The employer of choice

Renuka Vembu focuses on the strategies that a pharma company needs to adopt to create a strong brand identity in the recruitment market, and become the employer of choice

Loyalty and dedication adjudged by the decades of efforts put in a single organisation is passé. Phrases like 'happy and satisfied' have been replaced by terms like 'motivation' and 'employee engagement'. Those who were once perceived to be reliable and stable are now called as 'stagnant'. People who were constantly on the move, looked upon as supposedly being untrust-worthy and restless employees are now seen as being 'ambitious' in their approach. With job oppor-tunities aplenty in the market, the dynamics are indeed changing. So, in a competitive work environment amidst cut-throat rivalry and ever-changing needs, demands and requirements of consumers, what are the pre-requisites that pharma companies need to embrace to be the employer of choice?

A matter of choice

"The only way to create and maintain a compelling brand is to live the truth of the brand and the values we choose to assign it" - Beena Handa Vice-President—HR Management Claris Lifesciences

For individuals, where everything is at stake and up for grabs, it is indeed a tough task to choose the right employer. Salaries and perks, job profile and growth opportunities, brand name combined with the organisation's work culture, flexible working hours coupled with the burgeoning need for a work-life balance are some of the crucial aspects that an individual considers while looking out for the perfect job. Intangible benefits have become as important as the tangible ones. Merely getting a hefty pay-cheque at the end of the month is not enough anymore. Being valued, recognised and respected for one's contributions will instil a sense of belonging within an employee.

"For beginners, it is the tangibles that matter more but as individuals move up their career ladder, the sense of purpose and achievement becomes more dominant" - Suresh Srinivasan Vice-President-Human Resources USV

Beena Handa, Vice-President—HR Management, Claris Life-sciences, points out, "For beginners, it is the tangibles that matter more but as individuals move up their career ladder, the sense of purpose and achievement becomes more dominant and we satisfy this need by giving them more respon-sibility, authority and recognising their contribution in different ways." Suresh Srinivasan, Vice-President—Human Resources, USV thinks otherwise. He says, "There is a shift in thinking as far as compensation structures are concerned. Even till the late 90s, perks and provision of white goods by the company used to demonstrate the seniority of the employee and these were flaunted, and considered a major motivation. Now, with all such perks getting easier to own with liberal loans, credit, etc employees at all levels prefer a larger take home than perks. Shorter tenures in each company have also contributed to the employee's disinterest in long-term beneficial schemes like the superannuation fund. In totality, intangibles are losing their sheen and almost everything is now being converted to tangibles."

Focus on people development

"To be able to compete, and at the same time have the ability to provide a clear career development programme, would be crucial to attract and retain workforce in this industry" - Jayashri Kulkarni Director—Healthcare Practice Frost and Sullivan

Unlike the highly skilled IT sector or the booming aviation industry, the pharmaceutical business is still considered to be lagging behind in coping up with technology or in competing with similar companies in the developed markets. With comparatively minimal number of players and dearth in employee skill-sets, with high-end technology still not being a focal point and employment of years of R&D and huge investments in developing a potent drug, human capital acts as a key differentiator. Jayashri Kulkarni, Director, Healthcare Practice, Frost and Sullivan feels, "Dearth is predominant in two areas—R&D and strategy/corporate development, given the ambitions of the Indian pharmaceutical industry and its aspirations to go beyond being a global generics player. The definition of compensation has also been transformed with the boom in the IT industry, and more importantly, the BPO sector. To be able to compete in this scenario, and at the same time have the ability to provide a clear career development programme, would be crucial to attract and retain workforce in this industry."

Adapting to a new benchmark, aligning individual development with organisational growth, standing by the reputation and well-earned goodwill, are some of the aspects that go into making a company a brand. Pradeep Vaishnav, Senior Director, HR of Sanofi Aventis says that a good employer will ensure the following:

• Provision of a work environment that allows people to perform optimally
• Transparent employee communication/policies
• Provision of growth opportunities that permit people to build their career

He adds, "Employees are attracted to our company when they meet our existing well-trained field employees who get respect in the doctor's chamber. A prospective non-field employee looks at Sanofi Aventis as a good MNC to work with as it has an excellent marketing focus and image, and a strong product portfolio." The organisation has a well-defined strategy for people development. These initiatives include leadership development programmes for managers in the field as well as for non-field managerial personnel. It runs development centres that identify and hone the skills of future managers in the field. It also provides various interactive platforms, with well-defined objectives, to allow people at various levels to participate and provide feedback to management the on operational strategy.

Create a brand

An organisation needs to have a strong brand identity to attract the best talent. This branding could range from being a big player in the industry to a company that espouses the right values and ethics to an organisation that offers the most challenging work environment.

Handa believes that a good employer is like a gardener. She says, "The only way to create and maintain a compelling brand is to live the truth of the brand and the values we choose to assign it. We are a brand that signifies youth and dynamism, fast track growth opportunities, and values based culture. In order to create and maintain a motivated workforce, an organisation must provide people with visible opportunities for growth and exploration, constant constructive dialogue with superiors, provide continuous performance feed-back and coaching, recognise and reward good work, design a competitive compensation structure, and ensure an organisational culture that fosters mutual respect, teamwork and happiness."

Kulkarni explains that the biggest challenge before the pharma industry is the competition it faces from the pharma IT/ BPO/KPO sector for the same universe of candidates. She points out:

• The increasing need for dual skills/expertise sets—technical and commercial, in order to manage and compete in the current environment of in-licensing, out-licensing, collaborative/contract research
• Absence of a substantial talent pool to bring in the best practices from across the globe that would help the Indian industry to compete better on the global scene
• With bulk of the industry participants in the unorganised sector and a smaller universe of companies in the organised segment, the focus/thrust for people development programmes, career development projects and defined organisational structures has been comparatively lesser

To deal with this area of concern, there is a need for higher co-ordination and collaboration with educational institutions (pharmacy colleges and business schools) at various levels (undergraduate, post-graduate and doctorate) to allow for better visibility of the industry, its opportunities and the scope beyond from a long-term perspective. "The resultant pool of interested universe of candidates at entry level would be higher than the current. At senior levels, increasing level of opportunity and scope seen by people working in the industry would need a stronger support from issues such as empowerment, better compensation packages and the ability to move beyond the current job description would be an effective carrot," adds Kulkarni.

Importance of values

Vaishnav feels that values in isolation are very abstract and they should not be confined only to paper. At Claris, the process of instilling the company's value system in its team is not only 'trickle down' but 'all encompassing'. There are initiatives like morning prayers and oath, kaizen sharing, inspirational platforms like 'Larger than Life' which celebrates greatness, and the Abundance Series, through which the Founder shares his learning and experiences with the team, which help in reinforcing the company's key values. Handa states, "A sense of pride comes from being part of a successful and great company, which the individual experiences through the organisation's standing in the industry and the society at large, a visible demonstration of the growth, ethics and integrity of the company, the stature of its leadership, and the caring and empowerment that the individual receives from the organisation along with the recognition and reward of his abilities."

The pharma sector has lately realised the importance of recognising people power and empowering their taskforce. The objective and thereby, the attitude should be to make employees a part of the decision-making process rather than imposing rules upon them. Srinivasan says, "This is a continuous struggle in this fast growing economy. The perks or compensation which was a luxury yesterday is below market levels today. The need to be financially comfortable and to learn and grow has now become uppermost in the minds of employees. Brand names, large conglomerates or MNCs no longer awake the awe they used to earlier." Employees are consequently willing to take risks, experiment and adapt to change much faster. In order to survive, companies have to tackle with the whole gamut as enumerated above, attraction and retention of talent is no more a HR issue, it is a business issue and the entire organisation has to be sensitised and has to pitch in.

Every company has its own mechanism to assess and evaluate if its method of functioning is in sync with its mission statement. In the stressed-out, time-constrained and mechanical routine, giving additional benefits like concierge services, transportation conveniences and recreation facilities go a long way in making an individual's life much easier and showing that the company/employer cares. The message here is to make their work challenging, life interesting and experience memorable. Remember, work culture cannot be created overnight; it is embedded in the company's genes.

renuka.vembu@expressindia.com