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IT's gotta be cosmo!

Maintaining the delicate balance of cultural diversity is a key factor that governs recruitment patterns, finds SANGEETHA DEVI. K

BIRDS OF DIFFERENT FEATHERS Companies want to project themselves as being cosmopolitan

That plum job offer which is at plucking distance can suddenly turn into a mirage even if you have all the required skill sets. Getting a job isn't a tough task since most IT, ITES companies and those in the manufacturing sectors are vigorously scouting for young talent to meet their demand. But in the time span between Company A showing you the door and Company B knocking at your doors, you might be left wondering what went wrong.

Ok, it's not "having the right connections" factor that's at work here but the need to have cultural diversity at work place. Confused? Read on...

There's one underlying factor that determines which young candidate gets the job and which one doesn't: Try and maintain a 60:40 ratio of people from Hyderabad to those from other states. Most companies that have their head offices in Hyderabad don't want to be seen as a "South Indian company" that "primarily employs Telugu-speaking people." A fair representation of professionals from other states and nations is desired.

HR managers and head hunters are reluctant to go on record but nevertheless, spill the beans. A corporate analyst of a leading software firm explains, "Having a cosmopolitan workforce works at several levels. First, you don't want to make outsiders feel that growth prospects are tougher if you are not say a Telugu, a Tamilian or a Bengali and so on. Secondly, you learn more and have an active work atmosphere when you interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. Most importantly, when the company wants to start operations elsewhere in the country, a cosmopolitan image helps in sops from those states."

Who bears the brunt?

Recruiters tell us that maintaining cultural diversity is a two-way process: On one hand cultural diversity is desired. On the other hand, it's a necessity since HR personnel need to tap candidates from other states to meet the growing demand. Vijayabhaskar, who works in a recruitment firm that works in the IT and ITES sectors, says, "There's a huge gap between demand and supply. You cannot fill up all the vacancies with candidates from Hyderabad. For freshers, companies approach only A-list engineering colleges. Such colleges are few in number in AP. So HR personnel often go to campuses in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Orissa to tap potential candidates."

In the last two years, a number of youngsters from cities like Ujjain, Udaipur, Gwalior, Pune and Indore have taken up jobs in Hyderabad. Vijayabhaskar adds that maintaining cultural diversity is one of the criterion while recruiting for entry level jobs. "But for middle and senior level posts, only skill sets matter."

Recruiters feel that there is no apprehension of companies pitching for recruits from other states beyond the 60: 40 ratio. "Because professionals from other cities may return eventually. The cost of relocating them to Hyderabad is also higher. Where attrition rate comes into picture, Hyderabadis do not shift jobs too often because they have their base in the city," says Vinod Kumar, centre head, Mafoi. But he also maintains that it has become imperative to have a multi-ethnic work force since "you don't want to be seen as having a South Indian lobby."

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