COMPANIES BET ON INTERNAL TALENT POOL

At a time when employers in India are struggling to find suitable candidates against vacant positions, HR experts are betting on internal talent management tools such as cross-functional promotions that help in resolving manpower crisis in any organisation. Experts believe that cross-functional promotion of internal talent is very critical for any firm as this approach enables well-rounded development of employees. Cross-functional promotions allow people within a company to apply for vacant positions in different functional areas such as engineering, sales, marketing and HR. Companies like PepsiCo, Sapient, Pitney Bowes have active cross-functional development programme. "Internal job posting process is a platform that empowers all employees to drive their own career and make conscious decisions. Every open role in PepsiCo is first up for grabs for the internal population before a search is activated externally if required," PepsiCo India Director (Talent Acquisition) Raman Singh said. The success of this process is backed by strong factual evidence where over the last three years more than 70 per cent of open roles have been filled internally, many of which have been cross functional, Singh added. Elaborating on Sapient's cross-functional promotions, Prashant Bhatnagar, Director-Staffing and Hiring, SapientNitro India, said, "Cross-functional promotions are a proven strategy in developing talent and realising their full potential." At Sapient, the Vice President of Learning and Organisation Development comes from our Consulting business, having spent many years with the clients before moving into this HR role. Likewise, Sapient's Senior Vice President and Head of People Team has a background in Program Management. Customer communication and management solutions provider Pitney Bowes also applies a multi-layered approach with the objective to ensure the right talent with right potential is available when needed. "Last year, 10 per cent of the workforce in Pitney Bowes India had an opportunity to participate in our cross- functional development programme," Manish Chaudhary, Vice President, WW Engineering at Pitney Bowes, said. Moreover, this HR tool -- developing internal talent -- can also be helpful in succession planning and retention of employees. "Today the talent pool is not just diverse, it is truly global. Any company that is trying to succeed at a global level has to take heed of the fact that their talent will be from a wider demography than ever seen before," Jyorden T Misra, Managing Director, Spearhead InterSearch, said.
Moreover, this also serves as a powerful retention tool as it provides motivation of being identified as the key player of the organisation.