SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT

SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES (SIMS)

(CONSTITUENT OF SYMBIOSIS INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY)

A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
Submitted by:
20020441195
PRIYA MANN
Human Resources | Information Systems (E-45)
Batch 2020-22
Under the guidance of

Faculty Guide Project Mentor

Prof. Rahul Dhaigude Mr. Kaustav Bannerjee
Asst. Professor, SIMS Team Leader,
Outlook Group
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Print Media is one of the most influential and important industries for the people of a nation as
they are the source to provide information of current happenings in an unbiased format. Hence,
newspapers and magazines are the most trusted and are available in every corner of India for
people to access. The Outlook Group has been recognized as one of the best publishing houses
in India. RAJAN RAHEJA GROUP started from a real estate business and later diversified
into the construction business. After this, they established a large influence on the
manufacturing sector, financial services, and then in the media sector. Mr. Rajan Raheja owns
Outlook and is being published since 1995 in Delhi with Mr. Vinod Mehta as the editor in
chief. Mr. Ruben Banerjee is the editor-in-chief at the moment. Outlook includes news about
politics, film, sports, finance and a variety of other topics. The publication is renowned for its
diverse portfolio and impartial content. Outlook English (weekly), the flagship magazine of the
Outlook Group, was ranked as India’s seventh most popular English publication (Indian
Readership Survey 2017). Outlook magazine’s Facebook following had climbed to over 12
lakhs by December 2018. Outlook has offices in New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata,
Mumbai and Hyderabad, with the Outlook Group’s headquarters in New Delhi. Along with
weekly English magazines (Outlook English), the Outlook Group now publishes a Hindi
edition, a monthly travel magazine (Outlook Traveller), a fortnightly business magazine
(Outlook Business), and a monthly personal finance magazine (Outlook Money).
The Internship at Outlook Group allowed me to understand the working of a print media
company. T was accustomed to human resources projects as well as the sales of magazines.
The Outlook Group is facing challenges in terms of revenue generation. The company launched
an app that made the digital format of magazines available. In all this company is also looking
for various practices to increase employee and salesperson’s performance and has also
understood the importance of training and development programs.
During my tenure, I learned how Outlook sales are set on achieving some serious target sales.
Also, the Business-to-business (B2B) sales are looking for different advertisement
approaches. Apart from sales tasks, I was also involved to work on different tasks of Human
resources like performance management, case study on sales professionals, appraisal
strategies, recruitment and selection, workforce planning etc.

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 DECLARATION

I, PRIYA MANN, hereby declare that the project work titled “Understand the impact
of training and development and employee engagement programs on Employee
performance” is record of original and authentic work done by me. The information
collected as part of the requirement for the project has been collected from Authentic
sources. The Project work and the report has been submitted in the partial fulfilment of
Degree of Masters of Business Administration.

PRIYA MANN
20020441195
Human Resources | Information Systems (E – 45)
Batch 2020-2022

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COMPANY CERTIFICATE

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 CERTIFICATE OF GUIDE

This is to validate that the project “Understand the impact of training and development
and employee engagement programmes on Employee performance” completed by Ms.
Priya Mann (20020441195) under my supervision and guidance is a genuine record of her
work. The above work is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of a
Masters of Business Administration degree from Symbiosis Institute of Management
Studies, Pune, for the academic year 2020-22.

Name of the Guide

Mr. Rahul Dhaigude

Asst. Professor
SIMS Pune

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The completion and final results of this task necessitated a huge amount of guidance and
assistance from many people, and I consider myself really fortunate to have been granted this
along with the rest of my task work. Whatever I’ve accomplished has been made possible by
their assistance and guidance.
I, PRIYA MANN, would like to thank OUTLOOK GROUP for all the support provided in
order to complete my summer internship program.
I would also take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude and thanks to my Project
Mentor, Mr. Kaustav Bannerjee, Team Leader, Outlook Group for his constant inputs and
guidance required for the successful completion of my project.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Prof. Rahul Dhaigude for giving his constant
support as my project guide which helped me in completing my Summer Internship Project
successfully.
Also, I would like to thank the management and staff of Symbiosis Institute of Management
Studies for providing me the golden opportunity to obtain hands-on industrial experience in
the field of Human Resource by including this summer internship as part of my curriculum.
Last but not the least, I thank my parents, friends and fellow interns for their constant
encouragement without which the assigned task would not be possible.

PRIYA MANN
20020441195
Human Resources | Information Systems (E – 45)
Batch 2020-2022

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CONTENT

S.NO Module Name Page No

1 Print media industry overview 07

2 Company overview 08

3 Product Description 09

4 Competition 11

5 Objectives of Study 13

6 Introduction 13

7 Training and development: Definition, Importance, Effects 14

8 Employee Engagement programs 15

9 Benefits 16

10 Results 18

11 Various Tasks completed during internship 19

12 Conclusion 21

13 References 22

14 Turnitin Report 23

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PRINT MEDIA INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
We all are aware that the print media is one of the most essential aspects influencing how a
country operates. Most of the citizens of a country read newspapers and magazines. These are
unquestionably very trustworthy sources to provide news of not only National affairs but also
international affairs. Our country boasts a diverse range of print magazines and newspapers
with thousands of copies being circulated both traditionally and in digital format.
Even in the age of internet and television, we can still see the success of print media with top-
notch journalism, excellent reporting, faithful press and strong networking. It can also be
claimed without any point of doubt that the print media is encouraging common people to
increase their literacy levels. It has helped the growing talent with competitive exams as well.
The largest English newspaper in India is considered to be The Times of India. It supplies and
distribution chain circulates million copies daily. According to the 2006 National Readership
Study the Dainik Jagran is the most widely read newspaper in local language with 21.2 million
readers. The Indian media and entertainment (M&E) industry has become very popular and is
expanding rapidly into the economy. The Indian media and entertainment business is about to
enter a period of rapid expansion, fuelled by increased consumer demand and improving
income. The print media business has been substantially pushed by increased digitization and
internet usage. For most individuals, the internet has practically become a mainstream source
of entertainment.

The print industry accounted for the second-largest share in M&E to reach Rs 318.90 billion
(US$ 4.95 billion) in FY18 from Rs 308.40 billion (US$ 4.60 billion) in FY17 at a CAGR of

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3.40 percent. From 295 million in 2014 to 407 million in 2017, India’s newspaper readership
has surged by 40 percent. The growth in the niche magazines segment is boosted by rising

income levels and changing lifestyles. National

advertisers are entering regional print markets. These markets enhance their advertising share
because of the great possibilities.
India’s advertising revenue is estimated to grow at a CAGR of percent during 2018-2023. In
2019, India’s advertising spending increased 15 percent year on year to Rs 72,169 crore (US$
10.28 billion). Print media has been fortunate to receive policy support that supports sector
growth. FDI/NRI investment of up to 26 percent in an Indian firm dealing with newspapers
and periodicals.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

RAJAN RAHEJA GROUP: It is a diverse company with holdings in building materials

(through Prism Cement, H&R Johnson (India) and RMC Ready-mix (India)), automotive and
industrial batteries (Exide Industries), cable television (Hathway Cable & Datacom and
Asianet Satellite Communications), financial services (in life insurance and asset
management through joint ventures with ING), publishing (OUTLOOK Group), retail, real
estate development, software, petrochemicals, and hotels.
OUTLOOK: Hathway Investments Private Limited, a subsidiary of the business, joined the
print media in October 1995. Outlook, a weekly news magazine run by Vinod Mehta, energized
a stagnant market hurting from satellite TV’s impact. Outlook soon established a loyal
following among sophisticated readers who appreciate its in-depth investigative reporting and
appealing visual approach. Outlook covers events ranging from Kargil to Kashmir to cricket,
educated the public on subjects like education, politics, business, and maintained an
unwavering focus on geopolitics. Outlook is currently the favoured magazine of more than 1.5
million Indian subscribers, selling over 11.2 million copies per year.

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PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Outlook Weekly: This weekly magazine covers a wide range of topics like current events,
business, sports, lifestyle, technology, and international affairs. Outlook provides a
comprehensive picture, intelligent analysis, and new perspectives that have energized a
lethargic market reeling from the effects of satellite television. Outlook weekly soon
established a loyal following among sophisticated readers who appreciate it’s in-depth
investigative reporting and appealing visual appearance. Known for being extremely self-
reliant, Outlook is now the favoured magazine of 1.5 million Indian subscribers, selling 11.2
million copies every year.

Outlook Hindi: Outlook Hindi, a weekly news magazine, debuted in October 2002 to establish
a strong presence among the enormous Hindi readership. The offering is aimed towards the
advanced Hindi reader, taking into account their interests, reality, and objectives. Outlook
Saptahik keeps Outlook’s essential strengths of clarity, unbiased, and courageous journalism
while maintaining its identity as a strong editorial. It should not be confused with being a
translation of an English magazine.

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Outlook Traveller: It is India’s most popular travel publication. It is a monthly publication. It
focuses on domestic and international tourism, as well as gateways, cuisines, and vacation
planning. Outlook Traveller introduces readers to the wonders of different destinations all
around the world. It also helps travellers to see familiar areas in new ways. Outlook Traveller
continues to bring people closer together, whether they are planning a vacation or simply
thinking about one.

Outlook Business: Another magazine published by Outlook features business news, business
mogul interviews, and fresh job openings. Business schools and business professionals all
prefer this publication. Outlook publishes this kind fortnightly. This magazine’s focus is to
rewrite the way business journalism is published in the magazine arena.

Outlook Money: It is India’s first personal finance magazine which launched in July 1998. It
was renamed “Outlook Money” on November 30, 2002. It helps its readers to make valuable
investments. Its stories are focused on giving the reader a specific and actionable tip that they

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can use to make their money grow. Its message is straightforward: Invest wisely, borrow
wisely, spend wisely’. That message appears to have resonated: the magazine sold over a
million copies in less than a year.

COMPETITION

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In the figure above, Outlook quarterly sales are shown in the form of a doughnut. Maximum
earnings are during the second quarter (July to Sept) and the fourth quarter (Jan to March). In
the middle of the first and second quarter, the company hires college interns and thus have
higher sales revenue. The students are mostly very enthusiastic and outgoing to learn the
prospects of sales. Also, the company opens up special offers during this period. Every
employee gives their best performance to achieve the annual targets thus the company earns
maximum profit through its subscription and retail during the last quarter.

As per the above figure, advertisement produces 45% revenue followed by Retail 30%,
subscription 20%, and event sponsorships have only 5%. Maximum earnings secured by
publishing advertisements in magazines. Retails and subscriptions together give considerate
figures to the company by circulating 1.5 million copies. Also, event sponsorship contributes
by organizing Award ceremonies.

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OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
Note that training has become so crucial for a company’s success that organizations try and
find innovative ways to impart training and development to their employees. Not only that, in
this study the concept of training and development is understood along with its linkage with
employee engagement. An organization needs to align its organizational goals and objectives
with its training and development plans. They should make sure that the methods used are
matching with current trends and continuously changing opportunities. All the levels of
management, from top to down should be included before deciding on training policies for the
organization and then implemented.
In this conceptual study, the task is to understand the impact of training and development on
employee performance. For that various other factor are also addressed which play an
important role such as understanding the definitions of training and development, methods
involved, benefits etc. Training is the process of improving one’s knowledge and abilities in
order to excel in a specific task. It is a method through which an individual can acquire
knowledge and skills for a specific goal. The main purpose of training is to close the gap
between an employee’s abilities and the skills required to excel in the job. Training is a
continuous process and aims at improving individual, team and organizational skills along with
individual behaviour. Today, Indian companies recognize the value of training and
development as a tool for achieving their strategic objectives.
The key conclusion of this study is that various training approaches are employed to improve
employee performance. Several new ways for better staff training are offered as a result of the
substantial finding. The proposed solution’s key contribution is the development of new
techniques for providing practical training to employees in order to improve employee
performance and reduce organizational costs. It is considered as an investment in one of its
most dynamic assets, namely personnel, rather than a longer period of time. Many companies
view training as a strategic instrument for retaining employees. It assists the firm in developing
a more intelligent workforce capable of dealing with any event or issue.
INTRODUCTION
We all are aware, for any company in any sector, success is directly linked to their employees.
To remain financially resilient and competitive in the market, a company must ensure
employees are efficient. Companies must be concerned about employee job satisfaction,
engagement, and retention. Today, many organizations invest a significant amount in their
employee training and development. The purpose is to keep their staff competitive and
successful. Employee training has become necessary, and businesses are adopting various
strategies and practices to stay ahead of their competitors in the market. Some researchers
believe that lack of employee training could be a factor of high employee turnover while others
believe that training is an effective tool for employee performance. Regardless of the debate,
many authors agree that training is a complex human resource strategy that has a significant
impact on an organization’s success. Furthermore, businesses are struggling to thrive in an
attempt to differentiate themselves based on their talent pools abilities, skills, and knowledge.
Training is a structured process of learning that improves an individual’s, a group, or an
organization’s efficiency. Development refers to possibilities of successes that contribute to
acquiring new abilities and skills for personal progress.

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TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT DEFINITION
Training and development can be collectively defined as an attempt by the organization to
improve an employee’s performance be it refining the current skills he possesses or learning
an entirely new skill which will be helpful to perform better than their previous self and
ultimately increase the productivity. Employees’ attitudes to learn and grasp new skills and
knowledge should be welcoming. In other words, training and development is an initiative
directly undertaken by the organization for achieving organizational goals and individual
satisfaction at work. Training can be understood as an academic approach wherein an employee
is involved in sharpening his/her skills, concepts, teachings, changing of behaviour and
attitude, gaining enough knowledge of the subject which ultimately leads to better work
performance and engagement.
The main motive behind imparting training to the employees is that the knowledge gained
during that period and the time invested in actually going through the process has a lasting
impact on the individual. It should be that effective such that even after the training is over, the
individual is well versed with the concept to apply on the tasks they perform a job. Training is
bound to be successful if the contents of the training program are not just theoretical which can
be forgotten after sometime but should align practically with daily exercises an employee
undergoes such that none of the concepts are forgotten. Training programs are the best option
for skilling and reskilling the individuals, team, and organization to thrive in evolving business
expectations. Development can be defined as a process that aims to build the capacity for
achieving and sustaining a completely new reference state that would benefit not only on an
individual level but will also aid in benefiting the organization.
Nowadays, companies provide the benefit of training and development with the help of
different programs. Be it providing the employees with access to a training platform wherein
they can take up the course as per their job requirement and complete it t their own pace. This
is rather a very good initiative taken by major organizations around the world. With the help
of such courses, the employees gain the required skills and can apply those to their job. Human
resource professionals take into consideration employee’s performance improvement after
taking a certain course and recommend it to those who are clueless about the course to be
selected. These training programs not only helps the employee in increasing their knowledge
and skillset but also allow them to climb up the ladder of their career. Other training methods
include mandatory course completion and assessment which are then graded for an employee’s
promotion and bonus options.
Apart from these, many organizations also provide coaching and mentoring for the employees
for a set period after which they are evaluated to check the success of those sessions. Training
and development programs also allow employees to understand their organizational culture
which differs for every job skill acquired. Components like leadership qualities, team building,
problem-solving abilities, creative thinking, decision making, strategizing, etc are some of the
numerous benefits obtained by such programs.
IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
We can relate to various benefits an organization can gain from indulging in training and
developing programs. With the onset of such programs, an organization can utilize its human
resource optimally. The results obtained and the evaluation of employee performance and

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productivity improvement are taken care of by human resources. They are involved first
handily in these programs. Another benefit is the development of skill set and knowledge of
employees which ultimately increases the performance and overall productivity of the
employee. It is beneficial to lift the team spirit and enable team bonding since employees will
be in sync with each other and there will be no difference in skills and knowledge.
Organizational culture plays an important role in the motivation and engagement of employees
and training programs help in the improvement of organizational culture. It also improves the
morale and reputation of the organization among its competitors since their talent pool becomes
more and more promising. The organization sees an increase in profitability which is a good
sign for any organization.
Effects of training and development
Training is the most effective way to improve employee performance and engagement in any
organization. It also becomes a very important part of administrative human resources and this
department is directly linked to process and results obtained from such programs. Research has
been done by various authors to find out whether training and development can elevate
employee engagement to improve organizational performance. The main focus of these
quantitative research questions is to address whether training helps employees to understand
the importance of their job roles for the organization and thus increase their motivation and
engagement level. The results of such surveys strongly indicated a strong relationship between
training and employee performance and engagement as through this training the employees felt
valued and helped them to feel a sense of belongingness. It was indicated that employees got
an idea that the work each and every individual is doing in the organization is meaningful and
directly or indirectly contributes to the overall performance of the organization in the vast
market. Hence motivated to engage in their work more by increasing their skills and
knowledge.
Another example is research conducted to evaluate the effect of job training on the job
satisfaction level of employees and their intention to continue working in the same organization
for a longer duration. This kind of study demonstrated job training as a developed process by
an organization to facilitate employees with job-related skills, learning, competencies, skills,
and attitudes. These types of research mostly concluded with a positive outlook on the
dependency of training and work performance. Hence, we can state that this platform works as
a powerful tool to provide a sense of motivation and a positive attitude towards their work and
in turn improving the employee engagement level of the organization as a whole.
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMES
There are various ways of employee engagement in an organization. Some of them can be
highlighted in our discussion. Being able to conduct activities where communication between
different sections of an organization can take place, is a great way to engage employees.
Surveys, feedback sessions, reports, meetings, emails, etc are examples of internal
communication from downward to upward that is from employees from managers and senior
executives. Another form of internal communication would be from upward to downward, that
is from managers to employees, which would include government policies, interviews, work-
related instructions through memos, emails, meetings, training sessions, rewards distribution,
etc. We are well aware that there are various ways to get the best possible performance from
employees like rewarding the employees. Human resource professionals of most companies

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come up with innovative ways to reward their employees for their achievements and
exceptional performance. The employee of the month, best performer, best team leader, etc are
some examples of such rewards. These rewards can be considered as a type of feedback
received from managers for the performance of any employee which in turn motivates these
employees to continue to perform their best to be consistently receiving such awards.
Another method to engage employees is by organizing different organizational cultural
activities. The managers have a major responsibility to bridge the gap and stand by their
commitment towards their employees. Cultural activities organized twice a year on large scale
can boost employee morale and can even accelerate team building. The team works with
different kinds of people targeting the same goal and are dependent on collective skills
equipped by each member of the team. Team building exercises are also a great asset to
employee engagement programs. The organization needs to ensure the teams are can have
unbiased communication with each other to sort out any differences. It should be ensured by
such programs that members of a team realize that they are an equally important part of the
team and they understand that they all are ultimately working for a common organizational
goal.
Last but not least the organization can arrange leadership development activities for their
employees to enhance employee engagement and involvement. These activities can include
coaching to build effective communication, enhancing the accountability of each member to
get a clarity of objectives and expectations, and collaboration of the team for decision making
and problem-solving abilities.
Individual benefits from training and development programs
In this conceptual study, the benefits of training and development programs have been
highlighted by dividing them into sections first is on an individual level, the other is on an
organizational level. Here let’s analyze the first distribution.
Career competencies: Employees are the chunk who benefit from such programs. They are
able to learn soft skills, hard skills, technical skills, as and what is required of their job profile.
It totally depends on the individual to improve themselves for the better to advance on the
career graph or learn just the optimum as required of their job. Employees nowadays get a
number of opportunities as part of these programs which were not that common maybe a decade
or two before.
In the past few decades, the rise in the rate of unemployment in India has been a major reason
for concern. So, to start afresh is a very big challenge and hence everyone mostly prefers to be
able to take out the most of the given opportunity. Fresh graduates hired by a company are
mostly looking for their training and development approach to advance in their career and
choose the one where they see greater possibilities. And it is a very serious concern when this
fresh graduated leave that company after some years after taking advantage of the facilities
provided.
So, employee retention should be of top priority when employee performance is evaluated. In
other words, employee development programs help employees to survive in any organization
and cope with the ever-changing technological advances.

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Employee Satisfaction: Employees are not robots who work on fuel and command. They are
very much concerned about the thought of their amount of importance in an organization. An
employee won’t show interest in his work if he gets the feeling that his organization does not
care about him. Companies are bound to spend on different benefits and programs to gain the
trust of their employees since that cost is again earned as revenue. If employees are satisfied
with their contribution, they are bound to perform their best and which would be beneficial for
the company since that would lead to revenue generation for the company and make it
profitable.
It is understood that loyalty and trust are not some metrics that can be calculated but these
provide a substantial intrinsic reward to employees. Employees start to have a positive outlook
in their approach, and instead of criticizing start feeling comfortable and enjoy each day’s
work. If employee turnover is not regulated and management is not able to understand the
cause, then there is some serious issue with the loyalty factor.
Employee Performance: Training affects an employee’s attitude, their behaviour, their
working pattern, their approach which results in improved employee performance and other
constructive changes in an organization. All changes in the outcome start from the changes in
attitudes of employees. So, companies look for various ways to increase this factor and they
keep coming up with different ways since settling on a single way would result in stagnation.
Research has been done on the distinction of no-training or pre-training conditions and training
and found out that training had a positive result on job-related performance. The efficiency of
training was related to the training arrangement and the skills and concepts being trained.
Benefits of training are also linked to the interests, skills, knowledge, technical concepts of the
trainee. Technical and professional skills are the immediate prerequisites for an employee to
perform his job effectively. This then relates to the recruitment and hiring of the talent pool.
The organization should conduct this basic step very strategically and not in a rush since it later
becomes a major factor for the success of training and development programs which the leads
to result of employee performance.
Organizational benefits from training and development program
In this section, organizational benefits will be discussed.
Market Growth: Market growth is a factor that shows improvement according to the
performance of the organization. Employee training and development programs are very
important for any organization to stay volatile and competitive in the ever-changing market.
Even though it is expensive to conduct and arrange these programs, as per research, it provides
a positive impact on organizational position in the market. It has to be understood by the
employees the significant role of training programs on individual’s knowledge and the Senior
executives should understand how fast information travels in today’s business environment
irrespective of which sector the organization belongs to. Bigger companies like Google,
Microsoft, Amazon realize that the training opportunities provided to their employees as an
investment which results in increased return on investment.
Organizational Performance: Training has become an essential factor to contribute to the
organization’s effectiveness and productivity. As per research, the adequate assessment of
impact of the human capital appreciation and the performance is prevented due to lack of

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suitable data. To evaluate the effectiveness of training and development programs directly
assess the relationship between training and organizational goals. It has also been found that to
be able to see constructive work-related outputs and performance the employee thinking and
attitude are directly involved since they feel a sense of security and have a thought that their
organization is trying to take care of them and hence is providing them with such beneficial
programs. Due to such optimistic thoughts and attitudes, employees can perform effectively
which can then be seen as an overall output of organization performance.
Employee Retention: It has been an accepted fact that there is no one answer or solution to
this problem. There is no perfect method that can be devised by an organization to eradicate
the employee turnover problem. As per the study, several organizations can improve their
employee retention by providing promising learning opportunities to their employees. Hence,
the companies which are successful in motivating their employees and keeping them satisfied
by arranging different methods of training, are more successful in retaining their employees
compared to those which are not giving such opportunities to their employees. Employee
retention is a voluntary effort on the part of the organization to establish an atmosphere and
culture that encourages employees to stay with the company for the long term.

RESULTS
The facts collected and articulated notify to a single point that organizations should put their
highest worth on their employees and develop strategies in line with keeping their employees
well-being in consideration. Organizations should develop training and development programs
for their employees to not only obtain high-performance objectives but also to show a high
level of commitment towards their employees. Employees should have a transparent outlook
towards the management where they can feel that their contribution matters, corporate is
looking out for them, and they are the major factor for the company’s success in the competitive
era. Every company will have some restrictions while providing bonuses, rewards, or
promotions and hence employees must formulate their goals in such a way that it aligns with
organizational goals and also helps in the development of their career graph. In this study, there
are substantial benefits to both individuals and organizations in terms of training and
development programs. Such benefits consist of factors that directly or indirectly influence
employee performance, productivity, attitude, and behaviour in a work environment. This study
highlights and shows the positive outcomes of training and development programs obtained by
both employees and organizations.

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VARIOUS TASKS COMPLETED DURING INTERNSHIP

Task 1: SALES
The first task given was purely sales and common for all specialization. To make the intern
acquainted with the product, product mix, opportunities, and challenges associated with the
Outlook Magazines. This task was evaluated out of 60 points. Based on the achievement of
revenue slabs the intern is rewarded with points. This task was target driven and the time limit
of 14 days was given to the interns.
Steps taken to complete the task: Leads were generated and listed down prospects for each
magazine. Leads were called and explained to them the value of the products. Follow-up was
done with the leads and conversion was done.
Result: Completed the first task by making a sale of ₹20137
Detailed learning of the company’s products was ensured through this task. Theoretical
knowledge of Segmenting, Targeting, and Positioning was put to practical use through this
task. Was able to enhance my communication and convincing skills through this task.

Task 2: APPRAISAL STRATEGY

In this task, one had to come up with recommendations for a suitable appraisal strategy for the
company by comparing two other companies form the same sector. Secondary research was
done in order to find the solution. The companies selected for appraisal system comparison
were ‘Hindustan media ventures limited’ and ‘Living Media India Limited’. After analyzing
and researching both the companies the following recommendations were derived for the
Outlook company to incorporate:
Managers should redefine their expectations to make the employees work willingly. The idea
of strict boundaries to accomplish a certain job should be avoided instead should try and be
more flexible towards the employees and just focus on the result and not much on the process.
Managers should exercise ways to boost employee morale in such tough times when a large
chunk of the workforce is working from home. Even if the Covid-19 pandemic continues its
threat, continuous learning and re-learning should not stop. The training platform should be
made accessible to the employees so that they can learn at their own pace. Assigning buddies
and peer coaches for mutual support should be one of the new techniques to not only monitor
every employee’s work and performance but to boost their motivation level. As it is difficult
to understand the emotional cues in a remote setting, managers should focus on the tone and
voice of the employee during video communication. If any changes in their rhythm, the
manager should provide possible feedback and additional support as required by the employee
situation. Managers should be vigilant at all times since employee retention has become a
challenge in these tough times.

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Task 3: RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
In this task intern was supposed to come up with a workforce planning process for Outlook
India. This included recruitment model. This was also done through secondary research.
Workforce Planning Model: The five-step workforce planning model is a good place to start
when learning about the different aspects of workforce planning.

Employee Recruitment Process for Outlook: Recruitment process has been defined as the
process of identifying potential employees and encouraging them to apply for jobs within a
company. Advertising is a typical aspect of the recruitment process, and it can take numerous
forms: newspapers, job-specific newspapers, professional publications, window
advertisements, job centers and through campus interviews.

Task 4: Comprehensive study to find out employees from which organization has the
best work life balance
In this task, a comprehensive study was done to find out which organization has the best work-
life balance. The sectors considered for this study were FMCG, BFSI, IT, and Media. A survey
was done and according to it, the IT sector was the one with the best work-life balance. IT

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provides a wide range of shifts and schedules. Some IT positions do not require on-call hours.
And not all IT jobs are desk jobs. Some are in such a way that the employee has to move around
all day to help his colleagues with their technological issues. Still many profiles in the IT sector
allow the employees to work from home. TCS has also announced that 75% of its workforce
will work from home even after the pandemic situation is over.
More Remote workers = less office space = Fewer overhead costs
Most careers in technology allow the employees to showcase their creative side hence giving
a wider range of flexibility. A career in IT frequently demands an individual to come up with
significant ideas for new products, improvements to existing products, and process
improvements.

Task 5: CASE STUDY ON SALESPEOPLE

In this task, we were supposed to find a solution to a problem faced by salespeople. The case
study was about many salespeople who commit suicide after being unable to achieve the
implausible targets. So how can Human resources come up with a solution to help such
salespeople relieve stress and pressure? Some of the effective strategies to be able to avoid
such a situation are by providing one-to-one coaching, encourage continued learning, use of
technology, streamlining the sales process, establishing a good company culture, understanding
sales team’s differences, by inspiring the team by the manager, and to make the salespeople
ride the wave by considering the competition. All these solutions are applicable majorly to the
manager or the team leader. They are the ones who need to understand the difficulties faced by
salespeople in achieving the required target. The first step is to know the team, they should
learn every member’s selling style, learning style, what motivates them, what are their strengths
and weaknesses.

CONCLUSION
With the introduction of training and development in an organization, the options for both
employees and organization become immense. It can be concluded that with the introduction
of appropriate training and development methods, employee’s performance is improved along
with the improvement of overall organizations efficiency. Other factors affected by training
and development practices are employees’ behaviour, attitude, motivation level, performance,
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productivity, efficiency, and workplace culture. Benefits of training are also immense which
helps employees to increase their skills and knowledge and advance in their career graph while
the organization can get higher amounts of return on investments on the investment made on
such programs. Irrespective of the industry sector, every organization must undergo and
implement some of the other training and development plans. The print media sector is
undergoing various challenges with the outburst of the digital era. But it should be understood
that if the content of the magazine is informative and provide a different edge, they are bound
to overcome the difficulties. The print media sector has already advanced into digital or e-
magazines, so appropriate investment into advertisements would surely give positive results.
Apart from that companies must focus on improving the quality of work-life by creating an
employee supportive workplace. Salespeople should be given more focus in the print media
industry as they are the ones bringing a major part of revenue generation.

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ge=48

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