An interview with Mr. J. M. Prasad, Vice-President HR, Subex Systems, Bangalore

Can you explain the attraction and retention policy that you follow in Subex?

We firmly believe that any recruitment, or selection a two-way decision. Just as the way we are choosy about the profile of the candidates we select, the candidates would also like to make a choice from the best employers in the industry. What we attempt to do is treat each prospective candidate as an ambassador of the organisation. We ensure that he gets a totally different experience when he walks into Subex, as distinct from other companies.

Irrespective of whether the candidate is selected or not we give the candidate a small memento in appreciation, for spending their precious time with us. If a person gets selected, along with the offer letter, he gets a welcome letter from the Subex Culture club The club has its own budget, and consists of four different houses and each employee belongs to one of them.

Every two months each house is expected to put up an event. This gives us an opportunity to interact with others. This is to ensure that we have a work culture that is progressive, that every employee gets well integrated and that there is a fine balance between work and fun.

These are some of the innovative practices we implement to attract manpower to the company. We provide a rich work culture, and ensure the growth of the individual not only in terms of higher compensation but also in terms of knowledge and competency enhancement. These are some of the aspects that have helped us retain the best of our talent.

How is Subex as a paymaster?

We do offer adequate compensation. We expect the candidates to approach us wanting to work with us for two specific reasons. One being the rich works culture and two, a promising career advancement. These two factors should in the long run influence a professional to join us even though we may not be the best paymasters.

What's your induction program for the new recruits like?

We have identified certain important traits; these are traits, which every Subexian must possess. Each chosen candidate is put through a three-day outbound training programme, we call this the Subex traits integration camp. During the three days, they stay together, go through various exercises, develop a sense of understanding and forge an identity for themselves as a Subexian. We have noticed a tremendous change in the commitment levels, the motivation levels of those who have gone through this three-day program.

Can you tell us something about the Subex Foundation that takes care of your ESOP function?

Our ESOP proposal is a bit different. We do not have a selective coverage where ESOP is made available only to a particular category of Subexians. The ESOP scheme is offered to everybody from day one, as we want each employee to be a proud owner of the part of the company, which will give him a sense of belonging.

Our scheme is not positioned as something in lieu of compensation; it is positioned over and above the compensation package, more like the icing on the cake.

How is your internal communication channel structured?

We have a very open culture in our organisation and by open I mean that every employee is free to voice his views. In case of any complaints the employee can email the senior management team who will be identified and they have to respond within 48 hours of the complaint being lodged. We also have a Subex Open House, which is conducted on a quarterly basis across the company. This is conducted off-site usually in a club where there is a good blend of meetings and sports activities.

Do you identify the needs of the organisation and find people to meet those needs or try and carve out a role within, for enterprising professionals in the industry?

For an organisation of our size though we would like to incorporate every exceptional professional, we have to find out whether it will be possible for us to utilise him or not, and provide him with a meaningful role. However, as a growing organisation we have to be very careful of the role definition and the kind of people we take on board, so this flexibility is not always possible.

MALINI SURYANARAYANAN