How Bharat Deals With Talent Challenge

COMPANIES IN TIER-II AND III CITIES ARE LOOKING FOR GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND TR ADITIONAL GEOGRAPHIES. HERE’S HOW THEY ATTRACT AND RETAIN TALENT.

- AJITA SHASHIDHAR

THE CRISPY BHUJIAS, mathris and mithais offered by Bikaner’s famous Bikaji Foods are favourites of Indians across the globe. The ₹1,600-crore namkeen and savoury maker, which produces over 1,000 tonnes of bhujia daily, plans to hit the stock market soon. The company, a descendant of bhujia baron Haldiram Agarwal, is, however, facing a piquant situation — finding high-quality professionals. Despite attractive ESOPs (employee stock option plans) and perks, including a week-long holiday at an international destination every year, attracting good-quality professionals remains a huge challenge, says managing director Deepak Agarwal. “The only issue people have in joining us is our location, Bikaner. Though our compensation packages are at par with MNCs, it takes us close to a year to convince professionals to join us.”

Attracting talent is, however, not the only problem. High attrition rate is another concern. Factors such as lopsided HR policies, not-so-attractive compensation packages and lack of evaluation mechanisms dissuade professionals from working in a company headquartered in a Tier-II or III city. It is extremely difficult to find marketing, sales, supply chain, legal and HR professionals.