An Interview with Mr. Sunil Kandlikar CEO, India Operations, LearningByte International.

Tell us something about your company and its business.

LearningByte believes that learning is vital to the growth and survival of any organisation. We focus on aligning specific business needs and proprietary knowledge with the performance outcomes of employees. LearningByte has been in the business of corporate training for four decades. This gives us an added advantage. It helps in understanding the learning needs of an organisation better. We can thereby provide training, keeping in mind the broad context of technological advancements and the changing global economic scenario.

LearningByte is a leading provider of custom eLearning for corporates around the world. We partner with clients to build the most effective learning solution - one that gives them the ROI they need. With our proven competencies in the field of instructional and visual design and scalable production, we provide strategic directions and support. This enables the organisation to effectively enhance its knowledge and performance.

We take up activities like performance and competency analyses and modeling analysis of learner needs, technology infrastructure, cost benefit and projected ROI to enable the launch of an eLearning initiative.

How is the market for eLearning poised at this stage? Where do you see it five years hence?

The industry has gradually consolidated with a number of mergers and acquisitions taking place globally. As a result, the segmentation in this industry - content, technology, and services is getting blurred. Five years from now, content is going to be the most demanding and also the most deciding factor. Content can come in any shape and form. Technology however, will be bundled with services and content.

Tell us more about your eLearning solutions.

As we are into custom eLearning, our learning solutions differ according to the needs of the customers. We have provided customised training to industry segments like the Airlines, Automotives, Pharmaceuticals, Banking, Insurance and others. All our products are built in collaboration with the content experts from the industry with compelling instructional design and intuitive interface design experience.

Is good talent hard to find? What is the recruitment process you follow?

Well, good talent is always hard to come by. There are however, several ways of ensuring that we hire ``right'' talent. LearningByte strongly advocates and believes in the internship program. The recruitment process we follow is:

*Identify the resource pool: Institutes/Internship Program/Other companies.

*Screen and shortlist people based on the job specification and description.

*Call people over to the company for a 2-3 day period so that they get a feel of the place, learn the work and the way we do it, and meet up with the teams.

Do you recruit freshers? What are the soft skills you look for?

Yes, we do recruit freshers and the ratio of fresh recruits to lateral entries is 50:50. As far as soft skills are concerned, we look for people who have good communication skills, with the right attitude, good confidence levels, initiative, adaptability.

Aspiration and ambition is another essential attribute. We also ensure that they have good interpersonal skills and the ability to work in teams.

What is the hierarchical structure in your organisation like?

Though LearningByte is a flat organisation with three levels of hierarchy, there is ample scope for employees to move up the organisational ladder. However, this depends entirely on one's leadership skills and entrepreneurial abilities.

Do you have any specific retention policies, best practices?

Our organisational culture promotes empowerment, shared success, learning and heroic efforts. We have policies like performance based compensation and Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP).

What are your plans for the future?

The future of eLearning industry is very bright and promising. We are going to witness a dramatic expansion. eLearning plays a mission-critical role, providing the competitive edge for businesses all over the world.

Being one of the early entrants in the Indian eLearning space, Learningbyte is sure to gain a leading edge over other companies.We will definitely be expanding our operational base and adding to our competencies and strengths by adapting ourselves to the changing business environment.

ARCHANA JAYAKAR

archana.hyd@careercommunity.co.in