Laxmikanth Venkatraman (MD, Broadridge Financial Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.) tells Schweta Chaturvedi that leaders should attract the right talent and allow them to be themselves by following the right approach

Q. What makes an ordinary company a ‘great organisation’?

A. It is the people and always the people; this is what I have always believed in and have experienced too. It is the ability to attract, retain and nurture people that makes an organisation great. People make all the difference inside or outside a workplace and that is why they need to feel connected with the organisation. Our job as leaders is primarily to attract the right talent and allow them to be themselves which can be done through the following approach:

Experience, Explore and Grow

People should feel empowered. We, as leaders, have to be the Thirthankara (according to Jainism, Thirthankara is a human being who in addition to achieving liberation and enlightenment, became a role model and leader for those seeking spiritual guidance) who with knowledge and guidance will enable the connection and bridge the gap.

Q. What are your thoughts on the talent base in India? What is the need of the hour to generate more employment opportunities for them?

A. I think, fundamentally, our talent base is good both from the perspective of technical skills as well as from that of soft skills and this is increasingly being recognised globally.

There are some challenges that we have from our education system and from companies which do not equip people adequately to be job ready. But the biggest hurdle in my view is embedded in our thinking. Our system constrains us to think only in a certain manner. Our upbringing and milieu have instilled fear in our minds which has conditioned our living. We need to learn to unlock ‘that’ fear. I believe in F=S=O, that is, fear = scarcity = opportunity (on the lines of counterfactuals). Click here to read more...

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Emerging trends

The short-time working programme in Germany, known as ‘Kurzarbeit’, is supposed to ensure that companies across all sectors keep workers employed in times of crisis or low demand by reducing working hours and consequently wage costs. The Federal Employment Agency provides funding for short-time working based on business cycle and economic reasons, providing that certain conditions are met. The agency tops up reduced wages by a certain percentage and subsidises social security contributions on short-time wages by 50 per cent (up to 100 per cent during qualification programmes and after seven months). The programme existed before the crisis, but was extended because of it. The incentives to encourage employers to retain workers by reducing working hours instead of firing them were originally due to expire in 2010-end. According to the German government, the scheme has proved itself during the economic crisis by keeping unemployment lower than in many of the country’s trading partners.

Organising union activities in transnational firms
Between 2007 and 2008, Romania’s Free Trade Union Federation of Commerce (FSLC) carried out activities in companies operating in Romania, with the support of other trade organisations. FSLC concentrated on organising employees in transnational companies. The main companies targeted were Metro Cash & Carry, Carrefour and Billa-Rewe. As a result, FSLC and the newly established Metro union ‘Solidaritatea’ signed a collective agreement in April 2008 for Metro Cash and Carry.

The agreement improved working conditions and wages for the employees at Metro. An information and consultation forum for social dialogue at Metro Romania was also established, and the Romanian employees won a seat on Metro’s European works council. The Metro collective agreement gave a 9.5 per cent increase in wages, a loyalty bonus after five years of employment, and a 10 per cent bonus for work on Saturdays and Sundays. It also provides three paid days each month for union representatives, and stipulates that employers have an obligation to focus on improving working conditions. Click here to read more...

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4ps Business and Marketing
The Human Factor

Universities have two roles – creating and disseminating knowledge.

Third, focus on improving faculty quality. Universities have two roles – creating and disseminating knowledge. This translates into two key responsibilities for faculty, research and teaching. The importance of faculty undertaking these dual roles is demonstrated by the fact that there are almost no top teaching business schools globally that do not also excel in research. Indeed, excellence in research is an important requirement for eminence in teaching and education. Unfortunately, most Indian business schools do not recognise research, and do not view it as related to teaching and education. As a result, with few exceptions, faculties undertake little research and many institutions rely heavily on practitioners who lack fundamental understanding of theoretical foundations.

Not all faculties or institutions need to undertake global-standard research. Yet the current state in India, where perhaps only one business school does so, suggests a major underlying problem. The solution is a challenging one – introduce research-oriented PhD programmes, hire better quality faculty, offer adequate compensation and align incentives to include research excellence. A concerted effort to draw on Indian faculty abroad to help develop doctoral programmes and faculty should be an immediate priority.

Fourth, allow foreign institutions to establish campuses in India, as that will increase options for students, introduce beneficial competition, raise standards and increase investments in education. While there must be some quality standards, a broad range of institutions should be allowed in. The rationale for doing so is similar to that of encouraging foreign direct investment and arguments against doing so, equally mistaken. Click here to read more...

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Professionals make for better teachers

Q. Please give us an overview of the education system in the United Kingdom. Also, how different is it from that in India?

A. The education system in the United Kingdom has experienced the same set of challenges that the Indian system has at some point or the other. In terms of quality and availability of faculty, we have been through a fair share of challenges. Universities in the United Kingdom have depended on faculty with no real-world work experience, even for teaching accountancy courses. On the contrary, the independent training institutes have relied heavily on qualified business professionals to teach professional courses. What we have seen, therefore, is a trend where the independent institutes have almost taken over the entire demand and supply of accounting professionals. Students have moved away from university degrees in accounting to professional programmes supported by training institutions.

Q. What kind of training programmes are conducted for teachers in the United Kingdom?

A Training or qualification is as critical as its application and relevance. Quality teachers have experience of working in the field to back their academic knowledge. The best teacher training programme would expose teachers teaching accountancy or business-related subjects to the real world of business and finance.

Q. What is more important – education or experience, especially at a time when universities and companies are shaking hands?

A. When it comes to teachers, relevant work experience is as important as the academic qualification. Sound exposure to industry ensures that their teaching is backed by examples and case studies from the real world. That means students are more ‘business ready’ when they come out of the institute and the companies do not have to spend too much time in training them. Click here to read more..

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