Cultural Fit Is Equally Important For Hiring In Amway
Amway India firmly believes in being the employer of choice for its massive workforce across functions ranging from sales, manufacturing, R&D, supply chain, marketing, finance, and human resources.
Shantanu Das, CHRO of Amway India, talks to BW Businessworld about the changing role of Human Resources, hiring process of Amway and skill shortage in professionals.
How has the role of HR changed with the shift in technology; in terms of better hiring for business development?
Technology has revolutionized recruitment, profoundly changing how employers and recruiters find potential candidates. The new AI software that helps HR manage the massive influx of resumes. Technology hasn't just made it easier to apply for jobs, it has also made it easier for businesses to find qualified candidates anywhere in the world.
Recruiters can now scan job boards and professional networking sites for qualified candidates with the right skills - without the limits of geography. Recruitment processes now rely heavily on social media, online advertising and email marketing to attract new talent. Assessments now enable employers to differentiate and recruit employees who have the capabilities and values to succeed. At Amway, we have implemented the Recruitment Management System to support, streamline and track our hiring processes.
How important is background checking during the hiring process?
Pre-employment background checks aren't a sign of mistrust or an invasion of privacy; they are an important step in finding the best employee and protecting your company from the risks that come with unreliable candidates.
There are many important reasons for conducting pre-employment background checks. Studies show that 40 percent of the resumes you receive contain inaccuracies, so performing background checks will prompt applicants to be more forthcoming about their records and credentials.
Pre-employment background checks are advantageous because they help employers analyze an applicant's history based on information that doesn't surface on a resume or in an interview.
What does a typical hiring process in Amway look like? What roles do you hire for, and what about junior, mid and senior level hiring?
Amway follows a uniform hiring process that guides each hiring decision across the organization which includes documented process, guidelines, checklists and standard interview assessment form. The focus is on providing a uniform experience to each and every candidate irrespective of the region or location of hiring.
The hiring process at Amway involves:
A) A unique job description for each role.
B) Job Posting:
Our hiring philosophy is to determine if the potential candidate is a cultural fit beside meeting the job specification. The hiring process is an integral piece of our employer branding proposition. To attract the best talent, standing out as a great company is the key differentiator and hence we have focused on Employee Value Proposition holistically.
What roles do you hire for, and what about junior, mid and senior level hiring?
In the FMCG Industry, demand will continue for sales and its specializations. Production and manufacturing will continue to report increased demand, along with supply chain, logistics, quality control and purchasing/sourcing functions.
At mid-level, core and support function areas will be in demand. These include sales, engineering, logistics, marketing, IT, Quality control, HR, purchasing, relationship management and material management verticals.
Lastly, at a senior management level, demand for marketing, business management, consultants and sales should see an upward trend. We have plans to make India a research & development hub for Amway. Consequently, we have strengthened our capability in this area and have added resources leveraging the talent availability in India. One of the emerging requirement at Amway has also been to strengthen our skills in digital marketing to support our long-range business plan.
What has been lacking in the job market; job creation or the skills in the job seekers?
The employment landscape is rapidly changing and new jobs are emerging with fast disruption in business models around the globe. Skills required today as well as job markets are evidently different from those 10 or even 5 years ago. The speed with which these changes are taking place is bound to accelerate. Therefore, the need of the hour is to build a skilling system which would enable the workforce to adapt and match the new requirements, a system that responds well to business needs and provides new opportunities for all.
Do you take up internal training for new hiring?
Amway has a robust employee pre-boarding & on-boarding program which focusses on new employee’s orientation to the business and culture. Amway follows 30-60-90 days plan for onboarding to integrate the new joining with the culture of Amway.
Amway's Induction Program “Parichay" aims at developing cross-functional orientation as well as imparting leadership skills to adjust into a new role and new organization. The program focuses on new employee’s orientation to the business, cross functions and gets them to experience the culture of Amway through a unique engagement workshop towards the close.
How do you deal with the skill shortage of professionals?
Amway views employees as one of the most critical differentiators in the competitive market that it operates in. The fact that 50 percent of our management staff have stayed for more than 5 years in the organization, speaks volumes of the focused effort and investment in developing and nurturing talent year on year. The company follows the Leadership turnkey model to develop employees wherein the training needs are evaluated basis the career stage of the employee and accordingly necessary training interventions are planned.
Given how demands are changing in the consumer sector, how is HR transforming as a function?
As FMCG companies are launching different "Alternate Channels" to reach out to the consumer even though traditional trade still accounts for the majority of the business, demand for digital marketing skills will substantially increase in addition to roles like Brand Management, Supply Chain Management and Plant operations. Organizations will develop strategies and vision for HR target operating model to achieve higher efficiency, effectiveness and increase the value to the organization. With more and more millennials joining the workforce, increasing usage of social media and leveraging social media platforms to tap into potential recruits will certainly see an upward growth.
AI is going to play a critical role in the HR process overall and has already started being implemented in Talent Acquisition specifically. It is going to redefine the approach/ roles of HR in the future
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