Search This Blog

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Why hiring the right person is the most important challenge before a startup



Software engineer Aatmaprem Aarya was working on a deadline. He was building a website that could fetch information from a database. For an engineer like Aarya with three years of work experience in a large software product company, it was an easy task.

But his future employer, Boomerang Commerce, an ecommerce enabler startup, for which Aarya was interviewing, tweaked the task.
He had to finish the website using a complex programming language on a cloud computing infrastructure, both of which the 27-year-old programmer wasn’t familiar with. And he had only two hours to finish the task.

“When you interview for a developer’s position you brush up your theoretical and applicative aspects. I was thrown an impromptu project that I had to finish in two hours from scratch including installing basic software, finding out what components could be used and finally getting it all done in time,” says Aarya adding that he knew he wasn’t in for an easy ride. 


Nevertheless, he knew that he was being given a taste of what it’d be like working for a startup.

Aarya’s experience is just one example of how startups are relying on real-world practical tests to hire the best talent instead of the more conventional interview format that larger organisations rely on.

With over 22,000 startups coming up in the country in the last ten years, according to startup tracker Tracxn, a lot of millennials are joining these young organisations, and the companies are using unconventional hiring techniques to pick the best, and also the most compatible, talent.

Hackathons, psychometric tests and takehome-problems are all important pieces in the toolkit of the startup hiring manager who has little room for error. Helpshift, a Pune-based startup that provides a mobile customer relationship management tool, gives potential hires a “takehome problem” to evaluate the candidate’s patience, ownership and problem-solving skills.
“A lot of people do well in interviews,” says Baishampayan Ghose, founder and chief technology officer at Helpshift. “But the real challenge is to evaluate if a candidate fits well in the organisation.”

A startup requires its employees to be malleable. So while an engineer with work experience of 20 years in Java language programming might land an enviable offer at a big multinational, a startup wants to know how quickly this engineer can learn other technologies and skills.
An easy way to evaluate aptitude is to ask an engineer to solve a problem in a programming language they aren’t familiar with, says Ghose.
“If you’ve been an oil painter for years, you can make a few good strokes using acrylic paint, too,” he says. Unlike multinational companies, startups operate on limited capital. They also operate in a fiercely competitive space.

So, while an IT giant can recruit 100 recent graduates and train them for three months on a skill, while also having the bandwidth to hold them in a pool until a project requires resources, a startup needs its employees to be functional and contributing from day one.

To make sure the team shares the same passion as the entrepreneur, a culture fit is often assigned a bigger checkbox.

Bengaluru techie Abhishek Goel, 23, remembers discussing his travel escapades at length during his interview for the role of senior software engineer at travel review portal HolidayIQ .
Candidates who want to join the company are asked to share experiences of the places they have visited and write reviews on the portal. They are screened for their enthusiasm for travel and their aptitude to resolve challenges that travelling can often throw up.
“By ensuring that even our software engineers are passionate about travel, we get employees who go beyond just coding and pose questions about what features to add to help travelers. This attitude definitely helps our platform get better,” says Vandana Sharma, chief people officer at the Bengaluru startup.
Most startups germinate with the intent of solving a consumer or industry problem. Startup employees are therefore required to be conscious of their contribution in solving the problem their employer has set their eyes on.


Logistics startup Rivigo, that set out to build a reliable and safer logistics network by organising the freight transport industry, has a team of 1,200 employees chosen with absolute care, says cofounder Gazal Kalra.
Here too, technology solutions are found not by just sitting at a desk but by getting one’s hands dirty in the real world.

“Our tech team travelled with truck drivers and got a first-hand experience of problems like fuel pilferage and driver fatigue. Their experience of the problem at hand resulted in them building the right products,” she says.
The company recently applied for patents in the U.S. for its in-house technology solutions, including, a fuel pilferage detection system and driver-relay mechanism. Hackathons or coding contests have often been door-openers of opportunities for graduates looking for internships in tech giants such as Facebook, Snapchat and Tinder.

Gaining momentum in the country, some Indian startups, like Practo and Inmobi are also looking at Hackathons as a way to find the correct talent. Hackathons, which may not always be held with the sole purpose of hiring talent, “help in evaluating how a candidate works under a deadline, which tells a lot about the person,” says Kevin Freitas, human resources director at mobile advertising startup Inmobi.
A lot hinges on the kind of talent a startup is able to attract. A determinant to check whether a company’s hiring has had a positive impact on their business is to evaluate employee growth: an employee hired a year before should be able to work independently and probably also help mentor a new recruit. “By hiring smart people who can manage themselves, startups can save the overhead of hiring managers,” says Ghose of Helpshift.
In short, what could be deemed a tall order to ask of an employee working for an established company is in some sense a basic requirement expected of a startup employee.
So while Aarya, who since his interview with Boomerang Commerce has joined the startup and worked with them for a year, has got a hang of working in a startup, he says his first experience with the company helped him set correct expectations from his future employer.
“We’re working in a domain where we require engineers who learn quickly, deal with ambiguity, solve challenging problems and ship them under tight deadlines. Our hiring exercise mimics this process,” said Madhusudhan Rao, the head of India operations at Boomerang Commerce. 


Tuesday, October 18, 2016

48% of Indian employers up against talent shortage



Around 48 per cent employers in India find it tough filling job positions due to lack of available talent, and the toughest are those in accounting, finance and IT, says a survey.
According to ManpowerGroup Annual Talent Shortage Survey, out of more than 42,000 employers surveyed globally, 40 per cent faced such difficulties -- the highest since 2007.
In India, the figure stood at 48 per cent and the major reasons include lack of soft skills as cited by 36 per cent respondents and desire for more pay than on offer (34 per cent).
The job titles in demand in India this year include IT personnel, accounting and finance staff, project and sales managers, customer service representatives and customer support technicians and quality controllers.
"The demand index for IT and accounting professionals has been on a continuous rise. Focus on technology upgradation and better financial access will drive the sectors' growth in coming months," said A G Rao, Group MD of ManpowerGroup India
Rao felt that increased automation will lead to a rise in high-skilled jobs. The areas which will see high demand and lucrative pay packages include big data, analytics, mobility, design, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence.
Region-wise, 46 per cent of Asian employers reported hiring difficulties, with Japan (86 per cent), Taiwan (73 per cent) and Hong Kong (69 per cent) reporting most of the challenges while just 10 per cent of Chinese employers faced such an issue, the lowest of all countries surveyed.
As per the report, as skills change rapidly, employers are looking inside for solutions, with 36 per cent of Indian employers choosing to develop and train their own people.

Monday, October 17, 2016

Seven million jobs can disappear by 2050, says a study



As many as 550 jobs have disappeared every day in last four years and if this trend continues, employment would shrink by 7 million by 2050 in the country, a study has claimed.

Farmers, petty retail vendors, contract labourers and construction workers are the most vulnerable sections facing never before livelihood threats in India today, the study by Delhi-based civil society group PRAHAR has said.

As per the data released by Labour Bureau early 2016, India created only 1.35 lakh jobs in 2015 in comparison to 4.19 lakh in 2013 and 9 lakh in 2011, the group said in a
statement.

"A deeper analysis of the data reveals a rather scary picture. Instead of growing, livelihoods are being lost in India on a daily basis. As many as 550 jobs are lost in India every day (in last four year as per Labour Bureau data) which means that by 2050, jobs in India would have got reduced by 7 million," the statement said.

The data clearly points to the fact that job creation in India is successively slowing down, which is very alarming, it pointed out.
"This (rise in unemployment) is because sectors which are the largest contributor of jobs are worst-affected. Agriculture contributes to 50 per cent of employment in India followed by SME sector which employs 40 per cent of the workforce of the country," the statement said.
The organised sector actually only contributes a minuscule less than 1 percentage of employment in India. India has only about 30 million jobs in the organised sector and nearly 440 million in the unorganised sector.


According to the World Bank data, percentage of employment in agriculture out of total employment in India has come down to 50 per cent in 2013 from 60 per cent in 1994.

It said that the labour intensity of small and medium enterprises is four times higher than that of large firms.
It further said that the multinationals are particularly capitalistic a fact vindicated during investment commitments of USD 225 million made for the next five years during the Make in India Week in February 2016.
However, what went unnoticed is that these investments would translate into creation of only 6 million jobs, it said.


"India needs to go back to the basics and protect sectors like farming, unorganised retail, micro and small enterprises which contribute to 99 per cent of current livelihoods in the country. These sectors need support from the Government not regulation. India needs smart villages and not smart cities in the 21st century," it added.

Friday, October 14, 2016

10 tips to win over coworkers who dislike you



Are you having a tough time at work because everyone seems to dislike and shirk you? More importantly, if you don't understand the reason for their behaviour, it's time you sought feedback from your boss or mentor. You also need to introspect to figure out what is wrong. Here's a list of undesirable traits that may be responsible and ways you can get rid of them.

FREE RIDING
The primary reason people dislike their colleagues is poor personal work ethic. Are you a free rider who does not perform up to the team's expectations? If you don't like your job or work profile, seek better opportunities. If you choose to stay, match the contributions by your team and spend any extra time in assisting others.
WHINING

No one likes a whiner. Everyone carries his own share of personal and workplace challenges. Are you an energy source or a drain on your colleagues? Pipe down on your personal troubles and recreate a positive image by helping colleagues, appreciating their contributions and triggering cheerful discussions.
GOSSIPING

The people who gossip more than average are shunned as being untrustworthy and back-stabbers, whereas those who refuse to join informal group discussions are branded as aloof. While a little bit of gossip enhances office bonding, too much of it will leave you friendless and might get you into trouble. So, choose well.
FLATTERY

Teammates don't like it if they find you spending too much time buttering up your senior. Though your boss may fall for flattery, your colleagues will find ways to even the score with you. On the other hand, being overly critical of your boss to earn brownie points from colleagues is also foolhardy and can eventually harm your career.
TALK LESS, TALK MORE?
Do you always have a lot to talk in meetings while others want to get back to work? Or are you someone who avoids speaking up even to share the information they require? Check with your buddies and bring in balance.
  STEALING CREDIT
Professionals are extremely unforgiving if you take credit for their work. The smarter way is to habitually share credit with the team for every success. The boss will invariably figure out the actual contributions.
BEING A POOR LISTENER
Your colleagues are probably fed up of missing deadlines because you did not listen carefully and get it right the first time. Ask friends to rate you on your listening skills.You could also sign up for a communications workshop.
CONTROL FREAK
People won't appreciate your constructive criticism till you are authorised to correct them. Get your nose out of other people's businesses and let them learn on their own if it is not your job to manage them.
OVER-COMPETITIVE

Though being competitive is necessary to move ahead at work, you will be thoroughly disliked if you are condescending or arrogant about your abilities and successes. Instead, take time out to help the less gifted.
SOCIAL INEPTNESS
If you dress poorly, talk about personal stuff at office, fail to follow e-mail etiquette shout at people at the workplace, crack inappropriate jokes, you are socially inept. Change your behaviour or work from home.