EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The following report is about a study on Executive recruitment across industries. The current state of the employment marketplace is a chaotic and tumultuous environment. There is a shortage of true best-in-class professionals that is intensifying as the current generation ages; and, the current workforce demographics cannot support the current growth strategies. A world-class executive recruitment partnership is a criticallyimportant consultancy, a game-changing responsibility that enables organizational success in the recruitment and retention of best-in-class executive professionals.

The study covers 5 companies, PepsiCo (Food and Beverages industry), Tesco (Business Support sector), Taj Group of Hotels (Hotel industry), Britannia (Confectionary industry), ICICI Bank (Banking industry). The study focuses on the process of executive recruitment in all these companies and tries to find out if there are any differences in the process across these companies. The study also tries to find out the most preferred method of Executive recruitment in different companies. The other objectives would be to find out the effectiveness of the method based on the executive turnover rate in the company.

The study thus, helps us to reveal that there is not much difference in the executive recruitment process when different companies are studied. Also there is not much relation between the executive turnover and the method of recruitment employed.

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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

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Recruitment is the process of finding candidates, reviewing applicant credentials, screening potential employees, and selecting employees for an organization. Effective recruitment results in an organization hiring employees who are skilled, experienced, and good fits with your corporate culture. Recruitment methods should ensure engaged, competent, productive employees who are loyal to your organization. Recruitment Methods The most common and effective recruitment strategies include:

Obtain referrals from current employees. Participate in online social networking at sites such as LinkedIn, Tap into the online and off-line social networks of current employees. Offer an effective, informational, exciting corporate recruiting website. Participate in in-person networking at community and professional Attend and exhibit at job and career fairs at colleges and universities Post job openings on job boards. Advertise job openings in newspapers and their associated websites. Sponsor scholarships, activities, class projects and events at local Contract for the services of a recruitment firm or headhunter. Search and use other employer-employee matching methods at a

Twitter, and Facebook.

events.

and community and organization-sponsored events.

colleges and universities.

variety of job boards. (Options are changing quickly and every job search site has its specialty methods, some more effective than others.)

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Headhuntings premise is that the best candidates are already employed, serving in and excelling at exactly the capacity you need to fill. This makes headhunting a logical approach that has been used for decades. It is, however, an approach that is in decline as more efficient executive recruitment methods have become available. Headhuntings efficiency problems are due to the large investment of time and money headhunting requires, and that headhunters cannot access a large number of the best candidates. The current state of the employment marketplace is a chaotic and tumultuous environment. There is a shortage of true best-in-class professionals that is intensifying as the current generation ages; and, the current workforce demographics cannot support the current growth strategies. To remain competitive and ahead of the curve, best-in-class organizations continue to search for new answers. This requires entrepreneurial leadership, visionary thinking, innovation, and evolving workforce planning platforms that span recruiting, retention, performance-based compensation and bonuses, and succession planning. Entire organizations must think and act like owners. A world-class executive recruitment partnership is a critically-important consultancy, a game-changing responsibility that enables organizational success in the recruitment and retention of best-in-class executive professionals. Top-level management consultants will have the experience, knowledge, and judgment integrated directly into and across a comprehensive business solution specifically-designed for your business and vertical marketplace. The first objective is to invest whatever time and effort is necessary to learn and understand each pressing need, challenge, and strategic objective from various stakeholders. This includes an awareness of your culture, leadership challenges, and current and future executive acquisition requirements. This
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is the best way to develop real-world, market-based solutions. This process requires close communication, coordination, transparency, and consensus. To effectively source both active and passive professionals, integrate this knowledge into a section of the recruitment methodology, including the creation, execution, and real-time measurement of a recruitment-marketing message and unique sourcing channels. A twenty-first century comprehensive solution utilizes all available channels and manages both internal and external resources to achieve and exceed corporate goals and objectives. One objective includes being certain that a unique brand message is appropriately broadcast to the correct audience in a professional and consultative manner. You may accomplish this by carefully listening to the direct hiring authority and chain of command, the strategic workforce planning team members, other influential individuals, and dotted-line functional alliances that may interact with this individual. This is often referred to as the Employer Value Proposition' or EVP; this essentially answers the question of why a best-in-class professional with numerous opportunities would leave a secure and stable position for something better. Throughout the entire recruitment project is a time-tested, conservative approach, supporting a seamless integration to engage all project team members in knowledge transfer, coaching, education, and direction. To communicate effectively, one must be brief, concise, and be adept conveying thoughts people of diverse backgrounds and cultures. The core approach is to conduct primary research by systematically connecting with executives within the companies on a comprehensive targetlist. The purpose is to convey a consistent message facilitating effective recruitment, networking, referrals, and ultimately uncovering prospective candidates with the appropriate experience and motivation. Top practices usually strive for maximal leverage of a nationwide network and knowledge base. Regardless of where prospective candidates fall on the active-passive continuum, they still need to be recruited. Top professionals may have multiple opportunities, generally require additional time to draw a conclusion,
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and will consult close confidants before making a final career-impacting decision. Complementing the core networking strategy, the recruitment advertising campaign may include telephone, direct mail, e-mail, and possibly print or on-line avenues, depending upon the specificity and confidentiality aspects of your vacancy. Basically, tailor an approach to reach out to those secondary audiences to maximize the probability of identifying those individuals that possess the core competencies and mind-set that can be transformed into tomorrow's leaders. Identify professionals with the business acumen, leadership competencies, and managerial skills that are truly bestin-class. Once the position description and performance profile is complete, add that to the recruitment-marketing documents to provide enough information to generate initial interest. The new twenty-first century business solution continuously monitors and integrates innovative technologies such as new sourcing tools, social networking sites, and web 2.0 technologies. With an extensive understanding of human resources issues, integrate marketing strategies directly into the sourcing and recruiting methodology to exponentially enhance capabilities. As a result, corporate and product brand communications permeate the marketing-recruitment message to the executive human capital marketplace. An effective project management plan keeps everyone well-organized, informed, and on target. The consulting firm takes a leadership role and the initiative to deliver strong and consistent results. With a well-established record of achievement and credibility, the practice engages senior leadership to assess business needs and offer realistic, market-based solutions that have positive long-term effects on the organization's competitive stance in a global marketplace. While conducting the search project, search for ways to improve results by proactively seeking out feedback and constructive criticism.

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In short, an executive recruitment partnerships that deliver best-in-class executives that you can recruit and retain are real competitive advantages for those companies that understand that success begins with your people. Top consulting practices measure success and value to you in a variety of ways. One fundamental criterion is complete transparency coupled to a balance scorecard that assesses performance and satisfaction on every search. This is excellent to evaluate ways to improve the partnership relationship. Another best practice is to track every finalist, or placed executive, for one year; tracking on-the-job performance quarterly for oneyear. This is the true measure of long-term success. 3 methods of job search Retainer search It is exclusive to one search firm. It involves extensive research, interview and recruiting process to identify potential candidates. Search person will travel wherever necessary to personally meet with the candidate. Travel costs are passed on to the client. Three or four candidates are presented to the client. Presentation includes a credentials and background report for each candidate, along with samples of work, letters of recommendation and complete reference-check covering numerous past employers, colleagues, editors and others. Search person acts as intermediary throughout the process to ensure that search runs smoothly. Conditional employment guarantee generally begins at one year and extends sometimes two years and beyond - depending on hiree level and prior agreements.

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Fee: usually equal to 30-35% of the hiree's first annual compensation. That includes bonuses, perks (such as cars, club memberships, etc.) and anything else that is considered part of the hiree's first year of compensation. Search person's out-of-pocket costs such as telephone, administrative costs, hotels, airfare, meals, etc. that are in connection with the search are billed to the client in addition the standard fee for the search. Payment of fee: generally paid in thirds. First one-third payment is due at signing of search agreement; next is due thirty days later and final payment due thirty days after that. Contingency search Fee is paid contingent upon a hire being made. Original research is minimal. Heavy reliance on top-of-mind or database candidates who are either out of work or are still employed. Depending on level of individual being sought and time constraints, original recruiting is done (contacting employed individuals who may or may not have expressed prior interest in seeking another job). Whenever possible, potential candidates are interviewed in person. Candidates are not interviewed in person when the client wants to meet the candidate immediately based on the strength of the candidate's resume, or, if the candidate resides in another state or is otherwise unavailable. Client is made aware of situation and candidate agrees or has given prior consent to meet the client without meeting the search person first. Presentation to the client usually involves the e-mailing of a resume with a few comments regarding the qualifications of the candidate in relation to the job.

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Most times there are no restrictions on the number of resumes sent by search person. If client is interested, based on resume, candidate is then scheduled for an interview. No biographical report is filed. Usually no references are checked at this time. Sometimes work samples are sent along. Most of the time references are checked by either the search person or the client. Costs can vary depending on whether the search was for a not-for-profit organization; a PR agency or a communications department of a corporation. Costs are calculated as a fee equal to the hiree's first year of annual salary. Rarely are other compensatory benefits included such as bonuses, perks, etc. There are no additional out-of-pocket costs to the client except when there are extraordinary costs in connection with the search. These costs require a prior agreement with the client in order to be reimbursed. Modified contingency search Full fee is paid contingent upon a person being hired. Typically a portion of the fee is paid when agreement is signed. Some form of exclusivity is part of this agreement. Either total exclusivity or exclusivity for a defined period of time in which there will be only one designated search firm working on the assignment. After which, one other or others can be added. Frequently the client is free to advertise, actively recruit or otherwise seek referrals from colleagues even when an exclusivity agreement has been made with a search firm.

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Search firm will undoubtedly spend more original recruiting hours sourcing new candidates via phone, database and in-person interviewing. Having an exclusive and/or a portion of the fee up front keeps the search assignment high on the search person's radar screen. In this type of search, conditions are often set that require more intensive review and interviewing of potential candidates. Sometimes complete reference checks are made even before a resume is submitted. In some cases, close scrutiny of the candidate's written samples and portfolio is required before resume submission. Many of the same elements of search procedures are evident in the Modified version as in the standard Contingency search, only more extensive and more in-depth. Conditional employment guarantees can range from three months to one year. In more senior level searches, it can be up to two years. Fees are in the same ranges as standard Contingency searches with a prior agreed-upon portion of the fee being paid at the beginning of the search. Those percentages can be one-third, one-half or two-thirds. The balance of the fee is contingent upon someone being hired. Alternative to Headhunting Improved technology and communications have made the world smaller. Executives Online uses a broad array of online candidate acquisition methods to identify suitable candidates for your role. Executives Onlines global talent bank of over 80,000 pre-screened executives, drawn from over 160,000 applications, means that in all likelihood we already know and have screened a candidate who is perfect for your job, making our service much faster than headhunting. To better understand the superiority of the Executives Online approach over that pursued by traditional headhunters, consider these weaknesses of the headhunting model: The Time Lost in Executive Headhunting
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It takes weeks to months for an executive headhunter to network to the individuals who meet the requirements, arrange screening interviews and check references. And once the headhunter has found a suitable candidate, it can take further weeks or even months of negotiation, offers and counteroffers, and waiting out notice periods and gardening leave before the new executive starts on the job. (Our research report, Executive Talent, concludes that the average executive vacancy takes four+ months to fill, and that companies lose fully two years of management time owing to slowerthan-necessary recruitment.) The High Costs of Executive Headhunting Because success cannot be guaranteed in headhunting, executive headhunters require a retainer and progress payments far in advance of and without guarantee of the anticipated placement. And when a suitable candidate has been found, it normally requires an exceptionally lucrative compensation package to entice the candidate to switch jobs. The Failure Rate of Executive Headhunting All too often when the executive headhunter has found a suitable candidate, the rounds of offers and counter-offers, and the personal issues of relocation and the risks that go along with any change, cause candidates to back out at the last moment. Months of painstaking work can fall apart in just one phone call. Market research for our report Executive Talent found that one in six executive searches fails to result in a candidate hired. Traditional Headhunting Excludes Good Candidates The very process of traditional headhunting is quite narrow, and takes many great candidates out of the frame from the beginning. The starting point for any headhunters search is to map the employers industry, and identify employees in similar roles. The reality today is that large numbers of executives with strong, relevant backgrounds for a particular role are not sitting, employed, in one of a relatively few number of companies. They may have changed industries for
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their most recent role. They may be operating as an interim manager or freelancer. They may never have worked in that industry at all. Headhunting completely discounts the notion of transferrable skills. Worse, most headhunters are contractually obligated not to approach their clients employees (they embargo them from their process for other clients), which takes whole swathes of employees off the table. (You think you're engaging a headhunter for their track record in your industry, but precisely because they have clients in your industry, they can't work as effectively for you.) The efficient running of a company is ensured with the right candidate chosen for the respective responsibilities of the company. This is why executive recruitment is something that has to be done with lots of thought and scrutiny of the probable candidates. The company with an efficient leader or executive team is the company that flourishes in its business. When choosing the right executive, make sure that the candidate has sufficient management experience and business knowledge required to run the company. Moreover, the candidate should be one who is capable of working in teams, and building effective teams in the organization. When venturing into executive recruitment, it is important to remember that the culture is maintained while maintaining chemistry with the team. The leader chosen should be one who is competent enough to help the company climb the steps of the ladder to success. The best way of finding the right executive for your company would be by going through the CV of the person. The successful candidate would be the person who is attractive to the capital markets, with domain experience, have a burning fire for entrepreneurship and is web savvy. Another point to take into consideration in executive recruitment is to consider the candidates background. The person chosen has to be a person who is capable to do lots of work with as little as possible. Moreover the
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executive should be one who has the dream of building a bare-bones company into a full fledged, fleshy company. There is no point in hiring the person who feels that they are too good for their team and worry that their hands get dirty while working with the rest of the team.

By taking a look at the candidates background, an idea of the candidates leadership style and capacity of handling the job of an executive can be obtained. Take a look at all the risks the candidate had taken in their career and what they take as motivation for a start-up in a business. In addition to all this, with the fast paced world of the internet, it is very important that the executive you hire has good knowledge of the internet. This is because without any domain experience, the executive will have to learn a new language and make way for the executive candidate who is web savvy. Without this skill, the executive will lose out to another who knows how to get things done in the shortest period of time. If all these points are taken into consideration during your next executive director recruitment, then you are sure to find the right executive for the efficient running and management of your company.

Executive hiring has significant consequences for any organization. If you make the right choice, performance improves, senior team leadership strengthens, fresh thinking enriches problem-solving, and team dynamics evolve and mature. If you make the wrong choice, tensions build, performance suffers, conflicting values and methods bog down performance, and turnover creates expensive disruption and morale issues. Based on in-depth interviews, two trends seem noteworthy: First, today fewer companies include assessment as part of their hiring process than do not. Companies that do, tend to be larger organizations, e.g., Fidelity, Pepsi, HEB, Sun Microsystems, Sierra Pacific and Intuit. They also tend to be progressive and deeply thoughtful about their approaches to talent acquisition and retention.
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Second, managers in companies which include assessments commit rigorously to this as a key element of their hiring practice. They do not make assessment an "occasional practice" or a case-by-case decision. Assessments are considered as a valuable investment which helps executives make discerning selections about who to add to their leadership team. Executives cite six key reasons why they value their investment in executive assessment. 1. Interviews are Not Enough Hiring and promotion choices are an executive's toughest challenge. Over time, the decision an executive makes flavours the business and has more to do with its success or mediocrity than any other factor. A hiring company tends to either reject or fall in love with a candidate too quickly. Interviewing is not done in sufficient depth and, frequently, a hiring decision is made after a couple of visits by the candidate, based on conversations with only three or four of the company's people. Frequently, it takes four or five trips on the part of the candidate, with several interviews each trip, to determine if there is a fit. Some companies even suggest that it's desirable to get to know as much as possible about a candidate having a meal with the person and meeting a spouse, if possible, helps. Professional assessments by management psychologists have also been found to be extremely helpful in assessing a candidate's suitability for the firm. It's an extremely complex subject and the opinion of a professional about the objectives of the candidate, their true personality when not in a job interview situation, and the likelihood of a long and successful tenure is enormously helpful. Several executives stress the importance of candour at the outset. "If the company executives don't ask the tough questions, they will never get the answers they need. And, if the candidate fails to ask the tough questions of the company, he or she shouldn't be hired. These are decisions that vitally
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affect the organization and the individual's career. They deserve the very best effort on the part of both parties. Assessments help us with a view on some of the tough questions," Emphasizes the CEO of a major national retail company. 2. Reducing Risk Executives share concerns about the expensive risk of making a wrong hire. "The turnover rate of executives hired from the outside is a depressing statistic," cites Sheri Bernal, senior HR director, for Sun Microsystems' Mergers and Acquisitions Group, who reads such external research as those cited by Harvard Business Review and Jeffrey A. Krug. Executives tend to be happy in the first trimester. Then, their enthusiasm drops off and they become unsure, thinking this position is more challenging than I thought. Next, they consider their future and ask if they are really invested or are they done and need to leave. Michael McNeal, vice president of senior talent acquisition at Intuit, shares a parallel view. "I tell our team to bet their jobs on their decisions of who they hire. I want them to think about the investment it takes for a successful hire."

3. Objectivity Another benefit executives highlight is the value of an objective view about the candidate, which assessments offer. "We ask a professional to conduct an independent assessment of our candidates selected by our search firm, including four hours of testing and interviewing to gain an objective view of the person's intellectual capability, interpersonal characteristics, managerial skills, competencies, developmental needs and cultural fit. He then meets with the candidate to review the result and records reactions and findings in a report which we use for performance management and career action planning. "This objective, outside view enriches our internal thinking," notes Wood.
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Bernal agrees that objectivity helps at Sun Microsystems. "We ask our outside agency to give us an objective third-party assessment, by using a highly valid tool to profile the person on such dimensions as behavioural, emotional, social, vocations, cultural and strategic thinking patterns. The assessment provides us feedback on fit, gaps, issues and recommendations for development. This is invaluable, because our internal interviews provide subjective, personal observations and a sense for experience and content the candidate offers for the role. By contrast, our outside agency helps us look at the actual talents of the candidate. This helps us make more clear development plans and better choices for the candidate."

4. Aligning Internal Thinking A challenge many managers face is having an executive team agree about what it wants in the profile of an ideal candidate for a key position. Assessments can help a team coalesce its perspective. It can be challenging to get executives on the same page about what they are looking for in an individual. Assessment work helps us to focus on what values and attributes we truly want and to make sure they are common for the team. This helps to avoid settling for candidates who clearly have the industry knowledge and experience, but may have the wrong leadership style or cultural fit for us. Assessments findings help stimulate this sort of internal dialog. Pushing for alignment is an important philosophy discussion to hold before weighing a candidate's fit. An assessment profile of a candidate can show leanings which can indicate the rate at which he or she can integrate into the leadership team, based on these cultural preferences. The clearer a team is about itself and what it needs; the better it will be at selecting a strong candidate to meet those needs.

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Looking at profiles helps sharpen the companys definition of what and how they think as a team about the leadership model, how this ties to business results and what qualities in a new person will serve them best. Assessment is especially helpful when the recruiting process yields several qualified candidates. Once an executive team aligns its thinking, the assessment process can prioritize which among the candidates is the strongest fit overall.

5. Fighting for the Best Talent Companies with aggressive growth strategies, increased competition and changing workforce demographics face a challenge to ensure they have enough talented leaders to support their growth. Companies feeling the effects of the "war for talent" find assessments are a valuable tool. The use of assessments and the resulting development plans are critical tools which every company must employ to ensure they are prepared to win in this war for talent. The use of a well-designed assessment and development planning process dramatically increases company's ability to grow leaders both in their current roles and to prepare them for future ones. Current processes include an intensive behavioural interview, psychological and leadership style inventories, 360-degree feedback and work-related simulations, using a fictitious company. Candidates receive comprehensive feedback from this as well as guidance about how to create s successful development plan. Meeting with the prospective manager about these results is a powerful way to identify the necessary resources and to gain support to work on the development of the incoming executive. This helps us to put together a more targeted development plan for the individual, and provides an objective basis for comparing and contrasting planned replacements for succession planning.

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Consistently, managers suggest assessments pave the way for more "forward-thinking about the use of talented people over time. A leader's potential is based on four critical elements" their capacity, their aspiration, their commitment and their character. 6. Deeper Insights about People, Roles and Fit Executives say assessments help them gain more meaningful understanding of the person, the fit of a candidate for specific roles, and open the possibilities for options that may be wiser for both the organization and the candidate. This helps them accelerate the growth rate of leaders at all levels for their companies. Using assessments early in the process also helps managers be more strategic in their research about candidates. People who are bright and experienced enough to take on major responsibilities in large corporations are usually reasonably complex individuals. Figuring out who they are in advance and determining how they might fit into a particular company is hard and challenging work. Using a professional person to help assess the chances of success has been extremely helpful to us for many years. Steve Wood, of Sierra Pacific agrees. "Interviews alone are imperfect and often not accurate. They offer some information, but it takes more to get a sense of a candidate's personality, gain insights into the total person and how he or she will fit within our organization." Another value comes from Chris Galy, who comments: "We use the results from our leadership assessment profiling to drive more strategic reference checking." References are a vital work and require patience, since most names offered are purposefully inclined to be glowingly positive. Specializing questions around topics which emerge from the assessments help one to ask more

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penetrating questions to better understand the total person and to gain a more accurate sense of how they would operate in a new company setting.

Of even more importance is the contribution assessments can make to retention of critical executives. Economist Charles Handy predicted the now presence of "portfolio people" talented professionals who know their strengths and are able to apply them as free agents working for several companies during their career without allegiance to any particular one.

This is a threat for companies which understand retaining executives is key to management stability and continuity in overall corporate performance. Knowing what will engage, retain and commit them to a company is important. Assessments can help uncover the unique factors which will keep an executive highly engaged and committed for the long-term. The Quality and Reliability of Assessment Methods To insure the investment in assessment is worthwhile, most managers stress the importance of selecting the right combination of tools and to design the best method to support their organizational needs. Overall, people suggest the reliability and usefulness of assessment tools have improved considerably in the last few years. Shelly Begun, vice president of HR for Xilinx agrees. "We've worked with several tools and the best one I've seen is the Activity Vector Analysis. It is highly reliable and holds up under Title 7 validity standards. It provides clear insight about how to make the best use of people's skills and strengths. It helps us match people to roles, managers and teams in ways we never could do intuitively." It's important for assessments to be conducted by someone with strong intuitive skills. Tests can show how smart someone is or what characteristics they have in different areas, but only a skilled and discerning person can
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"feel" whether a candidate has real potential for a job. Quirks in personality, integrity, perseverance, openness to new ideas and breadth of view, optimism or pessimism may not show up in the tests used. Not everyone can assess for these things well, so it's important to find a professional with deep experience in whom you are confident. Another issue for executives who invest aggressively in assessment is how best to establish consistent use of tools and processes. Dilemmas Conducting assessments does pose challenges for companies. The first is the obvious question of the time and costs which must be factored into the interview process. Companies either have to train and build in-house capability or select a competent consulting partner to provide these services. The latter choice still requires a professional to manage the consulting partner services. Budgets for these resources must be included in HR plans. Adding assessments is a lot of work and when you are in a high pressure hiring phase, the time trade-off can be a strain on our resources. Getting a profile for a candidate upfront in the process takes time. Yet, the value of making the best fit for a key role is worth it. Another occasional dilemma occurs when a company team really wants to hire an individual, but the management psychologist has raised major caution flags. There is no easy answer to this, however, the manager is ultimately responsible to make a decision about hiring the candidate or not. In this case, he or she is able to make an informed decision with "eyes wide open." If this conflict occurs repeatedly and management turns out to be right, then one should get a new management psychologist" suggests one CEO. "If the management psychologist turns out to be right, then the executive likely needs to move into a role that doesn't involve hiring and talent selection."
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Raising the Bar for the Future The early work in the ability to predict the best candidates started with studies of naval submarine officers. The Navy observed that officers - with similar experience and academic pedigree performed at different levels of competency under stressful, emergency situations. This launched the work to identify which competencies successfully performing officers demonstrated and differentiated them from their less effective peers. Competency modelling and assessments have matured since this early research and now provide helpful information about candidates, how to develop people's capabilities, how to leverage peoples' strengths and talents and to guide strategic succession planning. Since the work demographic patterns are changing, recruitments will need to evolve as well. Today's generation of employees will have an average of five jobs in their career most likely with more than two employers. Companies will need to think about assessing people's readiness for change, flexibility and ease with experimentation as factors for success. New tools to evaluate such factors will need to emerge to guide executives in their hiring decisions. As the talent war goes global, companies will create more ambitious programs to handle the challenge of drawing brains and competence from many countries. The tools to help them assess the complex factors for selection of executives for critical roles will become more valuable.

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Chapter 2: RESEARCH DESIGN

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2.1 Statement of Problem To study the pattern of Executive recruitment process across various industries and find out if any standardised process is followed by them. 2.2 Need of the study The executive recruitment is a critical aspect of recruitment function of HR in any industry. Hence to find out if any standardised process is followed or if such a process can be established. 2.3 Review of Literature Attracting, identifying and retaining best Human Resource for an organisation are the most discussed and most important area of management today. In todays competitive world where poaching, head hunting and other different types of activities are introduced in corporate scenario, it becomes of immense importance that the HR at the base of organisations execution are selected with utmost care. There is a war for talent across companies, geographies and industries. Finding right talent and nurturing them are the differentiating factors between the successful and ordinary organisations. "The turnover rate of executives hired from the outside is a depressing statistic," cites Sheri Bernal, senior HR director, for Sun Microsystems' Mergers and Acquisitions Group, who reads such external research as those cited by Harvard Business Review and Jeffrey A. Krug. Executives tend to be happy in the first trimester. Then, their enthusiasm drops off and they become unsure, thinking this position is more challenging than I thought. Next, they consider their future and ask if they are really invested or are they done and need to leave. Michael McNeal, vice president of senior talent acquisition at Intuit, shares a parallel view. "I tell our team to bet their jobs on their decisions of who they hire. I want them to think about the investment it takes for a successful hire."
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Steve Wood, of Sierra Pacific states. "Interviews alone are imperfect and often not accurate. They offer some information, but it takes more to get a sense of a candidate's personality, gain insights into the total person and how he or she will fit within our organization 2.4 Operational definition of concepts Executive recruitment: the identification of suitable external candidates for senior positions, often by means of headhunting techniques. Executive searches work from personal recommendation and lists of contacts, and monitor rising stars or key personnel in particular organizations or professions. The number of potential candidates is usually limited because of the specialty or seniority of the post, so that the search takes place within upper salary ranges. Succession planning: Succession planning is a process whereby an organization ensures that employees are recruited and developed to fill each key role within the company. Through your succession planning process, you recruit superior employees, develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities, and prepare them for advancement or promotion into ever more challenging roles. Through your succession planning process, you also retain superior employees because they appreciate the time, attention, and development that you are investing in them. To effectively do succession planning in your organization, you must identify the organizations long term goals. You must hire superior staff. Executive turnover: Executive Turnover is the number of executives leaving the company within the reported period versus the number of actual Active executives on the last day of the previous reported period (physical headcount).

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2.5 Objectives of the Study 1. To study the various methods of executive recruitment 2. To find out the most preferred method of executive recruitment in different industries. 3. To study the process of executive recruitment in different companies. 2.6 Scope of the Study The study will be restricted to the business organisations across some major industries. 2.7 Research Methodology Research type: Descriptive Type of Data: Primary Data: Obtained through Questionnaire Secondary Data: Obtained from research journals

Sampling Plan: Sampling Unit: Employees of middle and higher management levels Sample Size: 5 companies from 5 industries Sampling Method: Non Probability sampling Research Instrument: Questionnaire consisting of open ended questions. Also some informal interviews are taken.

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2.8 Limitations of the Study: 1. Study may be affected by personal bias of respondents 2. Sample size is restricted to 5 companies which might not give a sufficiently conclusive data. 3. Some variables cannot be included due to lack of time.

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Chapter 3: PROFILE of the COMPANIES

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3.1 PEPSICO
PepsiCo India is striding ahead rapidly towards enabling the global vision to be the world's premier consumer products company focused on convenience foods and beverages. PepsiCo India seeks to produce healthy financial rewards for investors as it provide opportunities of growth and enrichment to its employees, business partners and the communities in which it operates. PepsiCo established it's business operations in India in 1989 and has grown to become one of the countrys leading food and beverage companies. One of the largest multinational investors in the country, PepsiCo has established a business which aims to serve the long term dynamic needs of consumers in India. PepsiCo offers the worlds largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines each generating more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Their main businesses Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to consumers in over 200 countries. With more than $43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 285,000 people who are united by the unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating themselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing the environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to the communities worldwide. PepsiCo nourishes consumers with a range of products from tasty treats to healthy eats that deliver enjoyment, nutrition, convenience as well as affordability The group has built an expansive beverage and foods business. To support its operations, PepsiCo has 42 bottling plants in India, of which 13 are company owned and 29 are franchisee owned. In addition to this, PepsiCos
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Frito Lay division has 3 state-of-the-art plants. PepsiCos business is based on its sustainability vision of making tomorrow better than today. PepsiCos commitment to living by this vision every day is visible in its contribution to the country, consumers and farmers. Our commitment to Talent Sustainability means we're continually working to develop and retain exceptional people. Their people are their greatest strength. They believe that without a broad base of talented people, they can't continue to deliver exceptional results. Their goals are to attract, hire, develop and retain the most talented people. By valuing the employees, supporting their ability to work effectively together and providing them with the tools they need to succeed, it is ensured that PepsiCo is the kind of company where talented people of all backgrounds want to work. PepsiCo India provides direct and indirect employment to 150,000 people including suppliers and distributors. Their values emphasise that they will continue to foster an inclusive environment, increase female and minority representation in management ranks, engage employees in health and wellness programs and create rewarding job opportunities for people with different abilities. The company leverages the reach of its employee base and continue to encourage its employees around the world to participate in community service and inclusion activities, which are designed not only to positively impact the communities they serve, but to drive the employees to be leaders in social responsibility. Company takes a holistic approach to sustain their talent by initiating programs that include:

A strong commitment to diversity Competitive compensation and benefits

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Strong health and safety programs, including HIV/AIDS programs SharePower program which provides stock options to eligible

associates around the world and encourage them to act as owners of the Company

Opportunities for career growth Lifestyle and personal development opportunities, including job Robust programs to measure employee satisfaction and award Inspiring supplier diversity

training programs

achievement

Expanding Opportunities through Diversity and Inclusion Company approaches diversity and inclusion as a strategic business priority. As an expanding multinational company, innovation and growth requires employees who understand the needs of international and diverse markets. The company is continually evolving its culture, so that its associates are recognized for their contributions and valued for the unique differences and perspectives they bring to the workplace. PepsiCo is differentiated from others in its strong commitment to making leaders of its employees. For this purpose, a robust Leadership Model is in place that identifies talent, develops readiness and prepares the individual for the required movement. This consists of 70% on the job learning, 20% coaching, feedback and mentoring and 10% formal training; each of which is given due importance. Five pillars support this model: i. ii. iii. Career Planning Tools Academies (functional workshops for development) Learn Smart (highly customizable learning tool to develop each individual as per his or her needs)
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iv.

Internal Job Posting (allowing flexibility to employees to gain Critical Experiences across businesses and functions in the PepsiCo world) and

v.

Strong Manager Assessment (via a tool called Connect that provides feedback to a leader on his/ her working style, strengths and weaknesses)

These, in tandem, have helped build a system that culls the leadership skills out of each individual and hones them to perfection Future Leader Program is amongst the most organized and well structured program for management trainees from across the best schools in the country. The objective is to provide them with the best-in-class training to prepare the future talent pipeline. For this purpose, the following is done: stints across various functions to ensure critical understanding of the business, on job training supplemented by class room training, coaching and mentoring and a continual feedback cycle that includes two way feedback for development of the individual as well as the process. The program is interspersed with various fun team events apart from the usual Fun @ Work at PepsiCo, which allow the future leaders to bond as a team and learn to work together in harmony. Diversity and Inclusion Organisation believes in respecting and encouraging diversity and make it a point to encourage the intake of people with diverse backgrounds, not only at the headquarter office but also at the plants and territories. We firmly believe that encouraging diversity means encouraging policies and systems that respect their special needs. Approximately 10% of the associate strength at plants is comprised of specially-able people. Therefore, they provide training on general discipline
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and safety requirements, training on the job and also sensitize existing employees on inclusive behaviour. However, the effort towards encouraging diversity is not limited to internal initiatives. A recent tie up with Job Street has allowed a move into a completely new arena: offer, on this site, jobs that the company feels women would be better equipped to handle! It reaches out to career women who have taken a break in their careers and provides company the access to talent that is currently not there in an active workforce. The initiative has not only worked well but has also helped the company win the confidence of potential female talent that would add to the richness of the diverse work culture. To support such diversity, company also offer special provisions like sabbaticals, flexible timing and other support to women with young children or responsibility of the family. We believe in driving diversity and inclusion inside and outside our business; from our Global Chief Executive through to our supply chain partners. Rewarding Diversity and Inclusion at PepsiCo - The Harvey C Russell Inclusion Award The company thinks that providing incentives to promote diversity and inclusion can help drive these values in their business. This is why it has established the Harvey C. Russell Inclusion Award to reward outstanding accomplishments in promoting diversity and inclusion within the company. Harvey Russell was PepsiCo's first African-American Vice President when he was appointed in 1962. He was also the first African-American in such a position at a major international corporation at the time.

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And to encourage diversity and inclusion in their suppliers, they've extended the award to their external partners. We believe in happy workers. We want to empower our employees to choose how to fit their work around their life, and grow our employees to fulfill their potential. Flexible working Company realises the important role that flexible working can play in striking a positive lifestyle balance. The forward thinking 'Flexible Working Scheme' embraces the different needs and situations of all employees by enabling them to choose the hours they work.

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3.2 ICICI Bank

ICICI Bank is India's second-largest bank with total assets of Rs. 3,634.00 billion (US$ 81 billion) at March 31, 2010 and profit after tax Rs. 40.25 billion (US$ 896 million) for the year ended March 31, 2010. The Bank has a network of 2,000 branches and about 5,219 ATMs in India and presence in 18 countries. ICICI Bank offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital and asset management. The Bank currently has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Russia and Canada, branches in United States, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Dubai International Finance Centre and representative offices in United Arab Emirates, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Our UK subsidiary has established branches in Belgium and Germany. ICICI Bank's equity shares are listed in India on Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). ICICI Bank was originally promoted in 1994 by ICICI Limited, an Indian financial institution, and was its wholly-owned subsidiary. ICICI's shareholding in ICICI Bank was reduced to 46% through a public offering of shares in India in fiscal 1998, an equity offering in the form of ADRs listed on the NYSE in fiscal 2000, ICICI Bank's acquisition of Bank of Madura Limited in an all-stock amalgamation in fiscal 2001, and secondary market sales by ICICI to institutional investors in fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2002. ICICI was formed in 1955 at the initiative of the World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian industry. The principal objective was to create a development financial institution for providing medium-term and long-term project financing to Indian businesses. In the 1990s, ICICI transformed its business from a development financial institution offering only project
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finance to a diversified financial services group offering a wide variety of products and services, both directly and through a number of subsidiaries and affiliates like ICICI Bank. In 1999, ICICI become the first Indian company and the first bank or financial institution from non-Japan Asia to be listed on the NYSE. After consideration of various corporate structuring alternatives in the context of the emerging competitive scenario in the Indian banking industry, and the move towards universal banking, the managements of ICICI and ICICI Bank formed the view that the merger of ICICI with ICICI Bank would be the optimal strategic alternative for both entities, and would create the optimal legal structure for the ICICI group's universal banking strategy. The merger would enhance value for ICICI shareholders through the merged entity's access to low-cost deposits, greater opportunities for earning feebased income and the ability to participate in the payments system and provide transaction-banking services. The merger would enhance value for ICICI Bank shareholders through a large capital base and scale of operations, seamless access to ICICI's strong corporate relationships built up over five decades, entry into new business segments, higher market share in various business segments, particularly fee-based services, and access to the vast talent pool of ICICI and its subsidiaries. In October 2001, the Boards of Directors of ICICI and ICICI Bank approved the merger of ICICI and two of its wholly-owned retail finance subsidiaries, ICICI Personal Financial Services Limited and ICICI Capital Services Limited, with ICICI Bank. The merger was approved by shareholders of ICICI and ICICI Bank in January 2002, by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in March 2002, and by the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai and the Reserve Bank of India in April 2002. Consequent to the merger, the ICICI group's financing and banking operations, both wholesale and retail, have been integrated in a single entity.

ICICI Bank has formulated a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for its directors and employees.
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As goes their recruitment and other HR policies, they are very clearly put down. On campuses, they use group discussions, followed by two rounds of interviews. For off campus recruitment, the process depends on the levels to which recruiting is being done. Candidates are usually hired based on their performance in tests - analytical, numeric, psychometric followed by interviews. As the level goes up, they use different psychometric tools and two levels of interviews. They have a fairly well-defined matrix to determine what kind of people are needed for different levels in the organisation. The critical thing about recruiting is selecting the right person for the right job or situation. Anyone aspiring to join ICICI must have the ability to create a structure out of an unstructured scenario and thrive on it. They want people who are sharp, intelligent and have the right attitude. The whole focus is - hire for attitude and train for skills. Always look for certain key qualities to help determine if the candidate will enjoy working in an environment that thrives on speed. Will he be able to work around with people and through people? Does he have the tenacity and the patience to manage various aspects across the organisation? ICICIPrudential Life is a growing organisation and the candidate has to have flexibility and, more importantly, the willingness to get into different organisational roles. In India, insurance is relatively new and hence industry experience is very uncommon. So, they have decided to focus on fresh talent. Though they are not closed to lateral recruitments, but this wont be a key pipeline for hiring. If they find someone who fits into a particular role, then they will definitely be open to hiring that person, but the focus would definitely be on hiring fresh talent. The skill sets would depend on the function the candidate is recruited for. If they are looking at someone for the analytical wing, the skill sets they would be looking for would be a fair amount of intellect, strong analytical skills, conceptualising ability, comfort with data crunching, etc. For HR, they seek
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those who can relate with people easily, manage and implement strategies leveraging the strengths of the team. For audit, apart from technical knowledge and analytical skills, they also look for an ability to sift through humongous data and bring a context to it. Company looks at aspects such as is he a problem solver, is he mature, what does he do with the data, is he able to keep the confidentiality of the data, etc. For every position, they have a job description, a template of the necessary skill sets, which is matched when looking at potential candidates. They believe that the traditional job retention tool- compensation is only one factor and that differs from function to function. For them, job challenge and stretch are the two biggest drivers of retention. Retention strategies include focused trainings, both domestic and international depending on the employees role and need leadership development initiatives, where individuals get a very detailed personal development plan, and their seniors support to put it in place. Another driver is the reward and recognition schemes, A big driver, irrespective of the level, is the pride all the employees have of working with the market leader. A common characteristic associated with the employees is that it is a very aggressive organisation. Although the word aggressive could have both negative and positive connotations, for them being aggressive has a positive connotation. It is connected to the pride of being number one. Company tries to be fairly open and transparent in their processes. There are no qualms in speaking the minds, whether it is to an outsider or an internal person. There is not threat about anyone questioning their functions because they see it as a wakeup call. The mindset is to win and purpose is to achieve the goals. Employees highly value integrity. Pride and belongingness to the organisation is also very high. Company sends employees, irrespective of levels, for training. Sending employees abroad for training is more need based and depends on whether
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a resource needs to get trained on something that is not available in India. A fair number of people at all levels have gone abroad for various training programmes. There are domestic externals as well as international externals, which are insurance- focused international programmes. Many of these programmes are not held in India. But when these programmes are held in India more people are sent, because obviously the economics works out better.

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3.3 BRTIANNIA
The story of one of India's favourite brands reads almost like a fairy tale. Once upon a time, in 1892 to be precise, a biscuit company was started in a nondescript house in Calcutta (now Kolkata) with an initial investment of Rs. 295. The company we all know as Britannia today. The beginnings might have been humble-the dreams were anything but. By 1910, with the advent of electricity, Britannia mechanised its operations, and in 1921, it became the first company east of the Suez Canal to use imported gas ovens. Britannia's business was flourishing. But, more importantly, Britannia was acquiring a reputation for quality and value. As a result, during the tragic World War II, the Government reposed its trust in Britannia by contracting it to supply large quantities of "service biscuits" to the armed forces. As time moved on, the biscuit market continued to grow and Britannia grew along with it. In 1975, the Britannia Biscuit Company took over the distribution of biscuits from Parry's who till now distributed Britannia biscuits in India. In the subsequent public issue of 1978, Indian shareholding crossed 60%, firmly establishing the Indianness of the firm. The following year, Britannia Biscuit Company was re-christened Britannia Industries Limited (BIL). Four years later in 1983, it crossed the Rs. 100 crores revenue mark. On the operations front, the company was making equally dynamic strides. In 1992, it celebrated its Platinum Jubilee. In 1997, the company unveiled its new corporate identity - "Eat Healthy, Think Better" - and made its first foray into the dairy products market. In 1999, the "Britannia Khao, World Cup Jao" promotion further fortified the affinity consumers had with 'Brand Britannia'. Britannia strode into the 21st Century as one of India's biggest brands and the pre-eminent food brand of the country. It was equally recognised for its innovative approach to products and marketing: the Lagaan Match was voted India's most successful promotional activity of the year 2001 while the delicious Britannia 50-50 Maska-Chaska became India's most successful
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product launch. In 2002, Britannia's New Business Division formed a joint venture with Fonterra, the world's second largest Dairy Company, and Britannia New Zealand Foods Pvt. Ltd. was born. In recognition of its vision and accelerating graph, Forbes Global rated Britannia 'One amongst the Top 200 Small Companies of the World', and The Economic Times pegged Britannia India's 2nd Most Trusted Brand. Today, more than a century after those tentative first steps, Britannia's fairy tale is not only going strong but blazing new standards, and that miniscule initial investment has grown by leaps and bounds to crores of rupees in wealth for Britannia's shareholders. The company's offerings are spread across the spectrum with products ranging from the healthy and economical Tiger biscuits to the more lifestyle-oriented Milkman Cheese. Having succeeded in garnering the trust of almost one-third of India's one billion population and a strong management at the helm means Britannia will continue to dream big on its path of innovation and quality. And millions of consumers will savour the results, happily ever after. The Company witnessed all round growth in key categories with Biscuits recording sales of Rs. 23,299 Mn. Bread, Cake and Rusk business crossed the Rs. 2,700 Mn mark during 2007-08. This business has doubled in two years. In an intensely competitive biscuit environment, all Power Brands of the Company recorded double digit growth, with Tiger and Good Day growing in excess of 20%. The Companys innovation forays have successfully addressed new benefit clusters and NutriChoice Digestive has claimed its position in the health and vitality space. The Company continues to maintain its leadership edge in 6 out of 7 key product segments, the only exception being Glucose. The business continued to face inflationary pressure in key raw materials such as wheat flour, refined palm oil, skimmed milk powder and other dairy products, as well as energy costs. These were more than offset on the cost
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side

through

operational

and

procurement

efficiencies,

productivity

improvements, cost reduction programs and on the revenue side through improved product mix and higher realisation, aided by strong consumer off take. Not many companies can boast a 100-year distinguished history, and fewer still can be linked with stakeholders and markets across continents. This superlative trajectory notwithstanding, at Britannia it's always been recognized that none of it would have been possible without the people. Over the years, Britannia has been associated with many brilliant careers, and evidence of the success of its strategic-yet-friendly people policies is to be seen in the current crop of management and staff and indeed the performance of the company itself. Part of the allure of working at Britannia emanates from their strong belief in nurturing people so they can get in their full stride. The other aspects that make Britannia a coveted destination include proffered opportunities for growth, and that 'idea leadership' and 'accountability' are encouraged every step of the way.

Today, with the extraordinarily dynamic and adaptive people they attract, Britannia is fully geared for the new-age business paradigm. Britannians are thought to be extraordinary individuals who are passionate about everything they do, create inspiration through everything they do and succeed in everything they do. Britannians are hand-picked for a singular purposeto perpetually ensure Market Leadership and generate exemplary performance in every function. Britannians exhibit the following leadership behaviours (fondly call BULBs Britannia Universal Leadership Behaviours):

Integrity Team Orientation People Development

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Learning Orientation Customer Orientation Quality Orientation Drive for Results Entrepreneurial Spirit System and Process Orientation

Communication The search for young, enthusiastic talent is always on at Britannia. The work culture at Britannia is characterised by strong performance focus coupled with result orientation. Nurturing Talent An innovative company like Britannia is always on the lookout for innovative, young minds. The Management philosophy encourages nurturing of talent through grooming of bright and young entry-level managers. The organisational culture provides a perfect blend of fun and learning that helps in the overall development of talented individuals recruited into the system. Today, with a huge variety of professional institutions spread across the country, there is a broader canvas to choose from. The main sources of recruitment of Management Trainees are:

Business Schools (MBA) Engineering Institutes Food Technology Institutes ICAI/ICWAI/ICSI/ICFAI and other such institutes offering professional courses

An alternative route is for candidates to apply directly to Britannia or through a recruitment consultant. The distinguishing factor between MTs and other lateral hires would be in terms of their experience and qualifications. In this case, however, candidates may or may not have prior experience. For experienced candidates, 1 year or less would be the maximum cap to be eligible for the Management
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Training

Scheme.

Campus - Campus recruitment has two stages, viz. Summer Trainee Recruitment and Management Trainee Recruitment. Summer Training takes place for a period of two months where students from Business Schools and Functional Institutes (Engineering/Food Technology/Finance) work on projects with Britannia in the following functional areas - Marketing; Sales and Distribution; Operations and Supply Chain; Human Resource Management; Finance and Quality Assurance. Summer Trainees at the end of their training tenure are taken through an evaluation process to assess placement within the company as Management Trainees. This happens through a Pre-Placement Interview by a panel that assess the candidate on his/her project and his/her potential to fit into the organisation. Management Training - Management Trainees are recruited on the basis of actual vacancies in the system. They are recruited either through Preplacement offers made to exceptional Summer Trainees or through direct Campus Recruitment. MTs join the covenant grade as Management Trainee - (function), and are absorbed into the following functions - Sales and Distribution; Operations and Supply Chain; Human Resources; Finance and Quality Assurance. The Marketing function has so far been insulated from the Management Training Route as entry level marketing positions require knowledge of Sales or prior knowledge of Marketing (lateral route). The Program - Once MTs are on-board, they are taken through a series of carefully designed Training Modules that encompass almost all functions of the business. The Training Modules are interspersed with live projects in different functions to test their knowledge and problem-solving abilities. Ideally, any Management Trainee would need to complete at least 2 live projects related to his/her stream of interest and 1 live project in a related function or a function of choice. At the end of the training period, all MTs are assessed on the basis of their learning and project performances by a cross-functional panel consisting of
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Functional Heads. On successful completion of their Training Program, MTs are confirmed as Managers in their respective functions. The total tenure of Management Training is 18 months for a Technical Trainee (Engineer/Food Technologist) and 12 months for all other trainees.

3.4 TESCO
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Headquartered in the UK, Tesco today is ranked as the worlds third largest retailer, and a market leader in 6 of the 14 countries. It spans across 14 countries 4331 stores 470000 employees, 59.4 billion in turnover over 60 million customersand counting. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share, with profits exceeding 3 billion, and the third largest global retailer based on revenue, behind Wal-Mart and Carrefour. Formation Jack Cohen founded Tesco in 1919 when he began to sell surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. The Tesco brand first appeared in 1924. The name came about after Jack Cohen bought a shipment of tea from T.E. Stockwell. He made new labels using the first three letters of the supplier's name (TES), and the first two letters of his surname (CO), forming the word TESCO. The first Tesco store was opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgware, Middlesex. Tesco was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1947 as Tesco Stores (Holdings) Limited. The first self-service store opened in St Albans in 1951 (still operational in 2009 as a Metro), and the first supermarket in Maldon in 1956. During the 1950s and the 1960s Tesco grew organically, and also through acquisitions, until it owned more than 800 stores. The company purchased 70 Williamsons stores (1957), 200 Harrow Stores outlets (1959), 212 Irwins stores (1960), 97 Charles Phillips stores (1964) and theVictor Value chain (1968) (sold to Bejam in 1986). Originally specialising in food and drink, it has diversified into areas such as clothing, consumer electronics, financial services, telecoms, home, health and car insurance, dental plans, retailing and renting DVDs, CDs, music downloads, Internet services and software.

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Tesco Hindustan Service Centre Tesco Hindustan Service Centre (HSC) is the global services arm for Tesco worldwide. It functions as the pulse of the Tesco group providing IT Business, Commercial and Finance services to Tesco operations globally. Tesco HSC went live in May 2004, and is currently 4000 people strong. The centre is Tesco owned and run and shares the company values and customer focus. The key focus areas are: The IT Services group is involved in designing developing testing and managing IT applications that are critical for our Retail life cycle. This arm also owns the deployment, servicing and maintenance of the Tesco Operating Model and specializes in Remote Infrastructure Management. The Business Services group provides services that include Recruitment, Payroll & Pension support and Stores support (Retail Expenses processing, Technical helpdesk, Sale fraud and Central Security Station support). Distribution Support group focuses on Logistics, Inventory, Distribution Direct & Fines and Property Services (Stores Planning and Design, Space range and Merchandising). Dotcom Business support helps in building Insights, Online Advertising, Web designing, Price Checking etc. The Finance Services group is strategic in paying suppliers, managing cash, maintaining the account books and providing management reports to the Tesco senior management. Tesco is the first major international retailer to have a fully-owned support centre in India. It is dedicated to making the Tesco experience better for over 60 million customers worldwide, simpler for over 470000 employees and achieve costefficiencies. At Tesco HSC they understand the challenges faced across the various operations undertaken here. With the best talent and resources in place Tesco HSC provides a platform to enrich the career within a dynamic environment. The work being done around careers for its employees will bring about a paradigm shift in the way careers are looked at traditionally. There is a robust system to engage and understand career aspirations of the staff through career discussions help them develop in their areas of improvement and support them. This system allows the organisation to identify and share talent for positions across the globe. Some of the features associated with enriching the experience at Tesco HSC are as [46] follows: Career Development Model (CDM): Tesco HSC has identified various competency

3.5 TAJ Group of Hotels

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces and is recognised as one of Asia's largest and finest hotel company. Incorporated by the founder of the Tata Group, Mr. Jamsetji N. Tata, the company opened its first property, The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Bombay in 1903. The Taj, a symbol of Indian hospitality, completed its centenary year in 2003. Taj Hotels Resort and Palaces comprises more than 60 hotels in 45 locations across India with an additional 15 international hotels in the Malaysia, United Kingdom, United States of America, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa, the Middle East and Australia. Spanning the length and breadth of the country, gracing important industrial towns and cities, beaches, hill stations, historical and pilgrim centres and wildlife destinations, each Taj hotel offers the luxury of service, the apogee of Indian hospitality, vantage locations, modern amenities and business facilities. IHCL operate in the luxury, premium, mid-market and value segments of the market through the following:
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Taj (luxury full-service hotels, resorts and palaces) is the flagship brand for the worlds most discerning travellers seeking authentic experiences given that luxury is a way of life to which they are accustomed. Spanning worldrenowned landmarks, modern business hotels, idyllic beach resorts, authentic Rajput palaces and rustic safari lodges, each Taj hotel reinterprets the tradition of hospitality in a refreshingly modern way to create unique experiences and lifelong memories. Taj also encompasses a unique set of iconic properties rooted in history and tradition that deliver truly unforgettable experiences. A collection of outstanding properties with strong heritage as hotels or palaces which offer something more than great physical product and exceptional service. This group is defined by the emotional and unique equity of its iconic properties that are authentic, non- replicable with great potential to create memories and stories. Taj Exotica is the resort and spa brand found in the most exotic and relaxing locales of the world. The properties are defined by the privacy and intimacy they provide. The hotels are clearly differentiated by their product philosophy and service design. They are centred around high end accommodation, intimacy and an environment that allows its guest unrivalled comfort and privacy. They are defined by a sensibility of intimate design and by their varied and eclectic culinary experiences, impeccable service and authentic Indian Spa sanctuaries. Taj Safaris are wildlife lodges that allow travellers to experience the unparalleled beauty of the Indian jungle amidst luxurious surroundings. They offer Indias first and only wildlife luxury lodge circuit. Taj Safaris provide guests with the ultimate, interpretive, wild life experience based on a proven sustainable ecotourism model. Upper Upscale Hotels (full-service hotels and resorts) provide a new generation of travellers a contemporary and creative hospitality experience

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that matches their work-hard play-hard lifestyles. Stylish interiors, innovative cuisine, hip bars, and a focus on technology set these properties apart. The Gateway Hotel (upscale/mid-market full service hotels and resorts) is a pan-India network of hotels and resorts that offers business and leisure travellers a hotel designed, keeping the modern nomad in mind. At the Gateway Hotel, the belief is in keeping things simple. This is why, the hotels are divided into 7 simple zones- Stay, Hangout, Meet, Work, Workout, Unwind and Explore. As travel often means more hassle than harmony, more stress than satisfaction, modern travellers are looking for smarter choices. Driven by the passion for perfection, customers are welcomed to a refreshingly enjoyable and hassle-free experience, anytime, everywhere. Offering the highest consistency in quality, service and style new standards are set and take the unwanted surprises out of travelling. The warm welcomes make guests feel at home, away from home and the crisp and courteous service empowers them to get more done with greater effectiveness and control. And through the unrivalled network the service provided is effortless, simple, never overwhelming, always warm. Ginger (economy hotels) is IHCLs revolutionary concept in hospitality for the value segment. Intelligently designed facilities, consistency and affordability are hallmarks of this brand targeted at travellers who value simplicity and self-service. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is committed to replicate its domestic success onto international shores with plans to build an international network of luxury hotels, which will provide an exemplary product-service combination and in the process create a global brand. The current international portfolio includes luxury resorts in the Indian Ocean, business and resort destinations in the Middle East and Africa, serviced apartments in the UK, the first hotel in Australia and three a top-end luxury hotels in the US.
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Throughout the Companys expansion, its mandate has been twofold: to infuse a sense of Indian heritage and culture within each diverse property, while also anticipating the needs and desires of the sophisticated traveller. Over the years, the Taj has won international acclaim for its quality hotels and its excellence in business facilities, services, cuisine and interiors. The Taj strengthened its presence in the Indian Ocean rim with the Exotica Brand. The Taj Exotica was evolved as part of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces intent to position it as a brand that is clearly differentiated by its product philosophy and service design. The Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, in Maldives is centered on high-end accommodation, intimacy and an environment that allows its guests unrivalled comfort and privacy. Taj Hotels further expanded its global footprint by securing management contracts at Palm Island, Jumeirah in Dubai, Saraya Islands in Ras Al Khaimah, Aldar Group in Abu Dhabi, UAE Langkawi in Malaysia and Thimpu in Bhutan. The most significant additions to the portfolio have been The Pierre, the iconic landmark hotel on New York's Fifth Avenue, Taj Boston and Blue, Sydney. The presence of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces internationally has been developed through a network of Taj regional sales and PR offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Dubai, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Russia and the United States of America. At the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces luxurious living and fine dining find common ground. Whether it is introducing exotic world cuisines to India or taking authentic Indian fare to the world, the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is renowned for the eclectic culinary experiences it brings to its guests. Through a vast repertoire of award-winning restaurants, legendary recipes from royal kitchens and celebrated food festivals, the Taj has pioneered innovation in fine dining across the world. Taj Hotels also promise a whole new experience of tranquillity and total wellness, through Jiva Spas a unique concept, which brings together the
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wisdom and heritage of the Asian and Indian Philosophy of Wellness and Well-being. Rooted in ancient Indian healing knowledge, Jiva Spas derive inspiration and spirit from the holistic concept of living. There is a rich basket of fresh and unique experiences under the Jiva Spa umbrella of offering, Yoga and Meditation, mastered and disseminated by accomplished practitioners, authentic Ayurveda, and unique Taj signature treatments. Royal traditions of wellness in service experiences, holistic treatments involving body therapies, enlivening and meaningful rituals and ceremonies and unique natural products blended by hand, come together to offer a truly calming experience. IHCL operates Taj Air, a luxury private jet operation with state-of-the-art Falcon 2000 aircrafts designed by Dassault Aviation, France; and Taj Yachts, two 3-bedroom luxury yachts which can be used by guests in Mumbai and Kochi, in Kerala. IHCL also operates Taj Sats Air Catering Ltd., the largest airline catering service in South Asia, as a joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. Additionally, it operates the Indian Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad since 1993. The institute offers a three-year diploma, designed with the help of international faculty and has affiliations with several American and European programmes. The employee at Taj is viewed as an asset and is the real profit center. He or she is the very reason for our survival. The creation of the Taj People Philosophy displays its commitment to and belief in its people. They want an organization with a very clear philosophy, where people can be treasured and build from within. Since its establishment, the Taj Group had a people-oriented culture. The group always hired fresh graduates from leading hotel management institutes all over India so that it could shape their attitudes and develop their skills in a way that fitted its needs and culture. The management wants the
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new recruits to pursue a long-term career with the group. All new employees are placed in an intensive two-year training program, which familiarizes them with the business ethos of the group, the management The employees of the Taj Group are trained in varied fields like sales and marketing, finance, hospitality and service, front office management, food and beverages, projects, HR and more. They also have to take part in various leadership programs, so that they can develop in them a strong, warm and professional work culture. Through these programs, the group is able to assess the future potential of the employees and the training required to further develop their skills. The group offers excellent opportunities to employees both on personal as well as organizational front. In order to achieve 'Taj standards,' employees are made to undergo a rigorous training program. The group strives hard to standardize all its processes and evolve a work culture, which appeals to all its employees universally. The group believes that talent management is of utmost importance to develop a sustainable competitive advantage. The group aims at making the HR function a critical business partner, rather than just a support function. To further show its commitment to and belief in employees, the group created the 'Taj People Philosophy' (TPP) covering all people practices of the group. The concept of TPP, developed in 1999, was the brainchild of Bernard Martyris (Martyris), Senior Vice-President, HR, IHCL, and his core team. The concept, originally planned to be called as 'The Womb to Tomb Approach,' covered all the aspects of an employee's career, from joining the group until his/her retirement.

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Chapter4: ANALYSIS and INTERPRETATION of Data

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4.1 Turnover rate of senior executives Company PepsiCo Britannia Taj Group of Hotels ICICI Bank Tesco Table1 % Turnover 5% 4% 5% 5% 2%

4.2 The average span of executive recruitment cycle: Company PepsiCo Britannia Taj Group of Hotels ICICI Bank Tesco Table 2 Average span of Recruitment Cycle 40 days 30 days 45 days 40 days 30 days

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4.3 The general process of executive recruitment is PepsiCo. Internal

Fig:1

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External

Fig: 2

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Britannia

Fig: 3 Lateral Recruitment Eligibility: People with 2 or more years of experience The functions that one can join (based on actual vacancies) are:

Sales & Marketing Research & Development Quality Assurance Exports Technical & Operations Finance & IT Human Resources
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Taj Group of Hotels

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Fig:4

ICICI bank

Fig:5

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Tesco

Fig: 6

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4.4 The various sources of executive recruitment are: 1) Internal promotions 2) Executive search agencies 3) Employee referrals 4) Portals 5) Consultants

4.5 Most preferred method of executive recruitment Company PepsiCo Britannia Taj Group of Hotels ICICI bank Tesco
Table 3

Method Internal Recommendations Search agencies Internal Promotions Internal Promotions Employee Referals

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Chapter 5: FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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5.1 FINDINGS
The average turnover rate of senior level executives in companies is 5%.

The process followed across companies is almost the identical with minor differences.

The method of recruitment does not affect the turnover rate much in case of executives. The average span of any recruitment cycle is 40 days.

The most preferred method of Executive Recruitment is Internal recommendations and Internal Promotions.

Succession planning is practiced in the companies but not very frequently and only for top positions.

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5.2 Conclusions
As per the study conducted, following conclusions can be drawn The executive turnover rate in companies across different industries is high. The recruitment process is almost a standardised process with just a few minor variations. The recruitment methods are also the same with one being practiced more than other. The most preferred method is Internal recommendations, since it takes lesser time, has more reliability and involves less cost. The other preferred method is Internal promotions, with approximate number of executives hired from within being 6-7% on an average. Succession planning is practiced but not to a greater extent and that is only for top positions.

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5.3 Recommendations:
Executive recruitment when concerned with the senior level recruitment, more emphasis should be given on internal hiring, since the positions are critical and a person having better knowledge of the organisation and its strategies can do justice to the role.

A proper assessment procedure of the recruitment process needs to be in place. The performance appraisals assess the effectiveness of the recruit but not the recruitment process.

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REFERENCES

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References:
1. Tiwari Pankaj, Batra Shaizal, Naidu Gargi, Attracting, identifying and retaining best human resources for an organisation, IMI Disha, Vol. 1, No. 2, Nov. 2008. 2. Stallard Michael Lee, Improving CEO selection, Human Factor, April 2009, vol1 issue 5. 3. Mehta Sandhya, Organisational excellence through talent management, The Journal of FMS, Spring 2009, Volume 5. 4. Mohnot Navyug, Inside out or Outside-in, Human Factor, April 2009, vol1 issue 5. 5. Arora Arun, Can we rely on Executive search firms, Human Factor, April 2009, vol1 issue 5. 6. Tripathi Dhirendra Kumar, Sustainable competitive advantage through knowledge management: an HR perspective, Management Insight, vol IV, No. 2, December 2008. 7. Clark T, Management selection by executive recruitment consultancies, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 1992, www. emeraldinsight.com 8. Pfeffer J, Leblebici H, Executive recruitment and the development of interfirm organizations, Administrative Science Quarterly, 1973, www.jstor.org 9. www.pepsico.co.in 10. www.tescohsc.com 11. www.tajhotels.com 12. www.britannia.co.in 13. www.icicibank.com

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ANNEXURE

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EXECUTIVE RECRUITMENT QUESTIONNAIRE The following Questionnaire consists of 11 open ended questions on Executive recruitment process in your organisation. Please answer all the questions. Name of the organisation: Designation:

Q1. What is the number of senior level executives (starting from senior manager level) in your organisation? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Q2. What is the average turnover rate of your senior level executives? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q3. What is the average span of your executive recruitment cycle? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q4. What is the general process followed in executive recruitment in your organisation? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q5. Which are the various sources for executive recruitment in your organisation? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q6. What is the most preferred source of executive recruitment in your organisation? Why? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Q7. If you are using any executive search firm, how do you decide on which one to employ? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q8. Do you practice Succession planning in your organisation? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q9. What is the approximate percentage of executives hired from within the organisation? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q10. How do you assess the effectiveness of the process? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q11. Which is the one thing that you would want to change in the executive recruitment process in your organisation? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments:
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THANK YOU

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