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| SCMS Cochin School of Business |
Mr.
Vishnu Suresh was always interested in Advertising and Sales promotions, which
is why he joined SCMS Cochin School of Business. And, during the course of his
academic stint he was given opportunities to interact with experts in the field,
as he was the part of the Industry Interaction Committee. He thrived on the
challenge of making sure these professionals came to the institute’s campus for
various interactive sessions. “That made me realize that I was more of a Human
Resources person,” he admits. This self-realization has translated into a
prolific 8-year career, which sees him as the Business Partner, Human Resources
at Tata Elxsi.
The
successful journey in HR began for Mr. Suresh during the campus placements in
2007. “It was there that I met people from Allianz and managed to impress them,”
he says. “It was a campus placement and I joined the company as Senior
Executive, HR. When I was working with them I figured out that HR as a domain was
my strength and I should be working on it.” Mr. Suresh worked with the company
for around 6 years, and was the Assistant Manager, HR when he decided to move
on. Since then he has been HR Business Partner for the Automotive Business Unit
at Tata Elxsi.
He
believes that his time working at Allianz was a huge learning experience for
him. “I started out handling a group of around 160 Software Engineers,” he
recollects. “I was managing the key operations for around 3- 4 years and then I
was handling the major operation, which was set up in UK and Germany.” Mr.
Suresh also agrees that the job was filled with challenges, which made him
innovate and come up with ideas that would adapt to individual situations. One
example of his success is the Back to Homeland campaign (Boomerang club), which
was employed by Allianz with great success.
Talking
about that campaign, he says, “It was basically for those who had left the
company and were working outside Kerela, who we thought should be working with
us. We sent them mail and flyers inviting them to join us again with a 60%
success rate.” Another tricky situation he had to handle was when Allianz KPO needed
to hire around 60 veterinary doctors with only a small pool to pick from. He
adds that most of them preferred to work in the medical field rather than KPO.
That’s when they came up with the idea of a loyalty bonus for the doctors,
which worked quite well.
There’s
indeed a lot to learn from Mr. Suresh’s experiences since he has hands-on
exposure in the field. He shares some of the pointers for the HR industry,
saying that there are three parameters that acts as the pillars of employee
retention: work, work life and compensation. “If any of the two parameters are
missing then the person will not able to work. Well, that’s the first sign of
employee Dissatisfaction. It is a triangle which has to be intact,” he adds.
His understanding and efforts have not gone unnoticed, as can be seen from the Best
Performer accolades he has won. It was again an innovation on his part that
brought him the recognition.
Mr.
Suresh sheds light on the achievement, saying, “It was a project where we put
an end to HR process in the UK and outsourced it to India. The HR department is
considered to be a support system and a non-billable department. But we were able
to generate good revenue; so, based on this project and some others I was given
the award.” It was on this high that he moved from a “flamboyant and warm”
company like Allianz to a “seasoned company” like Tata. He agrees that it was
tough to join a pure engineering company that deals with automobiles, but his
passion for the field and expertise in HR has made the transition seamless.HR
is an integral part of an organization and where hiring happens. So, Mr. Suresh
is probably the best person answer the question: what do hiring professionals
look for in a job candidate? He ponders before answering, “The first thing we
look for the style of the candidate’s presentation and the style of
communication, including how much the candidate knows about the topic, and how
creatively he puts it in words.. Secondly, I like to ask a question to see if
they have a different approach to varied situations. I also like to see
presentable students who make an impression and have the capability of thinking
out of the box.”
That’s
something he says he was prepared for by SCMS Cochin where he was awarded the
Best Outgoing Students award during his academic years. He remembers being part
of every activity that he was interested in and learning immensely from them.
“One of the important lessons I learned is to value relationships,” he says. “I
even made a film on relationships during Panorama 2006, and it was quite
appreciated. It’s something I pay importance to till date.” No wonder he keeps
his relationship with the institute going and has visited the campus since his
graduation. And, he hopes to return for hiring in the near future, and that’s
more good news for the students.
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