HOW TO DEVELOP TALENTS IN MSME’s
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Mohan Nair, founder of Ensigns Software & Communications |
Today
one of the major crisis MSME’s are facing is manage growth and sustainability.
The
problem in managing growth and sustainability is largely due to financial
crisis, understanding complexity of business, market conditions and also
managing and developing human resource.
My
focus today is, on how to develop talents in MSME’s.
The
challenges and constraints of developing talents in MSME’s are to be understood
in a very practical term.
Most
of the MSME’s have a disadvantage because they are not positioned and capable
to attract talents. The reason is, they don’t have brands like large Corporates
or MNCs. Hence, attracting good and capable talent is extremely difficult
unless the company has differentiation.
The
organization has to offer its employees some uniqueness by proper branding or
creating a work culture and environment to attract and retain talents.
I
would like to emphasize more on, how to develop talents in an MSME.
Firstly,
we have to accept that most of the talents in MSME’s are basically not from
professional background. These people, who are recruited largely, come from tier
3, tier 4 cities or from rural parts of India.
Their
exposure is very less to the business world, education levels are not up to the
mark and most of them are not from premier institution.
So,
the lack of exposure and the inadequate educational background makes it very
difficult for such talents to be groomed. Hence it is not easy.
At
the same time there are advantages, which one has to understand; with such
recruits is the strength they possess.
They
are ready to change and adapt. Most of them are ready to learn and since they
are not very conditioned they accept things faster.
In
my experience of developing the talents in MSME sector for the last two
decades, I would like to share few practical tips which are as follows:-
First
and foremost, when we select people we should be very clear to understand;
whether they really require a job; secondly- if a person has a survival problem
and he should also have a passion to grow in life.
So, while selecting a person I think the two most
important criteria is – his passion for growth need for a job. These are the
two most important aspects while you recruit a person.
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Secondly, it is very imperative for the management to
recruit people and ensure that proper induction. Process is followed.
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During induction the new recruit has to have clarity
of his or her job, he or she should be able to understand the role and their
contribution required for that position. These recruits should be very well
informed about the challenges, constraints and the opportunities that come
along with their position.
In fact, experience says, most of the youngsters are
ready to take up jobs where there are challenges. So, it is the management
which has to emphasize a lot on challenges and also it is the management’s
responsibility is to ensure that people get freedom to work and freedom to
innovate. If this freedom is given most of the youngsters during the induction
process start showing a sign of aligning with the organisation from the
beginning.
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The other aspect that I would like to share is that,
it is the management’s responsibility to establish trust between the new
employee and the existing employees. This trust has to be built through various
engagement programs and also through various learning processes. The values and
ethics have to be clearly explained and demonstrated to the employees along
with the opportunities to learn new skills.
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This actually imbibes the quality of learning among
the young recruits and hence we can see a lot of talent development over the
period of time.
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I would emphasize that investment in human capital is
very important; it has to be properly planned considering the long term
benefits and to ensure adapting to new skillsets and enabling that the talent
grows over a period of time.
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In the process of developing talents, one has to
ensure that the aspiration is taken care among these young recruits to enable
them to grow.
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A career plan has to be shared with them for at least
next three years.
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To create a sense of belongingness by giving them more
ownership in activities and also ensuring that recognition and appreciations
are continuous process.
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Most of the talents in an organization are retained
when they become aware of the future of the company as well as the future of
the sector. All this information ensures that the person feels proud and his
self-esteem goes up while working in an organization.
- The
last but the most important role of the management is to establish emotional
connect with the employee. If the employee is emotionally connected to the
organization then, the person grows faster in the organization as he feels and
takes up ownership and responsibilities.
I have observed and
experienced in last few years that, many of the youngsters definitely like to
continue with the company if, the company acquires modern technology and they
get an opportunity to work on this latest technology. This gives an opportunity
and a thrill for them to be at par with their friends, colleagues and
acquaintances from other organizations.
When they see the scope of
their talent development is very good, they also ensure to move ahead and help
developing talent of their subordinates.
This ensures leadership
development and creates a pipeline of leaders.
I think developing talents in
MSME’s is very important in this crucial phase of business because of the
growth opportunities in Indian MSME’s.
It is very important to
nurture talents and also to ensure that these talents are retained in the
organization.
To conclude, I would like to
sum-up by saying that the key points while recruiting are; passion and the
proper clarity of role and responsibility of the job is essential, Induction
has to be well planned for an individual to give clear purpose, of the job
challenges, constraints and the opportunities in the job.
Freedom to innovate and
freedom to work culture is very essential.
Lastly, during the process of
developing a talent one has to establish trust between the new employee and the
existing employees. Imbibe the values and ethics within the person during the
initial stages and ensure to take care of his aspirations and emotions.
If they are emotionally
connected the talent development takes place faster.
With this few words, I think
it is essential for all of us to invest in human capital, spend a few hours
with our upcoming talents and also give them opportunities and ensure that
there is a proper growth and career path in the organization.
The above
article is contributed by Mohan Nair, founder of Ensigns Software &
Communications Pvt. Ltd.
Investment in human capital is a must. This investment needs to be positive, confident and motivated at all times.
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