10 Secrets-to-Success of Employee Referrals in India -Ere Expo 2009 Spring , March 31, 2009

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Agenda

  Understanding India   Snapshot of Indian IT Industry   The Hiring Environment in India   Aricent at a Glance   Introducing Aricent’s Referral Program   The 10 Secrets-to-Success   During Current Recession   The Future

Understanding India

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India…Basics

  Smaller : Area: 34% of US   Crowded : Population: 3.6 X US   Poorer : GDP: 5.5% of US   Younger : Population under 15: 32% vs. 21% US   Rural : Population in

–  Agriculture: 60% vs. 1% US –  Services: 23% vs. 76% US –  Industry: 17% vs. 23% US

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The India Differences …Contradictions to Complexity

CONTRADICTIONS   Multi-party democracy with universal

franchise

  27.5 % below the poverty line

  Chandrayan-1 orbiting the moon for the last few months

  Adult Literacy 61%

  Nuclear power since mid-70s

  7.6% children die before reaching 5 years

  Largest producer of milk

  53 % drop out of school after enrolment

  ~8% GDP growth last 3 years

COMPLEXITY   28 States & 7 Union Territories

  22 official languages (1000+ dialects)

  8 significant religions

  Sub-tropical, desert and Himalayan terrains

  Appx 250 political parties (including 6 National parties)

  5 European colonial legacies

  1000+ castes/sub castes in dominant religious group

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India .. IT Trends

Indian IT-ITES sector-export revenues (USD billion)

Revenues :

  Total IT-ITES industry - USD 71.7 billion (expected) accounting for 5.8% of India’s GDP

  Software revenues - USD 60 billion

  Software export revenues - USD 47 billion in 2009

31.3

40.4

47.0

FY2007 FY2008 FY2009E

~ 29%

~ 16 -17%

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India…IT Industry (Manpower)

  Direct employment in Indian IT-ITES to reach nearly 2.23 million in 2009

  Indirect job creation estimated at ~8 million

Industry remains a “net hirer” and employment creator

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India IT …. Hiring Environment   Access

–  Multiple communication channels: •  Only print media till ~2000 •  Small but growing internet penetration: individual/ ‘cyber cafes’ •  Explosive mobile phone usage

  Expectations –  Lifetime employment –  Annual double-digit salary hike –  Matrimonial value –  Overseas travel & stay –  Technology exposure –  Co-location with spouse –  ‘College Batch’ parity: compensation & title –  Reduced travel after children

  Influence –  Multiple agents:

•  Parents & ‘Extended family’ •  Peers / Seniors (-including teachers) •  Spouse

Aricent at Glance

Co-Create

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  Aricent an international leader in the field of communications software

  Believes in restricting to niche telecom skills

  Operations in 19 countries business to niche Telecom areas rather than spreading thin into multiple worldwide

  Current Revenue $382M

  Strength of organization: Approx. 8000. 85% in India

Milestones and Industry Firsts   9 of the top 10 telecommunications equipment suppliers   8 of the top 10 mobile phone manufacturers   1.5 billion mobile users connected to industry leading base station   400M handsets shipped with Aricent middleware   World’s 1st commercially available Femtocell solution   1st ever In-flight Broadband roll-out for American Airlines and Virgin

America

Aricent: Powering Communications

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Co-Creating with Our Customers   Simplification of mobile content discovery   New platform for services & developers   Addresses largest obstacle to mobile data

usage

  Relationship since 2003   Engagements ranging from strategy, device

software design & development, and the online experience

  Pioneering new products in FMC and 4G   Industry’s first Femtocell gateway; Leading

WiMAX base station

  Co-developed marketing leading DSLAM   Supports 85% of global DSL ports

  Co-developed the world’s first in-flight wireless broadband system

Introducing Aricent - Employee Referral Program

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Aricent … Employee Referral Program

Our Global referral program is known as “iRefer” Earlier the program was known as “Heads u Win” (HUW)

The Philosophy of the Program :

  Opportunity to work with friends/ ex-colleagues/ class mates   Building a better working environment   Win-win situation for both the company & employee   Earning attractive rewards & bonuses

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Our Success Story

  Added hands in hiring….approx. 3000 participating employees supplement the Recruitment team !

  Dedicated team members for employee referral channel across all channels

  Performance: 10% of referred candidates are rated as ‘Best Performer’ constituting top 20% of the organization’s manpower

  Longevity : 74% of referred candidates are still working with the organization which is 17% higher in comparison to those hired through staffing agencies

  Hiring Contribution: 39% of total hiring through this channel globally   Lower Cost per Hire (CPH): 50% lower as compared to Staffing Agencies (STA)   Better selection Conversion Ratio : 1:3 interviewed get selected compared to

1:4 through other channels   Better Joining Ratio : 79% through referrals. 72% through other channels

Few Facts

Quality of Hire

Business Value

We co-create – along with our employees to build a culture and strong team

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10 Secrets-to-Success in India

  Inspiring Awards and Recognition

  Adhering to Service Level Agreements (SLA)

  Enhancing Participation

  Branding and Communications

  Special Hiring Programs

  Catching “Boomerangs”

  Analyzing Metrics and Success Measures

  Feedback Mechanism

  Benchmarking Industry for Improvement

  Overcoming the Negatives

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Inspiring Awards and Recognition

  Country specific reward structure

  Level wise referral bonus

  More bonus as the number of referred candidates increases

  Announcement of successful referrers on intranet

  Monthly winner on giving maximum joinees: –  Special awards such as mobile phone & gift vouchers

  Mega draw at the end of financial year : –  Holiday package/ car/ bike/ laptop etc

  T-Shirt to all successful referrers

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  Transparency & Effective Communication –  Adhering to defined SLAs –  Duplication check feedback SLA: 48hrs on online recruitment tool i.e. Ehire –  Qualitative feedback SLA: 24hrs –  Process feedback SLA at different stages

  The ‘Pampered’ Channel: –  Longer validity for a referred profile (3 months vis-à-vis 45 days for other channels) –  Every new requirement is first exclusively open for referrals for one week before being

flashed to other channels

  Referral Reward Pay-out: –  On completion of 2 months by the referred candidate

Adhering to Service Level Agreements 2

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Enhancing Participation

  Progress : Base participation has increased to 35% (target for this year was 25%. Over achieved!)

  What works –  Transparency in process –  Timeliness throughout process –  Reaching out to employees personally through

iRefer kiosks –  Communication: regular promotional activities

through poster campaign, mailer campaign, competition amongst different Business Units to increase participation

  Challenges/ Speed Breakers –  Lack of time & interest –  Bypassing online application –  Improper feedback for rejected candidates –  Managing Perceptions:

•  Duplication •  Referrers confused with faulty feedback •  Lack of policy awareness in spite of regular

communication through various modes

• Maximum participation by Junior & middle level • Low participation by senior level

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Branding & Communication

  Tools for Internal Marketing –  Poster campaign –  Mailer campaign –  Reaching out to employees through iRefer stalls –  Ex-factor special campaigns –  Special reward structure for critical & niche hiring –  E-banners on the company intranet –  Orientation to new joinees –  Extending the program to prospective joinees

  Events –  Creating competition amongst different SBUs –  Linking with corporate gaming contests –  Quarterly newsletter –  Special program on friendship day –  Open house sessions

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Special Hiring Programs

  Objective: Ramp-up of Middle level high end technical professionals in 2 months.   Launch of special time bound referral program : Attractive additional bonus & Trip to Singapore   Gains: Hired 38% though this program which is 10% more than the total hiring through referrals

  Objective: Mass ramp-up of fresh engineering graduates within challenging timelines   Launch of Special hiring program exclusively through referrals   Gains :

-  25% lower Cost per hire as compared to direct college recruiting -  34% higher joining ratio as compared to direct college recruiting -  30% reduction in timelines as compared to direct college recruiting

Quick ramp of Technical Leaders

Large ramp up of Freshers (College Recruiting)

Case Study I

Case Study II

  ‘Toppings’ -  Over and above base program -  Short term special programs

  Case Studies

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Special Hiring Programs Contd…

  Hiring CCNA certified professionals with good communications skills (voice & Accent) in one month for one of our Strategic Business Unit.

  Quickly “billable”

  Launch of “Technical Assistance Center (TAC) Academy” −  Hiring of any technical graduates with Good communication skills. −  Imparting training on ‘Voice & Accent’ , CCNA & on customer products. −  Certification sponsored by Client

  49% of total joining through iRefer as compared to 39% thru STA   100% position closure within 30days   52% lower Cost per hire as compared to STA   Interview to selection ratio is 5:4 as compared to 5:2 from other

sources

Objective

Solution

Gains

Challenge   Unavailability of dual skill in the market & lack of in-house skill

Case Study - III

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Gaining customer confidence thus Opening doors for future opportunities

57% of ‘boomerangs’ came via iRefer

Productivity from day ONE resulting in faster delivery

Catching ‘Boomerangs’ : Ex-Factor Program

67% of middle level technical Professionals hiring came though iRefer

38% lower joining time than the standard lead time for joining

The ‘Ex- Factor’ Program- Re-launched in 3rd Quarter Poster campaign

Special reward announced which is over & above the regular reward amount

Less “on job” training

required Quickly “billable”

Support Hiring

Build good culture

Cost effective

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Analyzing Metrics and Success Measures What we track & Analyze

  Quality of referral candidates through Hiring Accuracy tool –  Performance –  Longevity

  Internal Customer Satisfaction –  Referrer/employee satisfaction –  Hiring manager satisfaction

  Hiring Metrics –  Total number of referrals. –  Overall employee participation rate –  Total number of referral hires –  Total time to fill –  Percent of referrals from events /Customized activities –  Referral participation by BUs –  Percent of key jobs filled by referrals –  Offer acceptance rates –  Percentage of applications submitted on ehire vs mail

  Cost per hire   Payment Time to Employees

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Analyzing Metrics and Success Measures Contd…

Case Study:   Earlier TA team used to send mails directly to

employees regarding referral activities   We were not happy with outcome   Involved Business Heads as Ambassadors of

iRefer and they sent mailers and propagated   Improvements were evident

Aricent could achieve the above through •  Targeted and sustained internal campaigns •  Employee friendly feedback mechanism •  SLA Adherence •  Meticulous tracking, and timely corrective measures •  Leveraging network of prospective joinees & new

joinees

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Feedback Mechanism

  Helpdesk mechanism: to give immediate attention to the referrers queries.

  Dedicated email id to receive queries & also the same id being used for all kind of communication

  Responsibility chain: dedicated person for each center with a escalation point

  ISAT (Internal Satisfaction survey): This helps in knowing the pulse of the program which helps in bringing improvements in the program.

Few of the highlights: –  More than 65% employees feel that iRefer reinforces

culture of ownership. –  More than 70% employees feel that Rewards offered

under iRefer excite them to refer more. –  75% employees find our RMS (Ehire) easy mode for

referring candidates.

Rewards offered under iRefer excite me to refer more

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Benchmarking Study

iRefer

Referral program name

Employee Strength

Hiring % through referrals

Referral Bonus Range

WipLinks 20%

Connect Infy

Friends 350 23%

8000 39% $330 - $800

95000 $220 - $660

103000 40% $220 - $1100

$330 - $780

Buddy Management 25000 18% $220 - $1220

Bring your buddy 108229 33% $110 - $ 1100

  Company wide recognition for winners.

  Special consideration to referral cases.

  Feedback survey

  Regular internal branding activities.

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Overcoming the Negatives

  Maintaining Transparency –  Two way feedback mechanism –  Automated tool linking feedback with referrers mailbox –  Adhering to SLAs boost trust and confidence –  Accuracy of feedback –  Dedicated person for each center with a escalation

point –  Helpdesk mechanism gives immediate attention to the

referrers’ queries. –  Dedicated email id to receive queries & also the same

id being used for all kind of communication

  Managing Nepotism –  If the referrer is the hiring manager than he is not

involved in the selection process –  If the referrer is Immediate & 2nd level supervisor than

they become ineligible for referral reward

  ‘Money’ Affecting Relationships –  Educating new joinees about the program –  Building a culture of accountability & ownership

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During Current Recession

  Low Hiring

  Bad news for Staffing Agencies, Referral programs to the fore at lower costs

  Increase in Boomerangs hiring

  Staffing agencies looking at outsourcing opportunities to manage other channels of Corporate

  Decrease in portal licenses, increase in hiring through Social Networks

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Some Questions for the Future

  Referral Programs Potential Drawbacks –  Reduces Diversity? –  Encourages “clustered” movements?

  Unexplored Advantages: –  Creating Opinion Leaders? –  Creating “clustered” influence?

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Data Sources

  World Development Reports 2009   Wikepedia information   The ‘Economist’ : World in Figures   Nasscom (India) IT data   Tribune India Cartoon   Aricent MIS

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Thank You!

Indrajit Sen Asst. Vice President (Talent Acquisition), Aricent

indrajit.sen@aricent.com