How Retail Sector is Increasing Job Opportunity in India

According to a recent study ,  India has more than 14 million retail outlets. A decade ago, most of the store would essentially be family-run outlets, with a fairly low capability of growing either physically or financially. However, with the allowance of up to a whopping 100% FDI in single brand retail and 51% in multi-brand retail, the huge influx of large-scale foreign players is now only a matter of time. In fact, a major retailer, Walmart(India) has already opened up 20 Best-Price Modern Retail Stores across the country, and is slated to come up with many more.

With the entry of major foreign players in the retail sector at such humongous levels, the organised retail market of the nation has consequently become more competitive and is now open to implementing fairly new business models in order to improve pricing and enforce efficient operations. While steps like these will have a positive impact on the productivity of the retail segment, it will also indirectly boost the employment opportunities within the country. As a matter of fact, the current FDI in retail is estimated to create over 4 million jobs in the country. Moreover, the indirect jobs created by the same, will go over 6 million making it the largest sector in the nation, in terms of organised employment. This will also include contractual employment within a span of 10 years.

How Corporate Training Enhances workforce productivity

In the cosmopolitan corporate culture the companies are becoming very competitive in terms of technicality and execution. There is a cut throat competition in terms of quality as the end customer at both the ends B2B and B2C has become aware and intelligent about the options available. So, quality has become a critical aspect for all companies irrespective of the segments they fall in. In this scenario Corporate Training has become the need of the hour and the companies are adapting and adhering to various kinds of corporate training programs to improve the quality of their workforce.

Apart from the marketing, branding and promotions; training & development has become an important aspect of corporate strategy to improve performance at all levels in an organization. It has a complete cycle of changes in the employees in terms of attitudinal changes, improved skill sets and improved job performance.

For long term vision and success path any organization relies and banks on its manpower resources. The quality of manpower and the human capital development takes place through employee training. This concentrates on operational, technical and other related areas as well as management development, which focuses on managerial and behavioral skill and knowledge. This eventually helps in re-orienting attitude towards job and enhances the performance level. The companies are emphasizing on the corporate training programs but cannot guarantee the success level as it depends on various factors like work culture, work environment and above everything on the personal interest and motivation of the individual employees.

Corporatetraining is not merely an activity; it is a strategy that is integrated to fit in the working model of the organization. The training module has to be designed as per the individual contribution of employees and the skill sets involved. Corporate training is a comparative and comprehensive analysis of the individual approach required to reach perfection for the organizational goals. It can include behavioral or soft skills training as well based on the requirements of the work culture. Including interpersonal skills in the training module is an important aspect if the employees are in direct interaction with the clients or the end users.

Training programs not only emphasize on the training module specifications but also increases the team building attitude because these modules encompass both theoretical as well as activity based learning sessions. All training modules have a test designed to judge the adaptability and understanding of all the employees at the end. It helps to analyze the effectiveness of the module. An effective corporate training module involves close coordination of the HR team, the trainer and the employees. All the three need to be in sync and close coordination for a corporate training program to be successful. First and foremost a defined goal or purpose for both the employees and the team needs to be decided. An unclear goal or agenda will result in a lack of focus and a low level of engagement and commitment towards the underlying reason for the training module. With the alignment in the thought process and a clear road map of the training module the skill sets and productivity level of the employees can be enhanced therefore improving the individual and team performances.

Human trafficking in onsite recruitment

Workers are at heightened liability to modern-day slavery when they have been brought to work away from their homes. This liability is initiated by the involvement of labor brokers. Labor brokers act as the middlemen, facilitating a connection between potential workers and their eventual employer. Now a day it is spreading like a virus, gradually it has made a firm grip on people management as human trafficking for onsite recruitment.

Labor brokers and employers regularly engage in contract substitution, whereby the terms of employment are changed over the course of the recruitment and hiring process. Additional fees charged by brokers in receiving countries, as well as deductions for anti-runaway insurance/forced savings, further compound the financial burden of workers. Once employed, workers are obliged to work overtime in order to repay their debts.

There are evidences that the high recruitment fees bared by workers are in some cases a subsidy to their eventual employers.

Not only  labor brokers but many consulting firms are also engaged in this practice, it is an offensive crime, people or companies who are indulged in such unfair means of practice are heavily punished  if found guilty. This is smuggling of population which is spoiling our habitat. Individuals who are finding jobs through consulting firms should  be aware of few points like they should have fully fledged information  about the background of the particular company, not to give original documents including their passport ,not to  give money in advance etc. 

Usually, consultants manipulate candidates by giving them false promises about the facilities they would be provided with once they are selected but the true picture differs. When interfacing the real picture the candidate gets a reality check.

Freedom of movement is curtailed through the withholding of passports, the requirement to put up a deposit for temporary emergency trips home, and the requirement that workers must pay their own return airfare and pay any recruitment debt in full if they wish to terminate their contract early.

The major area of concern is the ignorant lot who are not aware of such kind of human trafficking, so an attempt has to be made to educate them about the pros and cons of on sight recruitments and the parameters they should  keep in mind before trusting any onsite recruitment agency or consultancy firm.

Successful Recruitment Strategies and Methods

With the corporate culture becoming cosmopolitan the manpower needs of all business entities are changing drastically. Now when the companies are diversifying their manpower needs it is very obvious that requirements with regard to the skill set for independent position are also having a makeover. Now when the market dynamics are changing drastically the companies are adapting to and innovating new practices for recruitment's to get and hire apt candidates for their manpower needs.

Recruitment is not just another function of the HR department now rather it has become the primary and most important aspect of any business. Manpower is the core strength and USP of any company and People Management is the most critical function of the HR wing. To have the right fit for the right post the most important thing to be kept in consideration is a correct recruitment strategy. Thereafter all the things automatically fall in place. Recruitment strategy if planned and executed aptly can fetch in right fit for the right job. So it is very important that there should be sync in the planning and execution of the recruitment strategy. 

5 Vital Reasons for HR Outsourcing

HR is one critical function that decides the foundation of an organization. People management plays a key role in writing the success story of any organization. So for any company to rise high on the success chart its core HR services should not only be intact but also impactful. With so many players entering the market the companies have to have the best talent to execute their business plans to excel over their competitors. For the smooth and effective running of a business it is very important that the people management in the company is highly valued and retained.HR services not only fetch competent people in the company but help to add resources that add value to the company and are the key contributors in the ROI.HR outsourcing has been into practice in the market since a long time but it gained momentum in the economic downturn of 2008.Verticles like payroll and accounting are of critical importance and account for proficiency, expertise and cost. Such verticals are outsourced by companies to save both time and money. Now with time outsourcing has gradually become a practice for all the companies irrespective of their domains. The process of outsourcing not only unwinds the company from the burden of looking for apt people for their company, train and manages them but also helps as a helping hand to focus on their goals and market strategy for better deliveries. With the changing market dynamics outsourcing is not just a trend but has become the need of the hour. There are various reasons for which the companies should and must consider outsourcing their HR services. Some of them are as stated below.

Are Street Smart people better Business Developers?

In this era of cut throat competition where every company wants to increase their client count and lead its competitor’s, business development plays a very important and strategic role. The companies serving the same segment or industry have almost everything in common apart from one or two USP’s but one factor that differentiates them from each other is the way they approach their prospective customers. The initial contact point for the customer or a client is a business development person who is an interface of the company and educates the client about the company and its services. It entirely depends on his communication and convincing skills whether the client would be in or not.

Business Development is one profession that requires a lot of patience, dedication, detail industry knowledge and good convincing and negotiation skills. But the most important aspect of this profession is the art of listening and digesting a “NO” from the client without being discouraged. There are people in this field who have been in the market for a very long time but have been mediocre performers while there are some who have become star performers in the short span of their careers. The only difference they have is in the attitude and the way they tackle the clients. These are street smart people who know what is just right for that moment; they go for it and get it. Having an eagle’s eye for details and prompt in their actions these people are capable of identifying and converting prospective clients. In this case their negotiation and communication skill gives them an edge over the others. In the short run these people can be a plus point for the company, growing the business and reaping profits with the increasing client base but this should not be forgotten that their street smart attitude makes them think and act smarter when it is for their personal growth. One more aspect of their personality is that they are self motivated people who might not be good team players.

The go getter attitude often leads to a “Me Myself” theory that leaves behind the team spirit and the organizational vision and goal at times. According to the day today visible human psychology pattern street smart people are impulsive and quick at decision making which can be dangerous for the growth and image of the company. There is a very fine line between being smart and over smart.  There can be times when these smart people come across smarter clients who if not handled tactfully and with maturity would be lost forever. To sustain in the corporate world in the long run companies have to build strong and stable relations with their clients and cordial relations with their competitors as well.

 Goodwill is the backbone of any company and the business development people carry the brand name of the company to their clients. It is very important for them to be good at interpersonal skills apart from being dedicated and ethical. It is not that street smart people are not ethical or dedicated to their job but at times they might not compromise on anything for a good opportunity and would want to make the best out of it. For them  winning is important and probably that is why they are called street smart because they are smarter or may be smartest in the lot and aim at converting opportunities. So yes, Street Smart people are better business developers but an employer should analyze the permutation combination of their personality traits and decide because for a successful business to sustain in the market it is important not only to attain new customers but also to retain the existing ones maintaining the legacy and goodwill of the brand. 

Presentation and Communication are the pillars of Brand Management

In the existing competitive corporate world a company needs a strong brand management strategy to position itself and mark a difference. Brand Management is a very strong tool to position a company among its competitors. This is what differentiates a company from its competitors. It is an image building process for a company where it projects all its USP’s and benchmarks its achievements. Visibility paves a way for success and with the digitization of the corporate culture it has a striking impact on the breaking or making of a brand name. With all the marketing tactics going digital how a brand is being projected depends largely on the way it is being presented and communicated. Customer being the king it is very important not only to attain him but to retain him as well. In this case it is very important that the presentation and communication of a company should be in sync with the perception level of the client.

For an effective brand management look and feel of the brand image is vital and should be focused on the target audience. Communication is not just an expression of thoughts; it has now become a technical tool to enhance the brand image in all aspects. Communicating right information to the right audience at the right time is a key marketing strategy to excel. Presentation is other critical aspect of brand management as visibility leads to perception. The look and feel of a brand attracts viewers who can be the potential customers.


 A marketing campaign includes brand promotion tactics which in turn include on-line and offline resources. Talking about the on-line promotions we have various social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter that have given a wide platform to the companies to showcase and promote their brand value and brand image. Apart from this there are various digital marketing tools like SEO(Search Engine Optimization),SEM(Search Engine Marketing),PPC(Pay Per Click),SMO(Social Media Optimization),SMM(Social Media Marketing) and SEA (Search Engine Advertisement) that provide avenues for marketing campaigns that in turn boosts brand management.

The wide usage and access to these channels doubles the importance of presentation and communication as the visibility level increases beyond boundaries. Offline promotion also involves a strong and structured marketing plan with effective and impressive communication and presentation for correct brand positioning. Who? What? When? These questions if properly addressed while formulating a marketing plan along with a correct improvisation of communication and presentation prove to be a bang on bingo in the perfect brand positioning.