Summer Project Report on ‘recruitment Process’ In

SUMMER PROJECT REPORT

On

‘RECRUITMENT PROCESS’

In

STAFFING SOLUTIONS COMPANY

PRESENTED TO

INDIAN BUSINESS ACADEMY

ON

10th JUNE, 2006

IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE POST

GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

BY

LOPAMUDRA MANGARAJ

FP57/076

PGDBM 2005- 2007

Summer Project Report: Recruitment process in TeamLease

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TEAMLEASE

INDIA’S LARGEST STAFFING SOLUTION’S COMPANY

Acknowledgement


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Declaration

I hereby declare that this project on ‘Recruitment Process in TeamLease’ is an

original and bonafide work carried out in partial fulfillment of the requirement of

Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management course in Indian Business

Academy. I also declare that no part of this project has been published earlier or

has been submitted as a project for any degree or diploma for any institution or

University.

…………………………

Lopamudra Mangaraj

PGDBM 05- 07

Indian Business Academy

Bangalore- 52


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Certificate

This is to certify that Ms. Lopamudra Mangaraj of Indian Business Academy,

Bangalore has completed 50 days of the project titled “Recruitment Process in

TeamLease” in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Post

Graduate Diploma in Business Management and has submitted the project report.

To the best of my knowledge, this project work is original and is not any part of

any earlier work by Lopamudra Mangaraj or anybody else. This report has not

been the basis for the award of any degree or diploma by any university or any

other institution.

……………………….. Mr. Manish Jain CEO- Indian Business Academy Bangalore Date………………..


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Certificate








other institution.

……………………….. Prof. Subhas Sharma Dean - Indian Business Academy Bangalore Date………………..


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Certificate








other institution.

……………………….. Mr. Rony Kurien Mentor- Indian Business Academy Bangalore Date………………..


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Acknowledgement I will remain highly indebted to Ms.Kavitha Reddy, Vice-President, TeamLease BPO-

IteS Division, to give me this opportunity to do my summer internship in the company. I

owe this wonderful experience of corporate life to her.

I thank Ms. Jaspreet Bali and Mrs.Suman Srinidi for extending all possible help

whenever I needed it.

I thank my Team leader and my project guide Mr.Arvind Christo to have guided me in

my endeavor, for being a thorough professional and correcting me wherever I made

mistakes.

I thank Ms. Neha, Ms Mohana, Ms Sunita and Mr. Vikas for always guiding me.

I am grateful to Mr. Wasim for all the discussions that I had with him which made my

mind clear and to get my thoughts on the right track. Thank you.

Finally I thank Ms. Flavia, Mr. Naveen and Mr.Rasiq to have made my tenure a

pleasurable experience and made my life easier in TeamLease. Thank you so much for

being my friends.

Thank you, all………


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Table of Contents Acknowledgement……………………………………………………………….i Executive Summary……………………………………………………………..ii Project Objective ……………………………………………………………….iii Project Overview………………………………………………………………..iii Project Methodology…………………………………………………………….iii Achievements……………………………………………………………………iii

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………1 1.1 Broad Industry Classification…………………………………………..2 1.2 Industry Facts…………………………………………………………..3 1.3 Some industry challenges……………………………………………....3 1.4 Key verticals of industry…………………………………………….....3

2. TeamLease- The Company……………………………………………....4 2.1 History of the company since its inception……………………………..4 2.2 Vision of the company……………………………………………….....5 2.3 Strategic business units………………………………………………....5 2.3.1 Staffing 2.3.2 Sourcing

3. Ready WORKFORCE and Team………………………………………...6 3.1 Services to the BPO-IteS industry………………………………………6 3.1.1 Temping 3.1.2 Recruitment

3.2 Benefits for Clients…………………………………………………….10 3.3 Benefits for Associates…………………………………………………10

4. Methods or Techniques of Recruitment…………………………………11 4.1 Preparation …………………………………………………………….11 4.1.1 Know your client 4.1.2 Analyze J.D 4.1.3 Prepare J.S

4.2 Implementation – Sourcing……………………………………………..13 4.2.1 Analyze the CV 4.2.2 Match the JD and JS 4.2.3 Shortlist the candidate 4.2.4 Handle reject candidates

5. Interview………………………………………………………………….14 5.1 Types of interview……………………………………………………….15 5.2 Telephonic Interview……………………………………………………15 5.3 Call Script……………………………………………………………….16


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6. Questioning…………………………………………………………………17

6.1 Devise interview question…………………………………………………17 6.2 General questions………………………………………………………….17 6.3 Specific Question…………………………………………………………18 6.4 Trick question…………………………………………………………….18

7. Body Language……………………………………………………………..18 8. Grammar, Voice and Accent Calibrations…………………………………..19 8.1 Individual Interview………………………………………………………..19 8.2 Assessment Test……………………………………………………………19 8.2.1 Passage Test 8.2.2 Voice Test and MTI 8.2.3 Paraphrase

8.3 For Database……………………………………………………………….20 8.3.1 Candidate Information Sheet 8.3.2 Rating Sheet

9. Brief Summary………………………………………………………………20 10. SWOT Analysis……………………………………………………………..21 11. Challenges faced by Temping Firms………………………………………..22 11.1 Internal………………………………………………………………22 11.2 External……………………………………………………………...23

12. Future of Temping in India………………………………………………….23 13. Recommendation…………………………………………………………….24 13.1 Internal……………………………………………………………….24 13.2 External………………………………………………………………25

14. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………27 15. Exhibits……………………………………………………………………….29

16. Bibliography………………………………………………………………….30


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Executive Summary A “temp” is a temporary worker with an organization who is on a third-party (staffing

company) payroll. A well-accepted norm in global companies, many large Indian

organizations are now hiring a part of their workforce from employee leasing firms. The

reason is not too difficult to guess—as organizations focus on their core business

strengths in a highly competitive environment, the non-core functions are outsourced.

The manpower for the latter is provided by the employee leasing company. The contracts

can range from three to six months, and there are no hassles normally associated with

recruiting and retaining people.

This project report tries to comprehend the scope and the difficulties involved during the

recruitment process in a Temp Staffing Company. Sourcing, which is a vital part of the

recruitment process is thoroughly dealt with. Sourcing the candidates suitable for the

given job profiles is the core activity of recruitment and is a comprehensive and

complicated process in itself. Hence, this constitutes the prime objective of this report.

Other than this, the report also takes a broad overview of the BPO-IteS industry as a

whole and the future and challenges of Temp Staffing with regards to this industry. The

temping business has received a major setback due to the rigidity of the existing labour

laws. In recommendation, the different amendments in law have been discussed.

Temp Staffing or Flexi Staffing, has huge scope in India. When India is emerging as an

economic superpower, it is necessary to deal with the problem of unemployment. This is

where temp staffing plays a major role. It not provides employment but also adds to the

national gross income of the country, thus making it globally competent.


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Project Objective: To understand the scope, difficulties and methods of recruitment

in a Temp Staffing Recruitment Firm with on-site training in sourcing for the client

companies.

Project Overview: Rigorous sourcing was undertaken to understand the recruitment

process. Candidates were interviewed and then potential candidates were shortlisted.

During the tenure of the project I learnt to put the candidates under assessment tests and

took the initial rounds of interview.

Project Methodology: The following methodology was

• The client company’s requirement was received.

• All necessary data regarding the company, job profile, salary, rewards, shift

timings and assessment tests were gathered and understood.

• Sourcing the candidates from the job portals and databases.

• Putting them through an initial interview process

• Shortlisting potential candidates and sending them to the concerned company for

the final HR round.

Achievements: During my training I was asked to source for client companies like REUTERS, HP,

ORACLE, Cos-B and Mphasis. Following were the candidates who were converted into

final offers:

REUTERS……………………..2 candidates offered.

HP……………………………...3 candidates for Tech Support made it to the final

rounds.

ORACLE………………………. None

Cos-B………………………….3 candidates for Inbound voice process

2 candidates for Claims Analyst

Mphasis………………………. 1 candidate for International voice

1 candidate for Domestic voice


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1. Introduction:

It’s a hot topic of discussion—while US senators debate the pros and cons of outsourcing

back-office work to countries like India, employees of local call centers here are worried

about their jobs. Will India’s BPO industry be able to turn the tide in its favour despite

the controversy? And at what cost?

Fame comes at a price. And being the fastest-growing and most cost-competitive

outsourcing destination could sometimes elicit responses like the slogan popular with

some Germans agitators: “Kinder, Klein Inder!” which roughly translated means, “The

solution to labour shortages is more children, not more Indians.”

The fact that India is emerging as the back-office of the world and that our BPO-ITES

industry is estimated to grow by around 65 % year-on-year is not taken too well by trade

unions [1] and others in developed countries from where jobs are coming to India. Even as

investments in the BPO-ITES industry are increasing by the day, banners and placards

demanding a ban on outsourcing of jobs to India are increasingly visible. In the UK, three

of the country’s biggest trade unions have come together to fight the loss of jobs to India,

especially British Telecom’s move to open a huge call centre in Bangalore. The unions

fear that if BT outsources its service sector jobs to India, then the competition would also

be forced to follow suit. German agitators have been running a sustained political

campaign against the German green-card scheme for a while now.

The main reason for all this negativity is that India is perceived as a direct threat to the

livelihood of the average citizen of these countries. In a scenario where India [2] offers

manpower at £0.75-£1.25 per hour, as opposed to the £5-£10 per hour charged for the

same work in the UK, its clear India is a more viable base to do routine back-office work

like finance and accounting, facilities and operation management and legal services.

[1] Source: Nasscom survey 1999 about ‘booming industries in India.

[2] Source: www.expresscomputers.com


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Call centers in India typically attract graduates, many of whom look at it as a career, as

opposed to the West where many employees see it as an in-between-jobs option.

While this could spell good tidings for those who have invested millions in the Indian

BPO industry, the survival strategy advices that the only way to end the debate is for

BPO firms to provide high-quality services at competitive prices, so that firms in the

West have no option but to outsource to India.

The key drivers for off-shoring and the India value proposition are:

• Cost- outsourcing to India has helped companies to achieve 40-50% cost saving

• Resource pool- Availability of skilled workforce- India has over 2 million English

speaking graduates passing out of the Universities every year and the Indian

students have greater technology awareness.

• Geographical position- India is 10.5 hrs ahead of the eastern time in US and the

time difference adds to the project management and true round the clock

operations.

• IT track record- the IT industry success story has positioned India as high

potential market in comparison with other countries. The project management

skills, quality orientation among the Indian companies and are well appreciated.

1.1 Broad Industry Classification:

Business process outsourcing (BPO) or IT Enabled Services (IteS) is leveraging of

technology or specialist process vendors to provide and manage an organization critical

and/or non-critical enterprise processes and applications. The most common examples of

the BPO-IteS industry are Call centers and Back-office outsourcing.

Captive Operations – Captive players are subsidiaries of the parent group catering to in-

house requirements or its own operations globally. Companies like American Express,

Scope, Dell, Bank of America or a Hewlett Packard are examples of Captive Operations.

Captives units account for over 60% of the total revenues in the Indian BPO-IteS

industry.


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Shared Services Centers – Shared Services are similar to the Captive but the only

difference is that the services are for the internal requirements of the company and its

employees only. E.g. Wividus (Wipro Shared Services Division), Siemens, some of the

specific operations in Dell, Hewlett Packard, IBM.

Third Party service Providers – Followed by the Captive who came to India in the 1990’s,

independent Third Party Service Provider (TPSP) started 9-10 years later. They worked

with companies who were either small or not too keen on setting up captive operations.

The TPSP focused on the non-core functions and built-in expertise, enabling clients to

outsource the activity for a better cost and service. Companies like Wipro BPO, 247

Customer, ICICI One Source, and IBM Daksh are some of the early TPSP’s in India.

1.2 Industry Facts

• US contributes about 60% of the market

• Voice processes are high volume, low value, faster migration

• Non-Voice processes are low volume, high value and longer migration.

1.3 Some Industry Challenges

• Demand v/s Supply; Manpower & Alternate manpower

• Lower conversion rates

• Training

• Employee Retention

1.4 Key Verticals of the Industry

The outsourcing potential is across multiple industry verticals, some of the attractive

verticals are:

• Banking & Finance

• Insurance

• Pharmaceuticals

• Software & Hardware

• Telecommunication


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• Retail

• Services- Hospitality, talent, tourism.

• Utility

• Transport – Airlines, Railways

• Manufacturing – Automotives

• Logistics.

1. TeamLease – The Company

TeamLease Services Pvt Ltd is India’s largest staffing solutions, with 48,000 employees

across India, providing a range of people solutions to its client partners. TeamLease

services its clients pan India with offices in major 19 cities – Bangalore, Chandigarh,

Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune among others.

2.1 History of the company since its inception:

TeamLease started in September 2001 and operational activity kicked off in April 2002

as an HR Outsourcing Services provider specialized in Temping services and related

staffing solutions. It is India’s largest staffing solutions company with 48,000 employees

on its payroll placing it among the top 25 private sector employers. As India’s fastest

growing employer, the company has been hiring one employee every hour since its

inception.

The company reached an employee base of 2400 in its first year of operations, 5300 in

2003-04 and 14,800 last year. It had witnessed an average employee growth of 123%

over the last three years. Projected growth rate for the latter half 2005-06 was likely to

touch 44 %.

The TeamLease team compromises of professionals from the HR field, Consulting

background and the BPO-IteS industry. The working knowledge of BPO-IteS has enabled

TeamLease to develop a superior service offering. The organizational structure is quite a

flat structure. TeamLease believes in ‘open door’ concept to build its relations with its

employees. [Refer to Exhibit 1]


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2.2 Vision of the company

To be India’s Largest Private Sector Employer by 2007

2.3 Strategic Business Units

2.3.1Staffing: the staffing SBU comprises of the

I. Business Development Team and

II. The Client Servicing Team

Business Development is the first level of contact for the corporate on the Temping

Staffing front. In addition to continuously tapping into new accounts, BD team is

responsible for tracking of competitors and new corporate entrants, market intelligence,

mapping of industries and functional verticals.

The Client Servicing Team plays important role from the time the Client is on board. CS

ensures that delivers based on the SLA’s. Client management and Associate HR

administration and the key roles CS focuses on.

2.3.2Sourcing:

The Sourcing SBU is responsible to source professionals with respect to the human

capital needs of various organizations across all levels.

It covers all the major locations and industry verticals like IT, Banking & Finance,

Manufacturing, Engineering and Retail. The Temping Practice is responsible for sourcing

candidates for temp openings created by the Staffing SBU.

3. Ready WORKFORCE and Team

ReadyWORKFORCE is the BPO-IteS Staffing Solutions Division of TeamLease, headed

by Ms.Kavitha Reddy, Vice president, and has built in a sustainable single window

solution model to address specific need of the industry. The fact that it is only two years

old in this industry and is already leading it, pronounces the commitment and the

managerial capabilities of the owners of the company. Focused approach with continuous

investment to enhance operational and delivery standards by embracing Global Best


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Practices and Technology had enabled ReadyWORKFORCE to attain the leading

position in BPO-IteS HR Outsourcing space.

Financial Overview of the ReadyWORKFORCE Division:

The ReadyWORKFORCE division had only twenty odd employees when it started two

years back. Now the company employs at least 200 employees in the IteS division alone.

This staggering figure stands testimony that the BPO-IteS division has been growing ever

since its inception.

The annual turnover of the ReadyWORKFORCE division is in crores. A monthly target

of 8 lakhs rupees is undeniably met. The company’s revenue last year was Rs 150 crore

and this was expected to increase to Rs 350 crore in the current financial year.

Marketing Strategy of the ReadyWORKFORCE Division:

The marketing strategy is quite simple and straight. TeamLease has already acquired the

position of a global leader in the field of Temp Staffing Solutions. Keeping this fact in

mind, the company does not indulge in heavy marketing. Since it is not in its nascent

stage, it does not go in for rigorous marketing strategies.

It has a subtle strategy where it believes that the corporate will be the fortitude which will

bring in more business and fame. The company believes that in this field the best

marketing strategy is the ‘word of mouth’. The age old theory of satisfied customer

means more customers and more credentials to the company, hold very true here.

3.1 Services for BPO-IteS Industry- They bring in:

♦ Pan India presence

♦ Integrated single window solution

♦ Domain expertise in BPO-IteS Industry vertical

♦ Substantial pre-screened Database

♦ Guaranteed turn-around-time

♦ Quality processes


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♦ Infrastructure and technology

♦ Web interface- Candidates, Clients & Associates

♦ Self service suite (email, Web, IVR) to Associates- HR, Payroll & Benefits info

♦ TeamLease Ecosystem

3.1.1 Temping

‘Temps’ or ‘associates’, are temporary workers who are deputed to various companies

who prefer to outsource their HR operations. The ‘associates’ work for the company they

are assigned to but are on the payroll of the staffing or the temp leasing company. The

duration of a temporary job is three to nine months. Some of the important characteristics

of temping recruitment are as follows-

♦ Recruit as per Client requirement and assign them to Client or Transfer candidate

identified by client on to TeamLease

♦ Co-employment relationship between the Client, Associate and TeamLease

♦ Manage HR Administration, Payroll and Regulatory activities

♦ Temp staffing options- short term, long term and part time assignment.

♦ Temp-to-permanent staffing option- trial period to permanent staffing.

�

A much defined process spans into four distinct stages, Initialization, Transition, and

Operations & Relationship Management. Equal importance is given to all our stages with

activities defined for each stage.�There is a unique methodology that TeamLease adopts

to render the service. This is shown below:


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Diagram 1. Temping Stages in TeamLease’s temping service


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3.1.2 Recruitment

The base of all HR function is recruitment. It builds the workforce that leads a company

into progression. Hiring the right person for the right job is very important task. There are

three distinct phrases that TeamLease follows which is shown in the diagram:

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Diagram 2. Three phases of Recruitment service followed by TeamLease


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3.2 Benefits for Client

As business these days grow on a confounding rate, outsourcing the basic functions like

recruiting becomes a common thing. The need for flexi staffing is on demand and in such

a scenario; ReadyWORKFORCE renders these services to its Clients-

♦ Focus on delivery of specialized activity/functions

♦ Manage unexpected business demands/manpower

♦ Staffing flexibility- Managing short-term & temporary business needs

♦ Access to a talent pool on required skill sets.

♦ Screen candidates for permanent employment.

♦ Reduce HR Administration cost and time involvement

♦ Performance appraisal co-ordination

♦ Feedback and mentoring sessions with the Associates based on feedback.

♦ Training facilitation- Need analysis, program development and coordination

♦ Comprehensive Regulatory & Statutory compliance

♦ Management reports and MIS

3.3 Benefits for Associates

Candidates referred to as ‘associates’, are also on the advantageous side. The services

that they receive from TeamLease are -

♦ Focused employer and employee communication

♦ Skill upgrade – Training and Development

♦ Structured Induction

♦ Employee handbook, policies and manual

♦ Professional assistance for employee related issues

♦ Professional orientation and HR support

♦ Portable and comprehensive employee benefits

♦ Accurate and timely payroll services

♦ Part of a professional employee outsourcing organization

o With presence across India

o 48,000+ member family


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4. Methods or Techniques of Recruitment

Direct Method

These include sending recruiters to educational and professional institutions, employees’

contacts with public and manned exhibits. Most college recruiting is done in co-operation

with the placement office of the college. The placement office usually provides help in

attracting students, arranging interviews, furnishing space and providing student résumés.

For managerial, professional and sales personnel, campus recruiting is an extensive

exercise. For this purpose, carefully prepared brochures describing the organizing and the

job it offers are distributed among the students, before the interviewer arrives.

Indirect Method

These methods involve mostly advertising in newspapers, websites, radio, in trade and

professional journals, technical magazines and brochures. Companies advertise when

qualified or experienced personnel are not available from other sources.

Third Party Method

These include the use of commercial or private employment agencies, state agencies and

placement offices of colleges, recruiting firms, management consulting firms, friends and

relatives.

Professional Organizations: These organizations maintain a pool of human resource for

possible employment. These firms are also called ‘head hunters’, ‘raiders’ and pirates by

organizations who lose personnel thought their efforts.

Fundamentally there are two distinct steps of recruitment and each is a comprehensive

process in itself. They are discussed below:

4.1 Preparation

4.1.1 Know your client

Learning about companies is valuable because knowing what a company values will help

an agent to assess the candidates better. Pertinent information about the processes of the

company would also help you analyze CVs and find the right candidate. This can be done

by reading the corporate website or calling the company for further information or using

your own network and find out the ‘work culture’.


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This will help one to know about the history of the company, their core values, their

clients and processes, the benefits employees can enjoy and the career growth chart.

When one has knowledge about these vital parameters, it becomes easier to assess a

resume based on these parameters. Moreover, when one is equipped with such vital

information about the company and the job profile, it helps to motivate and mould the

suitable but reluctant candidates to attend the interview.

4.1.2 Analyze the Job Description (JD)

A job description is a written record of the duties, responsibilities and requirements of a

particular job. It is concerned with the job itself and not the work. It is a statement

describing the job in such terms as “Title, location, duties, working condition and

hazards”. In other words, it tells us ‘what is to be done’; ‘how it is to done’ and ‘why’.

An updated job description is essential for a good selection interview. It helps one to

explain the nature of work to the prospective candidate properly without any over or

under commitment. This also helps to put the candidate, the client company and the agent

on the same platform. A good job description covers at least 4 elements of the job. They

are as follows: [refer to exhibit 2]

• Accountabilities/ Responsibilities/ Duties

• Dimensions – level or size of responsibility

• Framework – where the job fit in the organization?

• Relationships – with whom does the position holder interact?

4.1.3 Prepare a Job Specification (JS)

It is a written record of the requirements sought in an individual worker for a given job.

In other words, it refers to a summary of the personal characteristics required for a job.

Once the agent knows what the job is, then he can decide what kind of person he/she

would need to do it. Sometimes the job specification is already prepared and given by the

client along with the job description. In such a case, the job of the agent becomes easier.

[Refer to exhibit 3]


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The job specification is for the benefit of the employees working in TeamLease. It is

ready reference to check on the requirements that one needs to keep in mind while

sourcing for the different clients. It makes the whole task easier and more convenient.

4.2 Implementation – Sourcing

Sourcing is the most of all recruitment activities. It is also difficult being monotonous in

nature. A recruiter needs to be self-motivated to do the job. The sourcing takes place in

different levels and in all the verticals of the industry. The procedures involved are

discussed below.

Even before starting sourcing , it is very important to have a clear understanding of the

requirement of the client company. The recruiter must have all knowledge about the

company he/she is about to source for. It makes sure that all the questions that a

candidate has regarding the profile or the credibility of the company are satisfactorily

answered.

Sourcing is defined as the process wherein the recruiter creates a pool of potential

candidates to fill up a position. It is the first step of recruitment. Sourcing involves

logging on to a job-portal and doing a search for the potential candidates. When the

search is generated, then comes the most critical part of sourcing. Mainly four steps are

involved in Sourcing. They are discussed below:

4.2.1 Analyze the Curriculum Vitae (CV) :

Now is the time to scrutinize the candidate’s resume. It is human nature to generally

omit the negative points while creating a resume or to exaggerate the achievements.

Though most of the time people are truthful while forming their resumes, others can

hide or not mention things that can portrait a negative picture of them. A good CV is

one which is precise and presentable. It should contain all details of education and

work experience should be arranged in reversed chronological method so as to

emphasize on the most recent one. Analyzing a CV helps in shortlisting a candidate.


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4.2.2 Match the JD and JS:

When a CV has been analyzed and is considered as a good one, the next step is to

match it with the job description. It is necessary to match it with the profile given by

the company. Matching it with the JD gives an idea if the person will be able to serve

well in the position or not. Next it is important it with the job specification. The JS

gives the details of the desired skills and the mandatory skills. These are the criteria

for selection.

4.2.3 Shortlist the candidate:

Once the CV has been matched with the job description and matched with the job

specification, now it can shortlisted. Such a candidate is then called in for a face-to-

face interview. There is an individual interview of the recruiter and the candidate. In

this interview the candidate answers the questions the recruiter asks to be sure that the

candidate would suit the profile of the job.

4.2.4 Handling the rejected candidates:

It is very important how a recruiter manages the rejected candidates. It is important

to make the candidate where his lacunas are and what can he do about it. In this way

not only the recruiter helps the candidate to correct itself but also helps in creating an

association with them which is so very vital in the service industry.

5. Interview

Interviews determine if a potential candidate will be a finalist and if he shall suit the

job. A lot of things get clear during an interview. A face to face talk with the

candidate ensures that the recruiter evaluates the candidate on terms of attitude,

confidence and communication. The gaps that seem in the resume are also

questioned. The candidate may have an explanation for it. On the other hand if he is

lying, then he can be cross-questioned about this. Some of the objectives of interview

are:

• To get an opportunity to judge an applicant’s qualifications and characteristics

as a basic for sound selection and placement.


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• To give an applicant essential facts about the job and the company you are

recruiting for.

• To establish a rapport.

• To promote goodwill about the company whether interview culminates in

employment or not.

• To get a real feel of the candidate.

5.1 Types of Interview

• Patterned or Structured Interview

• Non-structured interview

• Depth or Action interview

• Panel or Board Interview

• Stress Interview

• Telephonic Interview

The above mentioned interviews are all conducted at various levels of the organizational

recruitment. The nature of the job determines which of these interviews would suit best.

All the interviews are not conducted for all the job profiles. The complexity of the

interview depends on the complexity of the job.

We shall now discuss the telephonic interview which is very instrumental in selecting a

potential candidate in TeamLease.

5.2The telephonic Interview

It is said that listening intently gives a good idea of what a person want to say and what a

person does not say. The sound, intonations, the varying pressures that a prospective

candidate uses while he/she speaks tells a lot about his/her attitude. This in turn helps the

recruiter to judge that if the candidate would be suitable for the job or not.

Unlike the face-to-face interview where the recruiter can read the non-verbal languages,

in a telephonic interview he has to even sharper. Listening to the words used and their

tone used gives immense messages about the candidate.


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As a recruiter, one has to be completely prepared before taking a telephonic interview.

The following steps can be kept in mind while taking a telephonic interview:

1. You must keep the CV next to you and make notes while taking the interview.

2. Must prepare a set of questions that would match the JD.

3. To use a call script. This helps in being professional and saves time to in

approaching the right candidate.

4. Do not display any negative emotion during the interview. Never to over or under

commit anyone.

5.3 Call Script

The call script is a pre-formatted method of calling up a candidate while approaching

them for the job. It is professional and saves a lot of time. There are basically 6 steps

involved in the call script. They are:

START

Step 1: Use a professional greeting

Step 2: Reach the Prospect

Step 3: Introduce yourself

Step 4: Provide reference if Appropriate

Step 5: State the purpose of call

Step 6: Seek permission to continue

END

Step 1: Confirm Agreement

Step 2: Check for Acceptance

Step 3: Thank the candidate on a Positive note.

Note: It is always advisable never to over or under commit to a candidate and to

never to disclose the client company’s name. It could build false hope and under

circumstances where the candidate is rejected, he/she feels let down.


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6. Questioning

It is very important to ask for permission to ask questions, otherwise it will feel like

interrogation to the candidates. To start off with, it is advisable to ask easy questions first

(the best things about their current situations), then ask about their problems and get them

to expand on their answers.

6.1 Devise interview questions:

Preparation in advance of an interview is essential if you are to make a successful hire.

Critical in the preparation process is the development of interview questions that elicit

tangible facts from all applicants.

Basically, two rules are kept in mind when framing the questions that will indicate

whether or not an applicant meets the requirements you established for the position:

RULE 1: Ask questions that concentrate on the applicant’s past performance – to permit

reliable assumptions about future success.

RULE 2: Ask questions that relate directly to at least one of your listed requirements to

maximize the information you will gain in the time allotted.

6.1.1 General Questions:

• Tell me about yourself

• What do you about the company?

• What are your goals?

• What are your strengths and weakness?

• What has been your most significant contribution in your college/previous

organization?

• Why should we hire you?

• How would your friends describe you?


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6.1.2 Specific Questions:

• How would you resolve a conflict in a project team?

• What was the most difficult decision you had to make?

• Can you work under pressure, deadlines, etc…?

6.1.3 Trick Questions:

• You may be over-qualified for this position

• What would you look for if you had to hire people?

• If you had to change your educational stream again, what would you do

differently?

• What career options do you have at the moment?

• According to your definition of success, how successful have you been so far?

Note: It is always advisable not to ask all these questions at one go, for it will turn

into a stress interview instead.

7. Body Language

Gestures and body movements are unconscious forms of communication. They are sign

language that let out so many secrets of the candidate regarding his attitude and his

thought process. They are reflex actions that we are not aware of. As a recruiter it is

necessary to keep a watch for all these sign languages.

The importance to keep a watch on these non-verbal gestures is that it helps a recruiter to

change the direction of the conversation. If the candidate shows negative gestures like

shifting in the chair or looking here and there, most likely he is not interested in the

conversation anymore or he does not like what is being offered to him. In such cases the

recruiter has to take some counteractive measures and needs to change the direction of

the conversation. [Refer to exhibit 4]


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8. Grammar, Voice and Accent Calibration

In times of globalization, what is more necessary is that one speaks in a globally

comprehensive language rather that in the popular accent of American, British or

Australian. One of the major criteria in the BPO-IteS industry is the communication of

the candidate which should be free from ‘Mother Tongue Influence’ or MTI as it is

generally known. That means the candidate should have a neutral accent. If he has a

neutral accent then he is a potential investment for the company.

8.1 Individual Interview:

The individual interview that takes place between a recruiter and the candidate in the first

session of their meeting gives vital information about the candidate’s soft skills. The way

he carries on a conversation and the direction in which he/she drives it, is the first hand

information about the voice and accent of the candidate. Most of the time the recruiter

gets to know if the candidate fits in the job or not. But there are times when the recruiter

may not be very sure about his assessments. It is then he puts the candidates into other

assessment tests.

8.2 Assessment test

A voice and accent test is conducted wherein the degree of MTI of a candidate is

checked. Depending on the degree of the MTI the candidate has, he/she is considered as

trainable or not trainable. Some methods used to test the candidate’s suitability for the

process:

8.2.1 Passage Test

A passage is give to the candidate to read from a book or a newspaper. When he reads

the passage, his pronunciation, his level of mother tongue influence and his proper

use of punctuation marks comes in play.

8.2.2 Voice test:

This test is usually done when the candidate is for a voice-based job profile. When the

candidate is asked to read a paragraph, his voice is checked on the microphone and is

then recorded. This helps in measuring the intonations and the pressures he gives

while he talks. Then the candidate is categorized into trainable or not trainable .


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8.2.3 Paraphrase:

Paraphrase is an important function in a voice based job. The job may have to keep

repeating a call script or some information a number of times. It then gets

monotonous. To avoid this, the candidate is checked on his paraphrasing capabilities.

8.3 For Database

8.3.1Candidate Information Sheet

The candidate information sheet is given to the candidate the moment he enters

TeamLease. He has to fill up the necessary information regarding his work experience,

his qualification, valid email id and phone number and reference of at least five other

people. The candidate is also asked to write an essay. This helps a recruiter to assess the

thought flow of the candidate. But most importantly, all this information is stored as a

database for the company. So when any recruiter leaves the organization or anybody

needs to do a reference check on any candidate after some time has passed, this is a good

method. [Refer to exhibit 5]

8.3.2 Rating Sheet

The rating sheet is attached to the candidate information sheet. This rating sheet has

about ten parameters. The candidate is rated based on these parameters. A rating of 1-7 is

given, 7 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. The rating sheet gives qualitative

information about a candidate as he/she scored on the different parameters a candidate is

assessed on in TeamLease. [Refer to exhibit 6]

9. Brief Summary

After all the tests the candidate has gone through, the candidate is sent to the client

company for the last HR round or any other rounds of interview that he has to attend. But

the recruitment mainly constitutes of the above mentioned methods. The process of

recruitment ends with hiring the candidate on a temporary or permanent basis. After he

has been given the offer letter and told the joining date, the candidate has to sign on

contract papers with the temping company. If the candidate is hired by the client

company on a temporary basis, then the candidate is on the payrolls of TeamLease

Company. The contract that he/she will sign will speak about his rights and the details


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about the job and this salary and benefits. The temping company, in this case will take

care of most of the employee related problems of the candidate. As per the contract, a

part of the candidate’s salary will go as billing for the temping company. This is the

revenue for such companies.

It is crystal clear that sourcing the right person for the right job is the core or the building

block of recruitment function. Most part of the work is done if a recruiter finds the right

candidate who’s CV matches the job profile of the client company but more importantly,

it is a challenge for the recruiter to present the job in such a manner that will motivate the

candidate to come down and attend the interview. A recruiter has to work under so many

constraints like the candidates not turning up for interview or the dearth of skilled

candidates. This is when the competencies of a recruiter is measured.

10. SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis of the company is given below keeping in view the different

environmental factors that affect an organization in general.

Strength:

1. Brand name of the company.

2. The diverse strategic business units extending into FMCG and BPO-IteS industry.

3. A strong client servicing team.

4. Pan- India presence (Across 19 cities)

Weakness:

1. Sharing of database internally among colleagues and externally with other temp

staffing companies or recruitment firms.

2. The performance of a recruiter depend much on the performance of the candidate.

Only if the candidate is offered the job he/she was sourced for, the recruiter is

qualified for incentives.

3. Very strict incentive plans.

4. Pay is low even if it according to industry standards. Therefore it is difficult to

retain its employees.


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5. Even after 1-2 years, employees still work in the same position with little hike in

pay or a better job profile.

6. It is easy to reach the saturation point in this job easily owing to its monotonous

nature.

Opportunity:

1. BPO industry is growing at a very fast pace. Results in increased demand for

temp and perm staffing.

2. Attrition rate in BPO sector is 30-40 % . Therefore is always a need to fill in

positions.

3. Temps make more sense for snappy projects like handling Christmas sales or

short-term data process job.

Threat:

1. Competition from other consultancies.

2. Existing Contract Labour Acts that do not recognize a company like TeamLease.

3. Dearth of skilled candidates for the BPO-IteS sector has always plagued the

industry.

4. BPO-IteS is unorganized sector and demands at least graduates to do multi-

tasking. So supply for skill up gradation does not meet the demand. The mass still

trickles into the organized sector.

5. The night shift timings do not attract a lot of young women to the industry.

Students also tend to avoid these timings until they want to earn while they learn.

11. Challenges faced by Temping Companies

11.1 Internal challenges:

• Most of the candidates just see the BPO-IteS as a stop-over before actually getting

on to their respective career.

• Some of them look at it as a method to fill in the resume gaps.

• The freshers look at the temp job for work experience and not planning to stay as

a permanent employee. This increases the attrition rate in the industry. The dearth

of skilled candidates, in effect, makes temp staffing difficult.


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• The pay in the BPO-IteS industry is good but personal life has to be

compromised. The young worker who is evidently concerned about the work-life

balance does not appreciate this.

• To some extent it restricts the pulling of female candidates for night shifts and

that being a major concern since women make at least a 45% of the total 18- 27

years of the workforce.

As a recruiter, one has to work against all these constraints and still emerge successful.

11.2 External Challenges:

• The Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act (1970) that does not recognize

the temping practice

In this case, the temping companies should take a stand, like TeamLease did.

12. Future of Temping in India

Temping jobs are here to stay and rule the Indian HR market! [Refer to Exhibits 7, 8, 9

and 10]

In the fast changing global HR scenario, temping jobs seem to be a viable solution for the

companies looking forward to excel in the competitive market. Indian companies are also

no exception to this rule. Though IT and ITES companies are the pioneers to adopt

temping jobs, companies irrespective of industry and size are first catching up with the

trend. The following points will give you a comprehensive idea of the growth of the

temping jobs in India.

Number of temp staffers in 2003 - 15, 000 - 20, 000

Number of temp staffers at the beginning of 2006 - above 1, 20, 000

Average compensation in 2003 - Rs. 5,000 - Rs. 6,000

Average compensation at the beginning of 2006 - Rs 6,000 - Rs 8,000

Potential size of temp market - 2.5% - 3% o of total workforce.

[Ref: Deccan Herald - DH Avenues, 4th January, 2006]


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The main cause behind this surging popularity of the temporary staffing system is the fact

that it is benefiting both, the employers as well as the employees. With temporary

staffing, companies can lease skilled employees in any function, in any department

without the liabilities associated with keeping permanent employees. On the other hand,

temporary staffing provides opportunities to millions of talented freshers and experienced

candidates to work with big names in the industry. While companies enjoy service of

more people keeping the payroll in control, employees get the freedom of working

according to their convenience.

According to industry studies following are some of the main reasons of temporary

staffing.

6% companies use temporary staffing to reduce wages.

63% companies hire temps to match the seasonal peaks in work load.

59% to cover for leave vacancies.

39% to perform one-off tasks.

21% hire temporary staff for specialist skills.

20% hire temp staff on a trial basis before permanent employment.

[Ref: Deccan Herald - DH Avenues, 4th January, 2006]

13. Recommendations

13.1 Internal:

• Training is the answer for the most of the problems faced by the temp staffing

companies like TeamLease. Training at all levels is imperative. The recruiters can

do some amount of training after they have shortlisted the candidate for a

particular job profile. If the candidate is trainable in some of the parameters

designed by TeamLease, it is recommended that the training takes place at the

first step itself. Letting the candidate recognize his incompetencies and helping

him overcome it by doing simple everyday exercises will bring down the chances

of the candidate getting rejected in the final HR rounds in the company.


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• The temping companies conduct training programs at various levels in the

educational institutional. Under graduate and graduate students are a major source

of candidates. When they undergo a training program for handling interview and

gather knowledge about BPO-IteS sector in India, it creates a reserve of good

quality candidates in the market to source.

13.2 External – Fighting for Rights

The professional recruitment organizations have immensely contributed to the industrial

development in all the sectors including earning valuable foreign exchange. The

Recruitment industry helps to generate among the highest net invisible FOREX inflow on

a continuing sustainable basis. The recruitment industry must be treated on par with the

software & IT Enabled services, since in each of the above case, export earnings are

being created through deployment of knowledge workers. Export earnings for the

recruitment industry must also be covered under 80HHE of Income Tax Act.

The labor laws for contract employment need to be liberalized to enable increased

employment. The largest private employer in US is a Temporary Employment company,

employing around 2 million temporary workers. India’s unemployment can be reduced

by allowing liberalized contract / temporary employment for knowledge workers.

Today, the rate of temp job creations is significantly hampered primarily due to staffing

companies not being considered as the Principal employer. This not only increases the

growth of unorganized sector, but also leads to increase in Sham consulting agreements

in this industry. To avoid these, it is critical for the Staffing Companies to be

recognized as Principal Employer under Section 2g, 7 of CLRA.

Yet another key issue that is impeding the temp staffing industry growth is the restriction

imposed on utilizing temp staff for Core and Perennial work. Since the definition of Core

and Perennial work is not clearly stated, it is bound to get interpreted differently by

different entities (appropriate governments). As stated in the previous point, this is

hampering the employment creation significantly. The restriction (Sec 10 of CLRA)

should be removed, thereby allowing utilization of temporary staffing in all

functions and industries.


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In today's scenario, we are operating with a highly fragmented market with decentralized

processes. Due to over-regulation and under-supervision in our industry, the overall

compliance level is significantly low. This adds to the lack of transparency and

encourages high degree of corruption. In order to evade this situation, a single-window

National License for staffing companies should be created replacing the existing

contract-by-contract registration (Sec 7, 12 of CLRA). This would significantly shift

compliance responsibility directly to the staffing company.

As per the current rule, EPF is to be deducted for employees from day one, irrespective of

their employment tenure. This does not help either the employees or the employers

especially in the case of staff working for a short period. We would like to request the

Government to consider deducting EPF only in case of employees working for more

than 90 days.

The seeds for the growth of Software Exports were provided by "onsite body-shopping",

which helped customers recognize strengths of the Indian software professional.

Recruitment Companies have contributed significantly to it. ERA will help build the

Global Brand & Recognition for Indian knowledge workers from other professions -

Engineers, Accountants, Medical, Marketing, Human Resources, Media, etc. ERA can

be the catalyst to replicate the software exports success to other professions for

outsourced knowledge & R&D centers, helping create employment, significant

exports and FOREX earnings.

The Recruiting Industry should be exempt from Service Tax, since it is contributing

working towards the government top priority of creating employment & reducing

unemployment of the educated youth. To achieve the Government's own objectives of

significantly enhancing employment in the country, it is also important that Service

Tax for Interim staff be done away with completely. If Service Tax has to be

charged the government needs to issue a clarification that the tax is on the service

charges and not on the entire amount, which includes the compensation paid to the

Employee. This clarification is essential to avoid any ambiguity and litigation, since any

other interpretation would be suicidal to the survival of the nascent staffing industry.


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The productivity of the national employment service could be significantly improved

through Private – Public partnership. The private sector with its expertise and

experience, could help the public sector in planning, structuring and implementing the

employment service effectively and this in turn we believe would radically help

improving productivity.

It must be noted that these are merely topics of debate until something concrete

is done. The focus now should be on the wider picture where the future of the BPO-IteS

industry in India lays, the potential to generate immense employment opportunity and

stride towards a more competent India. The pioneers of the temping industry like

TeamLease who has released a white paper on this topic, should not rest just there. That it

has taken a stand, the real works starts now.

14. Conclusion

I conclude saying that the whole process of recruitment from a recruitment firm like

TeamLease, is a very exhausting one. It is detail oriented in nature. The reason why every

employee gets motivated to do the job is because of the knowledge that at that particular

moment that particular recruiter was responsible for giving job to these candidates. To

generate employment is one thing but to recruit the right kind of workforce for a job is

another thing. It not only needs the basic understanding of the client company’s need to

fill the position in a period of time but it also requires the recruiter to be sensitive of the

needs of the candidate to find the right job for himself. All this needs a great profundity

of intellect.

During my tenure at TeamLease, I learnt to work as professional. The one thing that got

profoundly clear is that text books do not help in the actual corporate world. There are

unwritten policies and standard operating procedures that each employee has to abide to.

No matter what, profit maximization is the core purpose of the existence of every

business. Meeting targets on your level dedicatedly is your contribution to the revenue

generation of the company.


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But there is a greater purpose as to why concepts such as temp staffing were developed

into companies such as TeamLease. There is a social obligation to this country in the

bigger picture. A responsibility that certain enlightened minds have taken up – to reduce

the level of unemployment in India and to make sure that the un-organized sector is

recognized as a major employment generation sector.

The government should encourage this ideology and do whatever is possible to extend

the much needed help. After all, it is the dream of every citizen of India to see this

country stand where it rightly belongs – At the TOP!


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15. Exhibits

Exhibit No 1.

Organizational Chart of TeamLease Staffing Solutions Company.


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Please Note: Exhibits 2 to 6 could not be shown here because they were

exhibits from the Induction manual of the company. Refer to the hard copy

for the exhibits.


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Exhibit No 7.


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Exhibit No 8.


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Exhibit No 9.


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Exhibit No 10


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16. Bibliography

� Human Resource Management – Gray Dessler

� Human Resource Management – Aswathappa

� TeamLease White Paper on Labour Reforms

� [email protected]

� [email protected]

� www.teamlease.com

� www.expresscomputers.com

Documents

Summer Project Report on ‘recruitment Process’ In