Industry Projects Provide Valuable Experience

 

 

The HR team at Benetton is focused on driving people engagement. It plays the role of an internal consultant and advisor to its employees regardless of level, says Rajesh Rai (Director-HR, Benetton India). All initiatives are aimed at retention and understanding how people view Benetton as a place to work. The company has a diverse workforce, which includes employees at the retail-level (those at the stores), the head office (based out of Gurgaon), and the factory.

For recruitment in the first category, they usually visit retail management institutes like IHM (Institute of Hotel Management) apart from lateral hiring. Explains Rai, “A senior in this category would be someone who has gone up the ranks and has had holistic experience around the store before reaching the managerial level. Experience comes in handy, and the starting point is in the form of what we call ‘a fashion consultant".

Hiring from B-schools is usually done in the second category, that is for employees based at the head office. They started going to B-schools like IIM-B and NITIE for summer placement in 2009. The initiative generated a lot of interest, and they received more than 250 applications from students in the latter institute. It has been fantastic for them to know that the Benetton brand stands apart on B-School campuses as well as on the retail school campuses due to its deep retail presence, and its single-minded focus on providing colour and world-class fashion for the entire family through its brilliant products. Says Rai, “Our people make sure that our stores look great and that we provide an inspiring retail environment at our stores for our customers to do world-class fashion shopping for every occasion of their life,” he adds. On B-School hiring, they target the top 10 or 15 B-schools, and Rai says that the graduates are “typically good, sharp, very excited, willing to learn and persevere, and give immense value”.

In terms of skill sets, Rai tells us that those students with prior working experience, especially when it is sector-specific, can get an edge over freshers. Besides this point though, all expected skill sets remain the same, that is, basic business acumen, alignment with Benetton’s core values (passion, execution, entrepreneurial spirit, value for people, collaboration), ability to apply academic knowledge practically, and of course, an inherent sense of world class fashion. As far as the progress of the education system goes, Rai says that it has not changed too dramatically over the years. “While B-schools equip you with a fair share of academics, today the focus on industry projects is higher which is a good thing, given that this kind of exposure equips students beyond academics. Students themselves should also have single-minded focus on gaining such exposure and participating in industry interfaces during their one or two years doing an MBA or a technical course,” affirms Rai. He advises students to opt for an MBA after gaining some work experience so that they can relate better to the curriculum’s different aspects.

Rai recommends schools to create as many such real-time assignments as possible. Instead of students just having to generate reports, they should be involved with time-based implementation as well. He explains, “Due to the information deluge we face today, students need to have the ability to sift through this information to be able to understand the nuts and bolts of what industry people go through, in order to contribute to the company in a better way.” Therefore, he emphasises a three-pronged approach to education, study methodology and mature industry contributions.

He feels hiring is not picking up but he is optimistic about the coming quarters of 2010. Companies are not willing to invest extra in those who do not exhibit their core values or perform – the bar on performance has gone up and all employees regardless of level need to ensure that they are able to live up to the changed expectations post the downturn.

Rai feels that in India, the inclination of more and more management graduates turning to entrepreneurship is a great sign. However, he points out that being from a B-school and being a great businessperson may not be directly correlated; there are countless examples of those who have gone up the ranks through their sheer passion and capability.