India Still Hiring, Despite Global Slowdown
As per a recent report, India's outsourcing industry is plagued by the highest level of attrition at 23.5 per cent, which is about 7.8 percentage points higher than other industries. People blame it on non-attractive remuneration structures. The report by Hay Group revealed that, in general, staff turnover in India is 15.7 per cent, but in BPO companies, attrition stands at 23.5 per cent - the country's highest.
Source: Sep 09, 2008 - rediff.com

BPOs Ranked Highest In Attrition In India
As per a recent report, India's outsourcing industry is plagued by the highest level of attrition at 23.5 per cent, which is about 7.8 percentage points higher than other industries. People blame it on non-attractive remuneration structures. The report by Hay Group revealed that, in general, staff turnover in India is 15.7 per cent, but in BPO companies, attrition stands at 23.5 per cent - the country's highest.
Source: Sep 09, 2008 - rediff.com

Cisco Comes Up With Innovative Virtual Office
Cisco Systems has launched in India the Cisco Virtual Office (CVO), an innovative solution that allows employees to work from home or remote sites with the same set-up in their offices. The virtual, plug-and-play office comes with a price tag of $700 per seat, and allows employees access to secure, voice-caliber solutions that provide voice, wireless and video services. As more and more companies are joining the green brigade and are looking to trim travel costs because of growing airfare and hotel bills, the product is likely to find many takers.
Source: Sep 10, 2008 - DNA

Vodafone Appoints New Heads
Vodafone Group Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Michel Combes as the CEO of Europe Region besides other top-level appointments and changes in its organizational structure. According to a company statement, Mr. Combes would join Vodafone as the Chief Executive Officer for the Europe region with effect from October 1 2008. He would also join the Executive Committee, it added. Further, Mr. Terry Kramer would become the group strategy and business improvement director. In his role, he would be responsible for strategy development, for the initiatives aimed at productivity and efficiency gains across the group and the governance and coordination of the relationship with Verizon Wireless. He would also continue in his current role as group HR director, while the company conducts a search for his successor.
Source: Sep 09, 2008 - DNA

IT Workers No Longer Required In The UK, Indian Chefs Welcome
Indian chefs will be allowed to work in Britain's multi-million pound Indian restaurant industry but IT workers from the country are no longer required here, a key government committee on immigration said. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) of the Home Office revised its list of occupations and skills that are in short supply in UK, which enables recruiters to hire skilled workers from India and other countries outside the European Union. The revised list includes skilled chefs, secondary school teachers of Maths and Sciences, consultants and senior specialist nurses, some engineering occupations, including civil and chemical engineers.
Source: Sep 09, 2008 DNA

Indian Professionals Eyeing Jobs In Eastern Europe
North America and Gulf countries may not be among the preferred destinations for Indian professionals, as the eastern European countries are offering nearly 13 million jobs. India hopes to fill the gap in the work force in these countries, where the ageing population is on the rise and skilled workers are moving to prosperous Western Europe, and is pushing for a bilateral labour mobility agreements. Studies by European Union reveal, on the basis of increase in production capacities and growth parameters, 13 million additional jobs will be created in Eastern Europe between 2006-15.
Source: Sep 08, 2008 - HT Business

Manpower Required In Logistics Industry
Indian logistics industry, which is expected to generate business worth $110 billion in the next two years, will need over 400,000 additional pair of hands in the next four to five years. Mr. Atul Kulkarni, Senior Manager, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, said though the industry was growing at a rapid pace, it was yet to overcome the crunch of skilled manpower crunch. Courses such as supply chain management and logistics management are still not the preferred choices for students. They think that the logistics industry is not a good paymaster as compared to other industries, especially the IT industry. However, Mr. Kulkarni noted, the industry pays Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh every year to an entry-level candidate in the middle-range segment of finance, marketing and human resources. The other basic problem is awareness, which has resulted in manpower crunch in the industry is that it is yet not exposed properly. Also, it was traditionally dominated by individuals and has been mainly seen as family-owned businesses. It is only recently that MNCs have entered the industry.
Source: Sep 08, 2008 - Business Standard

Mr. Lakshmi Mittal To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
American Business magazine, Forbes has bestowed the third Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award to steel tycoon, Mr. Lakshmi Mittal. The award honours heroes of entrepreneurial capitalism. He will receive the award at the Forbes Global CEO Conference, being held in Singapore.
Source: Sep 08, 2008 - HT Business

JetLite To Trim Its Staff
In a major restructuring exercise, JetLite will cut down its staff strength by roughly a third to cut costs and integrate some key functions with its flagship carrier Jet Airways. Confirming this, Jet Airways' CEO, Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schaeur, said, "In the process of integrating the airlines, which is a must to keep JetLite afloat, there will be a shift of certain employees from JetLite to Jet and the workforce for both the airlines will be combined." He also said that "the majority of the workforce - at least two-thirds - will be integrated with Jet" and others will get a voluntary separation scheme. As per a JetLite executive, the downsizing will take place in functions such as airport services, security, sales and marketing and HR.
Source: Sep 12, 2008 - Business Standard

Party Time For B-Schools, As Placement Salaries Increase By 30%
The placement salaries at India's top business schools have increased by 30% this year, providing a silver lining to a year that would otherwise be remembered for controversies over fees, quotas, and the business environment turning sour. Even if one looks at a larger group of B-schools, the placement salary has increased by an average of 20%. The graduates of the Super League, which has nine members this year, netted an average placement salary of Rs 13.29 lakh, as compared to Rs 10.1 lakh reported last year. However, IIM Ahmedabad Director, Mr. Sameer K Barua cautions that the real impact of the sub-prime crisis in the US could be seen during the next placement season. "Even in March this year, recruiters had not come to appreciate the far-reaching impact of the crisis." The other reason for the salary spike, according to Mr. Barua, is that industry's demand for high-quality managers continues to exceed supply.
Source: Sep 12, 2008 - Business Standard

Satyam Computers Trims Work Force
Satyam Computers has cut down its staff strength by showing the door to 400 engineers and associates in Hyderabad, Pune and Vishakapatnam. The termination was a shock to these employees, as they were not rookies at their jobs. Most of them were in 'S' band, as the company calls it, denoting their experience in the range of two to five years. An associate said that a head honcho of the company sent an e-mail cautioning the employees against not turning up at offices and preferring to remain on the bench. As per sources, there were many associates who had no project on hand. Thanks to the global economic slowdown, big projects do not seem to be coming forth resulting in some employees remaining idle. The management of the company had been cautioning them either to move out of its rolls to a contractual employment offered by companies that outsource work to it or leave.
Source: Sep 12, 2008 - The Hindu

Mr. Nitin Birla Joins Barclays As Director
Barclays Wealth, the wealth management arm of Barclays, has appointed Mr. Nitin Birla as Director and Head of Hong Kong desk.
Source: Sep 10, 2008 - DNA

BAE Sys India Appoints Mr. Julian Scopes
BAE Systems India has announced the appointment of Mr. Julian Scopes as President. Mr. Scopes will be based in New Delhi and will be responsible for defining and implementing BAE Systems' strategy in India.
Source: Sep 11, 2008 - DNA

Starcom Media Vest Appoints Mr. Sean Finnegan
Mr. Sean Finnegan has been appointed by Starcom Media Vest as President and Chief Digital Officer for the global media network.
Source: Sep 09, 2008 - DNA

Mr. Pankaj Kalra Joins Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse has appointed Mr. Pankaj Kalra as Managing Director in its India investment banking department. He has moved from DSP Merrill Lynch in Mumbai.
Source: Sep 09, 2008 - DNA

Everest Appoints Mr. Ashish Madhekar
Mr. Ashish Madhekar has been appointed as Executive Vice-President and Head - Mumbai operations by Mumbbai-based, Everest Brand Solutions.
Source: Sep 09, 2008 - DNA

Mr. Thomas Jacob Joins IFRA As Deputy Chief
Fédération Internationale des Editeurs de Journaux (IFRA) has appointed Mr. Thomas Jacob as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director for greater Asia/Pacific region. In his new role, Mr. Jacob will be responsible for IFRA activities in South Asia, South and North East Asia, Japan, Autralia and New Zealand.
Source: Sep 11, 2008 - DNA

Deutsche Bank Appoints Mr. Peter Kerger
Deutsche Bank's Asset Management division has appointed Mr. Peter Kerfer as head of Asia Pacific for DB Advisors. Mr. Kerger, designated as Managing Director, will be based in Singapore.
Source: Sep 11, 2008 - Business Standard

Mr. Ashok Bhasin Joins Wadhawan Food
Wadhawan Food Retail has announced the appointment of Mr. Ashok Bhasin as the Managing Director for its entire business. Prior to this, he has worked with Lakme, Reckitt Benckiser (then Reckitt & Colman), Whirlpool of India & Whirlpool Corporation, USA.
Source: Sep 12, 2008 - HT Business

India, Germany Enter Into An Agreement For Training Executives
India and Germany have signed a pact to train senior executives of Indian companies in Germany. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Kamal Nath and German Minister for Industry and Technology, Mr. Michael Glos envisages training of about 50 Indian executives in the initial phase. The programme includes theoretical courses and on- the-job training in German companies.
Source: Sep 07, 2008 - livemint.com