The ‘animal spirits’ have finally been unleashed. A slew of decisions, including increasing the investment cap, have been taken to attract foreign capital. India Inc. is upbeat and hopes that the much-awaited policy reforms will start showing positive results in 18-24 months. Talent, undoubtedly, will play a pivotal role. It is time for a conversation on FDI in the sectors benefitting from the reforms and its implication for people strategy. After all, the war for talent is about to begin anew. Is India Inc. ready?

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THE FDI PROMISE
The ‘animal spirits’ have finally been unleashed. A slew of decisions, including increasing the
investment cap, have been taken to attract foreign capital. India Inc. is upbeat and hopes that
the much-awaited policy reforms will start showing positive results in 18-24 months.
Talent, undoubtedly, will play a pivotal role. It is time for a conversation on FDI in the sectors
benefitting from the reforms and its implication for people strategy. After all, the war for talent is
about to begin anew. Is India Inc. ready?
The reform measures will invariably lead to economic growth which in turn will result in more
number of job opportunities at all levels.
Increased opportunities for people at all levels of the wage distribution in the absence of
cadres to fill those positions will result in a churn in complimentary industries.
The immediate need for skilled manpower must be addressed by companies themselves
to build a talent pipeline that can be utilized in 24-36 months.
By Gyanendra Kashyap & Deepshikha Thakur

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The size of the total retail market is $400 billion, and
estimates say that it will go up to $650 billion in the next
ten years.
“The bottom-line is that the size of the pie is
going to increase and organized retail is barely
going to increase its slice from 6 percent to 12
percent, still 88 percent (it is an offhand
number) will be with the unorganized retail
sector.”
If we look at retail, despite the statutory compliances
which are applicable to unorganized store as well, do you
think that the millions of mom & pop stores follow these
compliances? Of course not.
Santosh Mehrotra,
Director-General,
Institute of Applied Manpower
Research, Planning Commission
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6. Shailja Dutt,
Managing Director,
Stellar Search
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With the recent policy announcements coming
into effect, companies need to be prepared for
an all-out war for talent. Paucity of talent in retail
specific functions will be one of the key
challenges confronting global retailers looking to
set up shop in India and Indian retailers looking
to compete with the best across the world in their
industry.
“With a vast majority of Indian retailers
still new to the game, bringing on board
seasoned retail professionals with the
requisite vision, strategic foresight and
global experience would be necessary.”
Relying exclusively on expatriate professionals to bring in key competencies is not a viable
proposition. Development of local talent will be the key for sustained success over the long term.
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Anuraag Maini,
Executive Vice President, HR and
Training,
DLF Pramerica Life Insurance,
We will have to tap into talent pools that we have never looked at before. We are looking at retaining and
attracting women at different stages of their career and life. In addition to that, we are looking at getting
more people from other industries; finally we are now more open to look at people from different age-
profiles.
Typically we look at not just the top tier talent or top 10 percent but also the next 20 percent. So, more
programs would be targeting this top 30 percent.
“The top talent, the top 30 percent will be in major demand. That is where the costs
will also rise and they will be able to drive the market. So there will be an implication
from this level of talent.”
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Ashit Ranjan,
Vice President HR,
Technova
The reforms will result in expansion which will further result in increased demand for talent. The point to
be noted is, with international players coming in, quality of products and services will be of paramount
importance. To gain an edge, companies need to hire quality talent.
“People will be the differentiator and HR needs to be aligned to the business to
ensure that optimum productivity is achieved for every buck that is spent.”
HR needs to play a critical role, and will be seen as a business driver because the chances of failure will
be high if the people strategy does not match up to the demands of the business.
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P. Dwarakanath,
Director Group Human
Capital, Max Group
Reforms in FDI is a boon for Indian retail, both for the consumer and the potential employees, because it
will bring much needed cash flow for the industry, increased choices for consumers, and more
opportunities for potential employees.
While we are very good in the retail market in India, we do not have multi-brand retail management
system and therefore, we need overseas operational expertise, with respect to people who have worked
in countries where multi brand retailing is prevalent.
“Further, the value chain of India will undergo a quantum change and the retail
organizations need to invest in systematic induction and training processes to ensure
effective assimilation of new joiners in the system.”
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Dr. Arvind Agarwal,
President Corporate
Development & Group HR,
RPG
In India, we have shortage of talent at every level. Wages would also go up because of the supply-
demand situation. Wages are anyways growing at a very fast pace as compared to many countries
of the world. Every year we see a wage increase of 10 percent to 12 percent which is higher than any
country, anywhere.
“The problem is that at all levels, the salaries are going up but the productivity is not.
Wage increase needs to be justified by increase in productivity else it would not
sustain.”
Today we may still put someone on the front line, but tomorrow, with increased competition – the person
put on the job will represent your company and your brand. Hiring in terms of quality would get tougher.
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November 2012
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