Question 1:
Ans: In my view I feel that cancelling the job offers by Infosys at IIT,Mumbai can definitely lead to a negative impact on the company and effect its ’ Best Employer’ image .This is because I feel IITians are supposed to be the most eligible candidates for jobs in any company among a group of students from different colleges. Denying job offers to IITians can in fact make other people lose hope on the HR policies of the company, not only in the case of job offers but also in the case of other employee policies. The candidates can be forced to think that if a company can take away the job offer then it can very well fire them in future when it can’t afford to, even if they were recruited in better times. This will make the freshers to opt for other company thinking about their job security in future.This can in turn create bad image for the company.
But lets not blame just the company .The students have to be more careful in such cases. From the article its been made very clear that there was no clarity in the offer letter and this has been highlighted by many of my friends but Arup has pointed it out rightly that it was the students job to get things clear if there was no clarity in the letter. And also Manjushree has mentioned that all options should have been kept open from the students side. But here I have a difference of opinion as this statement would not have been valid for students who had no other options open.
Even if the Infosys image will be affected in future due to this issue, candidates who don’t have any other choice, will not mind opting for Infosys when the company offers a job despite it’s past history. Whereas for students who have ample opportunities they can have a second thought about joining Infosys. So I feel it’s a matter of situation which each person is facing.
In terms of ‘Best employer’ image Infosys’s competitive advantage can be affected. People expect ethical behavior from the company they work with and vice versa. Though the company ‘s spokesperson has justified that the offer letter was just a letter of intent and not the final offer letter ,there was a better way to present its decision to take away the jobs. They could have assured the candidates of job in future in the company once the situation gets better. But instead they sent a letter asking the students to look out for jobs elsewhere. This would have given the students a crippled feeling altogether.
Question2:
Ans: I totally disagree the statement made by the spokesperson. In the letter it is clearly stated that the students should stop expecting job from the company and start searching elsewhere. This statement clearly tells that Infosys had promised to offer jobs earlier.
The spokesperson has denied offering any offer letter. He has justified the mistake in front of the media by telling that it was just a letter of intent. My comment is that if it was a letter of intent ,the letter should have contained the certainty in terms of the date of joining or at least if Infosys was not able to mention the date so early they should have mentioned a tentative date.
If the company’s HR was refined in their behavior and really caring about the employee’s future they would have mentioned that they were not sure about the date when they could recruit and also would have given them a hint of not being able to recruit stating economic slowdown in the worst case. This would have given the students a better clarity on what to do and take a safe step ahead considering other options. Instead of being humble enough, the company recruited many when they really dint need and also sent them the letter of intent igniting their hopes all the more. This may be because they dint want to lose their brand image of ‘Best Employer’ in the market whichis quite clear.
All these possibilities which were not mentioned in the letter of intent clearly shows that the company cancelled the job offers when they could not afford for the extra resource during the economic crisis.
Once the letter is sent from the company whether its letter of intent or offer its well understood by both the employer and the employee that the job is secure .In the Infosys case also the letter was sent and ignoring the fact that it was just a letter of intent and nothing more than that is something which needs clarity in every organizational HR policy.
Question 3:
Ans: If I was the Placement coordinator I would have negotiated with the company for lower salaries with the jobs in hand, provided the students accepted. Though the IITians would never go for such low salaries ,still thinking about the opening they got in the initial years of their career I feel they would agree to it.
If that din’t work out I would have discussed with the management and tried to accommodate few unemployed students in the college for various jobs till they got jobs in the market or till they explored someo ther opportunity with a fixed time perios say 6 months.This cannot be afforded every year as themanagement may get crippled with the additional expenses. So this could be avoided in future by reviewing the placement methodology and keeping it in a period when the students have time to work for the other opportunities in hand.This would not leave many unemployed .
As the economy is facing crisis and when larger companies like Infosys are cancelling the job offers I would not be able to help the students to face interviews from other smaller companies. May be hunting for vacancies in MNCs in places, where the effect due to the economic crisis is less or rather negligible would be the other option I would consider. Also I would hunt for job vacancies through the strong alumni association at IIT.
Question no: 4
Ans: None of my friends have faced this situation. So I cannot comment on this issue.
I read most of my batchmates blogs and felt that most of them answered the questions . Its very important to understand that as the markets are down and economy has slowed down there is going to be set backs in all areas of one's life . To retain jobs or to get jobs . Someone wrote about that the students should have been careful while getting a letter . In respose to this I would like to tell that in a private sector after getting an appointment letter too you might be asked to go . One should be ready for all this . Its very normal that in a IT sectors , you first get a Letter of Intent which is like an offer letter .
ReplyDeleteIf I was a placement co-ordinator I would have planned the campus interview much before and would have approached not only the blue chips company but also the others so that more and more students get emplyoeed.There is not much of explanation that a IIT'an requires as he or she is well versed with the latest happenings around the world .
Also I felt that IIT Powai would never loose the competitive edge as the world knows about the economoic melt down and job scarcities.There is nothing that the placement department could have done .
To respond to the last question , I haven't faced a situation as mentioned but yes , know people who are working day in day out to keep the job intact .
::Letter of Intent::
ReplyDelete1. Every one thinks differently and every one have different views on this subject.From my point of view world class employer has been doing excellent works and the company brand image is definately good in competitive business market. And to maintain the brand image is also a difficult task for the entire organization and they have to adopt new innovative technological and strategic changes to compete the market. Due to recession mostly IT company’s are badly affected. Infosys is a good brand image company and they have set a good example in the IT world and that’s why are top in IT sector. Economic meltdown / slowdown is for all IT sector and not for this company only and this is well known to all . So there is no question of loosing “The Best Employer Brand Image" .
The recession is also for temporary period and big IT companies can recover fast once the recession is over
2. At the time of campus interview company’s makes a condition that selected candidate should have first class in final exams and give him / her an offer letter, letter of intent , but after joining if he / she couldn’t get the first class then company terminates him/ her and pull back the letter and in that case there is no question of loosing brand image of the firm or company because of their recruitment policy. Its again the question of reputation of the company eg. for particular company recruits only first class passed candidates. Its totally company’s decision to choose the candidates as per the their required candidates prospectus If we think legally company is not bound to recruit whom they had given offer intent letter but they will loose good prospective candidates and affected candidates will get disappointed. Infosys had not cancelled the job offer they cancelled intent of offer. For some candidates it would be difficult for them to distinguish job offer and the letter of intent.
3. As a placement officer I would have adopt following clear cut policies of placements
I – Invite all company’s not only IT sector companies and before inviting one to one discussion with the firm recruitment policies with the respective organization. Discussion with candidates and clear the concepts of job offer and the letter of intent to avoid misunderstanding
II – If and unpleasant decision has required to be taken then company should again consider that candidate when the recession is over with written agreement.
III – Knock out recruitment policies. Once the candidate has got placement in one company he can’t appear for the next company. This would give 100% placement.
IV – I would ask the written bond from the company for fixed period say one year. If any unpleasant situations comes then company should pay compensation to that candidates so that he would not be disappointed and he can search the new job or further higher studies without loosing his moral
4. No one from my friend circle had such kind of experience.