How productive are new hires?

Sudipta Dev/ Mumbai

How long does it take for a new recruit to hit the ground and start running? A survey conducted by the Centre for Creative Leadership (headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, US), revealed that 40 percent of new hires do not meet expectations in the first 18 months of employment. According to another study, 74 percent remained on board if paired with mentors, in sharp contrast to the 24 percent who continued if not paired. While most HR experts in do not believe that the a rate as high as 40 percent and time span of 18 months is applicable to the IT industry, where new hires are expected to be productive much faster, they do emphasise the need for a stringent recruitment, training and induction programme to make them productive at the earliest. Playing a key role in the productivity factor are mentors (whether formal or informal) who act as catalysts to accelerate the productivity process.

The issue of productivity of new hires has to be defined individually by every organisation. Fresh hires are able to learn the process as quickly as possible if the selection and induction efforts are right. “For an industry where manpower is the only raw material of the organisation, if it does not become productive immediately the organisation is doomed. It makes all the difference to the bottom line,” says Harish Govind, GM-HR at Bluestar Infotech.

Dipak Gadekar, who heads HR at Atos Origin India, states that from the initial advertisement to the interview to the induction process, everything has to fit in perfectly to ensure speed in getting on the job from day one. “Mostly, what we expect from new hires is that they should understand the culture, learn the values and get productive,” adds Gadekar.

According to Zubin Shroff, HR manager at EMC South Asia, it is wrong to put the onus of productivity entirely on the new recruits, as the responsibility of developing an employee’s talent (and productivity as a result of that) lies not only with the individual but with the organisation as well.

If the fresh recruit is not guided properly, he/she is unaware of the ground realities in an organisation. “The working environment is totally new for them and consequently, besides the learning curve, adaptability and flexibility also plays a very significant role. What helps them is their energy and enthusiasm level, which is always high among fresh hires. And this gets reflected in their productivity. Adequate handholding and guidance ensures the positive utilisation of this energy, which is beneficial for the staff as well as the individuals,” says Aditi Malik, the global HR head of Mphasis.

Meeting expectations

What does an organisation expect from new staff? It goes beyond learning fast and being productive. Malik adds, “We expect 100 percent effort, commitment and an open mind to facilitate learning, adaptability and skills enhancement. In the initial phase of any employee’s career, we expect him/her to be like a sponge, absorbing all the knowledge and skills that are being disseminated, and to grow as ethical professionals along with the company, which is also on a growth path.” At Mphasis a candidate is normally given six months to measure up to the expected standards, and a stringent recruitment process reduces the possibility of disappointments.

Pune-headquartered Kale Consultants also has a confirmation assessment after six months. According to Vinayak Kamath, vice president of HR at Kale Consultants, the organisation expects the following from the new inductees: Focus on learning about the products and processes; understanding client imperatives and the criticality and impact of their work on the clients; and, working together effectively as a team.

Before expecting returns, Zensar Technologies invests in manpower in a structured manner. Yogesh Patgaonkar, who heads HR chief at Zensar, explains: “We have an elaborate process of choosing high potential students from reputed campuses. After which they are put through rigorous training on software engineering fundamentals, technologies relevant to us, processes and behavioural training. Subsequently, they are put on projects as understudy for some time and then, based on assessments, assigned the work. By this we expect a fairly healthy productivity from them.”

The size of the organisation also makes a lot of difference. Says Sanjay Deshpande, CEO of Garware Group’s Intermedia Interactive Solutions, “Being a small-sized company (below a hundred employees), we expect the new recruits to be productive in one to three months. There is no specialised training imparted at the time of joining. My observation is that most of the people do well and prove themselves.”

The time taken to get up to speed often varies for tech and non-tech workers. Gadekar feels that as non-tech professionals (support departments like HR, finance and administration) have to learn a lot of nuances and work in teams, it takes more time for them to be fully productive than say a techie who works individually.

The mentor effect

Most organisations have mentorship programmes not only for professional development but also for making the transition into the organisation easier for both fresh and lateral hires—from campus to corporate life for fresh hires and cultural acclimatisation for experienced personnel. A mentor or “buddy” makes a lot of difference to the comfort level of a new employee. Zensar has a structured mentoring programme where the pool of mentors is drawn from experienced line managers who are trained as mentors. Patgaonkar explains that along with the mentors, the HR department forms part of the mentoring process. EMC also has a formal mentorship programme as part of a larger Talent Development Strategy. Shroff points out that over the years the definition of the word “mentor” has expanded to coaching, training and in some cases also leadership.

In a smaller organisation like Kale Consultants, where, as HR chief Kamath proudly proclaims there is a “familial” culture, the immediate boss takes a lot of interest in a new employee. Kale has a “buddy” programme where an immediate senior is assigned to help the new recruit settle faster and avoid mistakes. Recently a pilot mentorship programme was introduced in one of the centres. Bluestar Infotech has a mentorship programme for senior management and is in the process of introducing a diversified mentorship programme for all new hires very soon. “The mentors will be from all locations and functions. We are in the process of identifying mentors,” says Govind.

The ITES sector

The mentor’s own performance is also measured against his/her success in delivering a candidate into production, particularly in the ITES sector. “These mentors are either trainers or buddies. At an agent level it is called a buddy programme, for senior management we have executive sponsors,” says Arjun Vaznaik, the chief operating officer of Tracmail. New candidates are matched according to the specific programmes and then made to go through rigorous training for optimal performance. They are tested and re-tested at every stage. Vaznaik explains that once they are in production they are expected to meet service deliverables. If they fail to do so within 30 days they are put through a remedial programme called the Agent Performance and Productivity Programme (APIP) for another 30 days, after which failure to meet standards results in an exit. Normally 90 percent of agents who go through the APIP get back to production.

In the IT industry as well, most HR heads are satisfied with the output of the new recruits and proudly claim that their recruitment techniques and induction programmes are the reasons for lower dissonance and higher success levels.

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