IT sector requires more specialists: Nasscom
The Hindu Business Line
The Indian IT sector  needs more ‘specialists’ as it is moving into new markets and increasing its international customers, Som Mittal, president, Nasscom, said. Mittal was speaking at the inaugural session of Nasscom HR Summit 2011, in Chennai, The Hindu Business Line reports.
The IT industry is expected to earn $70 billion in revenue and employ nearly 2.8 million people. It needs to move on from trainable students to industry-ready specialists, Mittal said.
The Indian education system is also facing a demand to prepare students to become specialists in any field such as remote management system, software engineering and CADD design, Mittal added. Colleges produce only research graduates not industry specialists, he said.
Companies often have to spend 18 weeks on training graduates, which depletes resources, he said. The IT industry annually spends nearly $1.3 billion on training alone.
Click here for the story from The Hindu Business Line.

Managing talent mobility a priority: Mercer HR Chief
The Hindu Business Line
With the international expansion of organisations, talent mobility has become an important HR function, according to Patricia Milligan, president, human capital, Mercer.
Managing talent mobility and skill building should be a priority for leaders, she added, The Hindu Business Line reports. Milligan was speaking at the two-day Nasscom HR
summit which started on Wednesday.
Companies should focus on skill-building across the globe. From now until 2020, an additional 25 million workers will be needed in the U.S. and 45 million in Europe, she said. 
Line managers need to pay attention to talent and performance development and not leave the job to the HR department. In the global scenario, leadership traits should be
drawn from the East and the West, she added.
Click here for the story from The Hindu Business Line.

Infosys HR head shifting to U.S. to hire 1500
Times of India
Nandita Gurjar, head of HR, Infosys, is relocating to Plano, U.S., to recruit people and set up a new development centre, Times of India reports. Her responsibility will be to establish a new development centre and hire 1,500 staffers in 2011. The exact location of the centre is not yet determined.
The new hires in the U.S. will be mainly delivery staff who will service the company’s large U.S. client base. The company will start recruiting from campuses in the U.S, a
practice it had done away with a few years ago.
Gurjar will act as a liaison between the Indian and U.S. offices of the company and continue to lead the HR department at Infosys.  She will be shifting in September this year.
Click here for the story from Times of India.

GCPL paid less to managers in 2010-11
Financial Chronicle
Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) slashed salary and bonuses of its top executives in fiscal 2010-11, Financial Chronicle reports. The company cut salaries and bonuses of Adi Godrej, chairman, HK Press, former vice chairman, and Dalip Sehgal, former managing director, as per the report. 
The company felled Adi Godrej’s salary from Rs 5.64 crore in 2009-2010, to Rs 3.19 crore in 2010-2011. Adi Godrej received a lower salary than Managing Director A
Mahendran in 2010-2011, according to GCPL’s annual report. The total compensation of managers fell from Rs 16.14 crore in 2009-2010 to Rs 11.44 crore in 2010-2011, as per the annual report.
Mahendran was also given 10 lakh employee stock options in 2010-11.The company issued 45 lakh stock options to eligible workers and directors of the company in fiscal 2010-2011.
Click here for the story from Financial Chronicle

Future group to use alternative management methods
The Hindu Business Line
The Future Group is planning to introduce business management practices based on Indian beliefs and mythology, The Hindu Business Line reports. This process
appears to have started with Kishore Biyani, chairman of the group, appointing Dr Devdutt Pattnaik as chief belief officer.
Biyani’s alternate management techniques will give employees a chance to explore new options of running the company. There are other methods of doing business, apart
from the ones being taught in management schools in America and Europe, Dr Pattnaik said. Companies tend to apply western ideas without any regard to their relevance
in the Indian context, he added. 
Dr Pattnaik believes that an organisation should also have a ‘Karta’ just as Indian families do. Consequently, in Future group stores importance is given to the Karta who
accepts the subjective truths of different employees unlike a conventional manager who is only interested in compliance.
Click here for the story from The Hindu Business Line.

HCL Technologies to add 3,000 staffers
Financial Chronicle / Economic Times
HCL Technologies is planning to recruit 3,000 people in the second quarter of this fiscal, Financial Chronicle reports. The software major previously recruited 3,000 people in the first quarter of 2011-12 and plans to add another 3000 fresh employees to its team, said CEO Vineet Nayar.
There is increase in hiring by the Indian IT industry as it expects resurgence in demand for its services after the economic slump. Companies are also anticipating bigger
projects in the next few months. Tata Consultancy Services intends to add 60,000 to its workforce this financial year, while Wipro and Infosys are also on a recruitment spree.
HCL Technologies is also planning an outlay of $230 million in the financial year 2012.
Click here for the story from Financial Chronicle.
Click here for additional coverage from Economic Times.

Tasks before HR managers
Times of India
Conflict resolution, creating the right expectations and people relationship management are some of the tasks facing HR managers in the immediate future. The HR
department will have to become more accountable for managing employees, according to a report in Times of India. It will also have to increase participation in business
operations, the report adds.
The workplace is a mix of the older and the younger generations, which may sometimes lead to conflicts, according to Pradeep Vaishnav, senior director, HR, India & South
Asia, Sanofi.
One of the main challenges facing HR managers today is setting ‘right expectations’ lucidly and consistently, said Sharad Sharma,  director and chief, HR (India), Vertex
Customer Services India. In the coming six months companies that are able to meet this challenge will have a more productive and innovative workforce, he added.
In order to retain skilled employees, companies will have to shift from ‘human resource management’ to ‘people relationship management’, said Dipika Bedi, vice
president, HR, Teleradiology Solutions.
Click here for the story from Times of India.

Flexible timings increase employee productivity
Times of India
These days organizations are trying to break away from the 9 to 5 regime by introducing flexible working hours, Times of India reports. Flexi timings allow employees to use
their time more productively instead of watching the clock in their cubicle. This leads to increased productivity and benefits the firm.
Aman Gupta, software engineer, KPIT Cummins Infosystems, says that flexi timings give workers the freedom to manage their private and professional lives better.
Employees who stay late working in office have the option to report in late the next day. This freedom creates a more relaxed atmosphere with employees feeling less
burdened, says Tanmay Dhingra, consultant for Atos Origin.  Organizations should take advantage of flexible working hours to increase productivity and achieve greater
employee satisfaction.
Click here for the story from Times of India.

Create your own destiny
Times of India
A Times of India report cites the examples of some business entrepreneurs, who had the courage to follow their dreams, to illustrate how one can create one’s own destiny.
E Babu made a living selling idlis with his mother in a Chennai slum, but went on to complete his engineering from BITS Pilani and an MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad. He later set up eateries in his alma maters and today heads his own business Food King Catering.
Another example is Saurabh Mishra, who quit his software job in 2003 to set up fresh fruit kiosks in Delhi. His health food chain, Lemonz, was launched with an investment of Rs 15 lakh. It now has four outlets with a turnover of Rs 50 lakh per year.
Other such dare-devils are Krishnan Chidambaram, who quit Nokia to start his own corporate training consulting firm, and Deep Kalra, founder of MakeMyTrip.Com.
Click here for the story from Times of India.

People Moves & Recruitment

Wipro names CIO, Global Operations Head
Business Standard
Wipro has appointed Ramesh Nagarajan as chief information officer and Hariprasad Hegde as global operations head, Business Standard reports. Both the roles were previously handled by Laxman Badiga, who left the firm to join Anthelio as COO.  Nagarajan was earlier the chief operating officer of Financial solutions in the banking,
financial services and insurance unit of Wipro Technologies. Hegde was previously heading Wipro Water.
Click here for the story from Business Standard.

Hindustan Aeronautics hires HR Director
Financial Chronicle / MSN India
Hindustan Aeronautics has appointed VM Chamola as director, HR, Financial Chronicle reports. He is joining the company from Bangalore-headquartered BEML, where he
was serving as chief general manager of HR.
Click here for the story from Financial Chronicle.
Click here for additional coverage from MSN India.

Spatial Access appoints CEO
The Hindu Business Line / India Infoline
Media and market service audit firm Spatial Access has selected Harsha Joshi as its new CEO, The Hindu Business Line reports. In her new role, the ex-Madison COO will be responsible for buying audits across the globe, including India.
Click here for the story from The Hindu Business Line.
Click here for additional coverage from India Infoline.

Birla Sun Life Equity Head Quits
Economic Times
Ajay Argal, equity head - offshore at Birla Sun Life Asset Management, is rumoured to have resigned from his current position, Economic Times reports. Argal joined Birla
Sun Life from UTI Mutual Fund and is currently managing the India Excel Offshore Fund and the India Advantage Offshore Fund.
Click here for the story from Economic Times.