o Education 34

o Work Experience There are different sources through which a resume can reach the database management team, the different sources are: o Consultancy agency o Direct o Job posting o Buddy referral scheme Incase of CVs that come from consultancy agencies the details of the candidate is maintained with the help of a tracker sheet. Then once this is done they proceed further with the first duplicity check and if found then the status is changed to Already in database after this the second round of duplicity check is done with the help of Resumer which is a software that maintains the record of all the CVs. The Resumer software compares the Email id of the CV with the already existing CVs in the database now here if a CV is found duplicate then again the status is changed to Already in database in the tracker sheet and then the CVs that were new would be sent to the respective recruiters for different modules for the further process of recruitment and would be added to the database as well with a status as Not referred . A weekly status update is maintained which is sent to the different consultancy agencies to keep them informed as to what is the status of the CVs sent by them. The Recruiters The different status given by the various recruiters could be: Screen reject Short listed

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This is the initial stage of screening where the recruiters on the basis of the resumes shortlist a candidate if it matches the prerequisites like the experience criteria etc set by the different resource managers else the CV is screen rejected The process could be summarized as: The CV comes in the recruiters inbox. He conducts an HR screening. Here the recruiter with the help of the CV shortlists the candidate or rejects the candidate. Once through with this, candidates who get short listed are then scheduled for the 1st round of interviews which is a telephonic discussion round which is taken by the panel members where in the basic technical aptitude of the candidate as well as communication skills of the candidate is checked . If a candidate clears the first round of interview the panel member assigns certain grade (1-10) on the basis of the discussion, while if a candidate is rejected then the status is sent to the database management team as 1st Interview Reject . Once a candidate is selected he is then scheduled for the second round of interview which is technical but has to be in person, this has now become mandatory as earlier when second round could also be a telephonic round if the candidate was from some other city where there was no L&T office many problems were found like the candidate faking the interview etc. After clearing the second round of interview an HR interview is conducted where the candidate and the panel discuss the various issues relating to pay etc. It also helps in knowing as to whether the candidate is suitable for the job or not, for ex for the post of sales where in a person has to deal with different clients it is not possible to recruit a person with poor communication skills with excellent technical knowledge. The Offer Team

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Once the candidate is selected all the details are then passed on to the Powai development center where the REX sheet is filled. Here REX stands for Relevant Experience and Qualification. After the preparation of the REX sheet the offer is closed. If the candidate has accepted the offer then the candidate is asked to submit relevant documents on the date of joining and a final verification of the documents are done by the Central HR on the Date of Joining .

RECRUITMENT PROCESS IN L&T INFOTECH

Database Management Team

Recruiters

Offer Team

Screening Receive the Resume

Check and verify the Necessary Documents

Interview I Check for Duplicity Interview II Send Papers to Corporate Office HR Interview Move them in Respective Folder (Module wise) Issue the Appointment Letter / 37 Joining follow-up & Formalities Creation of REX (Relevant Experience)

Entry in Resumer

Document Checklist & Employment Verification

RECRUITMENT PROCESS FLOW CHART

C
Recruiters Inbox 2nd Int Clear ? Screening

No

Yes

Mail Candidate/ Consultant & Update Resumer

No
Validate Resume

Personal Int / HR Int Mail Candidate / Consultant & Update Resumer Mail Candidate/ Consultant &Update Resumer

Yes
1st Int / Technical Screening

No Select?

Yes No
1 Int Clear ?
st

Mail Candidate / Consultant & Update Resumer

Document Checking &Reference Checklist

Yes
2nd Int / TECH Interview

Documents sent to Offer Team

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PROCESS AFTER SELECTION

Once the candidate is selected the preparation of REX is done which helps in the generation of the salary card. After the salary card is generated the soft copy is sent to the candidate as the soft copy of the offer letter. Candidate may either: Accept the offer Ask for the offer to be revised Reject the offer

In case of offer acceptance the candidate is asked to go for a medical examination and is asked for a probable date as to when the candidate could join the organization. After this the hard copy of the offer letter is prepared and dispatched. This is followed by the candidates joining formalities like PS Number generation, induction etc. When a candidate asks for the offer to be revised, it is done only incase of deserving candidates and this can be done for maximum two times. After the offer has been revised the new offer is sent to the candidate and if he accepts the offer then the same process is followed as in case of acceptance while if the candidate rejects the offer then it is taken as an offer decline case and the entire folder of the candidate is sent to the concerned person who is responsible for maintaining the data regarding offer rejection. The candidates rejecting the offer right away are considered as offer decline case and the folder is sent to the concerned person immediately so that the database could be updated.

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PROCESS AFTER SELECTION

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EFFECTIVENESS OF CONSULTANTS V/S OTHER SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

The analysis is done department wise and it is done on the basis of data for the last four months i.e from January 2007 to April 2007. The analysis is focused on: Total number of CVs received CVs received from the consultancies and the other sources Short listed CVs from consultancies Number of selected candidates v/s Number of CVs Short listed (Consultancies) / Hit Ratio

TOTAL NUMBER OF CVs RECEIVED: TABLE 1

MONTH No. of Duplicate JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL TOTAL Ratios: Ratio (duplicate CVs : CVs Received) Ratio (screen reject : CVs Received) 1:3 1:4 CVs 428 378 772 1331 2909 Screen Rejected CVs Total CVs Received 863 1568 548 1006 418 2563 404 3014 2233 8151 STATUS

There are different sources through which CVs come for screening, some of them are:

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Consultancies Direct CVs sent by the Candidates CVs from the Job Sites Buddy referral scheme

Due to unavailability of data the CVs that come from consultancies will be clubbed in one while the CVs other than that would be considered as CVs from Other Sources. The total number of CVs received were sufficient in terms of numbers i.e. quantity but were not that good in terms of quality. The consultancies send in CVs on a per day basis and few consultancies send in CVs in huge numbers but the striking fact here is that the huge number is not helping the cause since most of the CVs sent come out to be Duplicate CVs which were already in the database. The very fact that consultancies are paid a handsome amount for their services is not a guarantee of them doing a good job. Many a times it is found that even after telling them what the basic minimum criteria for selection is, the consultancies forward the CVs of candidates who do not fulfill the basic minimum criteria. The consultancies on a weekly basis are informed about what are the requirements of the organization as in which modules have an urgent requirement and what are the basic minimum qualification in terms of education and work experience the organization is looking for, still a lot of CVs that are received are not meeting the criteria. Majority of the CVs received come out to be duplicates which are updated as Already in Database and most of the remaining CVs come out to be Screen Reject because they do not fulfill the minimum requirement. The data submitted proves this.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF FAKED CVs RECEIVED: TABLE 2

MONTH JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL TOTAL

STATUS Fake Candidates 7 3 8 12 30

Total CVs Received 1568 1006 2563 3014 8151

Ratio:

Ratio (Fake candidates:CVs Received)

1:270

One of the striking facts that can be seen is that consultancies are not taking the burden of screening the CVs at least once because of which Fake CVs are also received this could be seen in the data submitted along with the report. At times the identification of the fake CVs is at a very late stage like in the final round of interview which leads to a wastage of money as well as time behind interviewing the fake candidate. The idea behind employing consultancies for the job, was to save time by getting in a huge number of quality CVs which would not be needing any initial screening, but this is not what is really happening, the actual scenario is that the CVs still require a lot of time for its initial screening.

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CVs RECEIVED FROM THE CONSULTANCIES AND THE OTHER SOURCES TABLE-3
MONTH CVs from JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL Total Ratio: Ratio (Consultant:Total Received) Ratio (Other Sources:Total Received) 1:2(1.3) 1:5(4.5) Consultancies 1141 745 1859 2580 6325 CVs Received from other sources 427 261 704 434 1826 Total CVs Received 1568 1006 2563 3014 8151

The organization in the past five months has relied mostly on the CVs from consultancies. The only reason was the belief of the organization that it would help the organization to save time and the employees who were earlier employed for the initial screening of the CV could utilize their time doing something that could add value to the organization. The other reason was that the organization believed that the CVs would be better in terms of quality. Due to this the other sources like the CVs that come directly from candidates, CVs from Job Sites and the CVs that come through Buddy referral scheme were not given much importance in the past four months.

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CVs RECEIVED V/S CVs SELECTED TABLE 4

MONTH CVs Received from other JAN FEB MAR APR Total sources 427 261 704 434 1826 STATUS Selected Candidates(other sources) 68 37 46 28 179

Total CVs Received 1568 1006 2563 3014 8151

MONTH CVs JAN FEB MAR APR Total Received fromSelected Consultancies 1141 745 1859 2580 6325 Ratio:

STATUS Total Received 1568 1006 2563 3014 8151 CVs Candidates(consultancies) 1 30 12 25 68

consultanci es Ratio (selected:Received) 1:93

other sources 1:10

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The only time that the CVs from other sources are screened is when the organization has a requirement that can not be met only with the help of CVs from Consultancies. The situation demands that the consultancies work with more responsibility and pay attention to the quality aspect needed by the organization. They should see to it that they not only send in CVs in great numbers but also CVs should be of good quality which could be short listed at least for the first round of interviews. The numbers above in the table give a clear indication that the consultants are not keeping up with the expected level of performance as compared to the other sources like the Job Sites, Walk Ins etc which have very high conversion rates. The Buddy Referral Scheme is in its very nascent stage and needs to be encouraged because most of the times it has been seen that a good performer brings with him a good performer. SHORTLISTED CVs FROM CONSULTANCIES: TABLE-5
MONTH CVs Received from JANUARY FEBRUAR Y MARCH APRIL Total Short listed CVs 265 187 Consultancies 1141 745 es 1:4 Total CVs Received 1568 1006 consultanci 574 1859 634 2580 Ratio (Shortlisted:Received) 1660 6325 2563 3014 8151

Ratio:

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The CVs that are received from the consultancies are first of all checked for duplicity and the CVs that were already in the database are updated as Already in the Database, after this the fresh CVs Are sent for screening to the respective recruiters for the different modules. The CVs found satisfactory which fulfill the minimum criteria get shortlisted and are then scheduled for interviews. The data above shows that the maximum numbers of CVs get sorted out in the initial stage of screening because of which the number of candidates that are interviewed are less and thus the number goes on decreasing after each stage, this needs a definite attention immediately.

HIT RATIO TABLE-6

MONTH Selected Candidates(consultan cies) JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL Total Ratio consultanci es Ratio (Selected:Shortlisted) 1:25 1 30 12 25 68 Shortlisted CVs Received from Total CVs CVs 265 187 574 634 1660 Consultancies 1141 745 1859 2580 6325 Received 1568 1006 2563 3014 8151

The total number of candidates that come through consultancies is a good number but the hit ratio is an area of concern which in turn leads to a huge wastage of resource which is invested in following up the recruitment process. The selected candidate referred here includes both the candidates who join the organization and the

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candidates who decline the offer. The idea behind considering the joined as well as the decline cases was to focus on the candidates who really are good and do get through the entire recruitment process.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The recruitment team needs to pool in a lot of candidates, as the hit ratio in the company is very low. Hence the company must seek ways to increase the access for the job sites which would help the recruiters to have simultaneous login. Another way of doing this could be, to be in constant touch with the consultancies by meeting them on a regular basis to keep them updated about the requirements. Then it is the job of the consultancies and recruiters to screen the CVs such that there should be a 50% chance of the candidate making it. The organization could also concentrate on working with the top 10 consultancies on a priority basis which have been performing well for the last four months. This could help in encouraging the consultancies to work even harder and perform even better which would help in raising the Hit Ratio considerably. The analysis part clearly shows that the consultancies have a very poor hit ratio and so a lot of attention needs to be paid on this source, on which the organization heavily depends on. The maximum number of CVs come from consultancies while the number of candidates that get selected is a matter of concern. So may be along with the consultancies its time to pay more attention towards the other sources like the job sites to get in CVs more in number and better in quality, for this the organization may hire more employees especially to do the job. This would help the organization in meeting the requirements with a slight increase in the expense

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The Buddy Referral Scheme is in its very nascent stage and needs to be encouraged because most of the times it has been seen that a good performer brings with him a good performer. One more change that could be brought is that after the second round of technical interview the REX should be prepared and given to the HR person while he/she interviews the candidate so that the HR person can try and negotiate the salary of the candidate then and there itself, thus reducing the recruitment lead time. This not only reduces the lead time but also sees to it that the candidate is tied to the organization as there is a good possibility that the candidate might decline the offer if he gets a better offer from another company. One of the major problems that could be seen was the unavailability of the panel to conduct the interviews. Most of the times it happens that the panel which is allocated by the mentor is not available and so its not possible for the recruiters to schedule the interviews which adds on to the pressure. For this proper coordination between the recruitment team and the mentors is needed, so that whenever the interviews are scheduled the panel stays free to conduct the interviews. This would help in reducing the time needed for the entire process. The organization needs to take care of the decline cases. The decline cases are too high which in turn leads to a significant amount of wastage of resources like time, money etc. The management needs to take some initiatives as to how these decline cases could be reduced. For this the motivation in the employees of the organization would be quite a help. So proper training and grievance handling programs must be held in small intervals.

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Finally the management needs to understand that the SAP market in India is in its nascent stage and therefore the pool of candidates is not that huge and the candidates pursuing SAP as a career are less in numbers. So it would be a great idea to evaluate the initial criteria as per the requirement. For example the qualification needed must be adjustable and the work experience needed by the candidate to fulfill the initial criteria should also be reduced. This would help in getting in more candidates who because of the tough criteria set by the organization are unable to get short listed.

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CONCLUSION
The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. In Software industry more than in any other, HR has a very strong champion's role to play. HR has to lead from the front. This will mean that all important employee touch points need to be owned and managed by HR. HR has to serve as the watch dog in ensuring that the demands placed on employees are balanced and fair and reasonable and do not compromise their interests. If HR does not play this role or is not seen as playing this role, employees may be forced to look elsewhere. The main objective behind my study was to find whether the Recruitment process of Larsen & Toubro Infotech is giving the desired results and what the possible constraints are. The study reveals some serious constraints some of which the management is already looking into. The management is finding ways and means to make the employees feel proud of themselves and the organisation.

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L&T Infotech imparts one of the best training for SAP modules as compared to other companies in the industry. Since it incurs heavy expenses in training there is an additional pressure to retain its employees. The attrition rate in L&T Infotech is about 15-20%. They impart continuous knowledge by conducting various training programs. Special IT training is given to Non IT people so that they are aware of the basics, which would help them, do their work in the best way. The company is average in terms of offering compensation. This is one reason why the number of offer decline is high. The company follows a compensation system where in they have a Fixed and a Variable component, where in the Fixed component as the name suggests is fixed according to his Grade and Designation and his Variable component is given a range wherein it could not exceed a given amount. This is also based on the grade, designation and his performance appraisal review. The work culture in L&T Infotech is something to be proud of. The company practices a culture where in each of the employees refer to other with their first name. The superiors are also called by their first name. This helps the employees remove that fear of talking to their seniors. The best thing noticed during my training period was that the vision and mission of the company is passed on to the entire L&T Group of companies either through video conferencing or directly the CMD coming down and personally addressing the employees.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Journals:
HRM Review Human Capital, Vol 9, No. 3 August 2005 Human Capital,Vol 10, No. 10 March 2007 Business World Business Today ICFAI Journal

Websites:
www.lntinfotech.com
www.hrsolutionsinc.com www.workforce.com www.employment-studies.co.uk

www.citehr.com

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