Ms. Nalini Srinath is the General Manager, Recruitment at Tanning Technology International.

What does Tanning, India deal with?

The chief business model for a software company is that most companies have an on-site and offshore backend operation. They have the need (client base) for an offshore establishment. Besides, an offshore set-up provides tremendous advantages in terms of cost, and recruitment; as local talent is usually employed. There are tax benefits as well.

Tanning is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Our offshore development branch in Hyderabad commenced operations in December 1998. On the front-end, clients and business come from the US and UK. The initial project architecture takes shape at the main centre while the intricate high-end design and development takes place in India.

Can you elaborate on your role at Tanning?

I head the recruitment division. In Tanning, HR and recruitment are two separate functions. The recruitment function in Tannning focuses on attracting the best talent. In a software company, its intellectual capital is it's prime asset. We have a team of recruiters working towards setting-up a recruitment engine that ensures speedy response, is reliable and is able to staff the project needs as required. We look at the recruitment function at Tanning as a sales organisation. We consider prospective candidates and really go all out, to recruit the right person, talk to them, and convince them of the benefits of working for Tanning. All of us at sometime need to get those USPs, which differ for different levels. I would in that sense relate recruitment to a sales and marketing job rather than a purely HR function. We have two channels through which we recruit, like campus recruitments and headhunting efforts to generate senior- level profiles.

What do you look for in a person during recruitment? Do body language, soft skills and presentation play an important role?

We are a very dynamic company and the average age of the employees in our company is 32-33 years. Typically, we have people with the right attitude, personality, high energy levels, people who have the zeal or the desire to achieve breakthroughs, apart from their technical skills and knowledge. We have a rigorous selection process. There are certain basic criteria that we consider like communication skills, technical and an all-round proficiency. The moment we receive a profile, we have a face-to- face interaction to assess the person's soft skills and whether he will fit-in with the organisational work culture, after which, the technical evaluation takes place.

Do you have any specific retention policies to counter the alarming attrition rate in the software industry?

Fortunately, the attrition rate in Tanning is not very high, compared to the industry average. An employee is periodically made aware of the career options at Tanning. Information, job opportunities and the happenings in the company are shared with the employees. I think this is one of the prime reasons why the attrition rate in the company is not too high. People don't come on board and find something entirely different from what has been projected.

In terms of progression, we have career and performance management systems to boost performance and productivity of the employees. There are strong fundamentals that withhold the employees like a technology platform that is invigorating and deals with the latest, as Internet technologies, etc. We provide the employee an environment that is technically challenging and a work culture that is comfortable and simulating as well. The employee's all-round development is taken care of by the company. Professionally too the employee has the opportunity to travel abroad, for on-site projects. We have the Tanning rotational framework where every employee gets the opportunity to work on- site. The aspirations of the employee to a great extent are met at here.

How do you encourage employee participation?

We have informal forums like the open house, wherein grievances are addressed and the employee is encouraged to share his views and opinions. Since human resources are such an important function in a software organisation, the employee definitely has a say and his contribution is valued.

With so much emphasis on technical qualifications, does a non- technical person with a management degree stand a chance?

Most of the recruitment for such candidates happens in the service sector. Unfortunately, the support staff is minimal. Most of the recruitment takes place on the technical side. For instance, we recruited nine people from IIM, Bangalore this year. They now work with us as business and systems analysts. Most of the employees have an engineering background supplemented with an MBA. Business analysts progress into the front-end area of business development while the systems analysts are groomed to become the project managers within a stipulated time frame.

Has your being a woman brought more sensitivity to the post?

Not really. I wouldn't say it is very gender based. Ultimately it is the bottom line that matters. Yet, being a woman, one also considers things from a different angle. In my experience, if I'm able to deliver and contribute to the growth of the organisation, being a woman doesn't really hamper my productivity.

What qualities do you believe epitomises a good manager?

The ability to lead a team, assertiveness when the situation demands, and no discrimination between the ranks, especially with a subordinate. The ability of the manager to be a team player and motivate the team to perform (rewards and appreciation) and keep them constantly on their toes are the factors that bring out the best in an employee. In my case, a core ability to screen, recruit and identify the right people gives me joy. It enhances my learning curve. Recruitment is a challenging job, a holistic process and I've honed my skills in every aspect of it. Every time a person has been recruited, I feel as if I've got a job myself!

What are the highs and lows of being in this field?

The highs are contributing to the growth of the organisation, seeing the company grow and growing with the organisation, the challenges ahead in terms of the achievements, and meeting targets. The lows are probably people you've wanted to but not been able to recruit as expected, and not having a back-up plan. May be we need to work our plans better the second time and step- up performance.

SAMYUKTA KODA

samyukta.hyd@careercommunity.co.in