In the new economy, an organisation's biggest challenge is to manage its people. But how does a company retain a star employee, sought after by headhunters?
The head of human resources at Sunshine Foods, one of the country's top 20 fast-moving consumer goods companies, is about to lose the company's ace marketer, Nikhil Bhandare. At 33, he is Sunshine's youngest vice-president (marketing). Nikhil reports directly to the CEO, Shrikant Desai, something no one else of his age does. An MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, he joined the company from a rival at 25 as an assistant product manager.
Read expert advice on how the HR vice-president can retain Nikhil.
(The case study is from real life. Names and identities have been disguised to ensure confidentiality)
BACKGROUND
Nikhil is sharp, speaks well and has an enviable grasp of the foods market. He is also hardworking and has the ability to carry people with him. His eight years with Sunshine have been meteoric: a promotion almost every year, responsibility for the largest brands and a one-year secondment to the company's strategic partner's operations in West Asia.
At present, he manages the Juicy umbrella brand of squashes, biscuits and candy. These together account for about 50 per cent of turnover. Needless to say, head-hunters have been queueing up at Nikhil's door for some time. Recently, he received a lucrative offer from a consumer durables transnational, which offered him a posting abroad. Nikhil turned it down but Sunshine fears he won't do so the next time.
Like all stars, Nikhil is highly ambitious and keeps looking for new areas to test his skills in. He has been in his present job for a year already. There is no higher post in marketing for him and the absence of new challenges is bound to cause him frustration. At his age, he cannot expect to succeed Shrikant Desai immediately. Nor can he join the board since it would trigger off a spate of resignations. Besides, Sunshine, a homegrown company, does not have large business interests abroad other than in West Asia and Bangladesh. The company has just begun operations in Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Sunshine cannot afford to lose Nikhil. But how does the vice-president (HR) retain him?
SOLUTION 1—FROM AN ACADEMICIAN
Any organisation should strive to build itself around a star employee—an employee that the organisation cannot do without.
STAR FIRST
The structure should accommodate him rather than the reverse. Conventional hierarchies should be done away with: the star manager should have an expanded role that allows him to stretch himself. Obviously, this is easier said than done. But even management gurus Sumantra Ghosal and Christopher Barlett recommend this in their book, The Individualised Organisation.
INDIVIDUALISED MENTORING
Another important aspect is mentoring. A star must have a mentor: a secure and balanced professional who will enjoy grooming the star. It can be a structured mentoring programme, administered by select, trained individuals to provide guidance and advice to help develop careers. Or it can be an informal arrangement, where the mentor can act as a friend, confidante and guide. This will give the star a fair idea about his role and the organisation's expectations of him.
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
A star manager like Nikhil should also be given special assignments that project his skills and given responsibilities over and above his usual function.
Such projects can either be general in nature, such as tapping a new business area or setting up a business in a new location. Or they can be specialised projects within his functional ambit. The multiskilling that this will require will benefit both the organisation and the individual.
Sunshine should also be able to diagnose the star manager's specific needs and offer him customised solutions. Perhaps Nikhil doesn't want asset-building facilities as much he would like a sabbatical abroad. The company must respond accordingly.
Finally, a star manager must be made to understand the value of teamwork. And HR has a crucial role to play in providing him with the right inputs.
No organisation can function with just one person, however superior he may be to the others in terms of skills. Even if the organisation is stretched to accommodate him, the individual must always be made to appreciate the role of people other than himself in the organisation.
SOLUTION 2—FROM AN HR PROFESSIONAL
The company's panic is understandable. Want to know why?
For one, is Nikhil Bhandare really a star? Or is he just the tallest dwarf among the rest?
The company has measured his performance so far but has it assessed his potential?
Misgivings about Nikhil stem from the fact that he has excelled in only one functional area: marketing. That he is an ace marketer is true. But has Sunshine tried giving him additional responsibilities to test how he performs on unfamiliar territory?
So far, he has not had any general management responsibility nor has he had stints in other important areas, like finance or HR. He has been expanding the existing businesses, but has not set up a new one—his secondment was not a start-up assignment—and he has not managed a business unit independently.
INTROSPECTION NEEDED
So how is he considered a star? Functional excellence alone doesn't justify the label. Forget that, the fact that Nikhil manages the portfolio of products that account for half the company's turnover makes him a hot asset. Increased compensation cannot, or should, be a driver for Nikhil—or, for that matter, anybody else—at that level.
He can be offered stock options, but these aren't unique benefits.
Further, compensation tools can make a stay comfortable, but do not, by and large, influence career-decisions, particularly at the senior level.
If an organisation falls into the trap of upping the ante every time a valued employee wants to leave, it will eventually find itself pushed into a corner.
TEST FUTURE VALUE
Although the organisation must ensure that the learning curve for the star employee is steep, a sabbatical may be counter-productive since it can ill-afford to send away a professional with a crucial operational role for any length of time. A better way to test him out in his future capacity—one presumes he is slated to step into Desai's shoes eventually. Another incentive to stay would be to rotate him functionally and involve him in general management.
Ask him to set up a new division—if market conditions permit.
Let him scout for new opportunities. Involve him in senior-level recruitments.
Include him in strategic planning outside marketing.
Asking Nikhil to head a multi-functional taskforce on strategic issues, like M&A, is a good option since it will provide him with a live platform to function as a leader. Operationally, it will enable him to head a team, interact with people belonging to functions other than his own and test his mettle in a vital strategic area.
SPECIAL GROOMING
Besides acting as the logical rungs on the ladder to the top job, each of these assignments will pose a new challenge and hone his professional skills—something that the lucrative offers he is receiving may not provide.
Nikhil should be informed about his career-path and involved in planning his own career.
It is important that he too perceives his new assignments as stretch tasks to groom him for a new role. If Nikhil is assured of the company's interest in his career, it can sufficiently motivate him and act as a retention tool.
This task needs to be initiated by HR or Desai. The involvement of a senior manager will reinforce the sanctity of the process.
If Nikhil succeeds in his expanded role, he should be pushed up to the board-level by all means, without consideration for his youth or for the possible adverse reaction of his peers and seniors. Competence is not a function of age.
If he does not succeed, others can be groomed to take over his job. The company can also prepare to face a short-term loss.
Moreover, HR should revisit the appraisal system to ensure that next time a star is identified, he or she shines under all conditions—not only on his/her home turf.
From India, Bahadurgarh
47The head of human resources at Sunshine Foods, one of the country's top 20 fast-moving consumer goods companies, is about to lose the company's ace marketer, Nikhil Bhandare. At 33, he is Sunshine's youngest vice-president (marketing). Nikhil reports directly to the CEO, Shrikant Desai, something no one else of his age does. An MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, he joined the company from a rival at 25 as an assistant product manager.
Read expert advice on how the HR vice-president can retain Nikhil.
(The case study is from real life. Names and identities have been disguised to ensure confidentiality)
BACKGROUND
Nikhil is sharp, speaks well and has an enviable grasp of the foods market. He is also hardworking and has the ability to carry people with him. His eight years with Sunshine have been meteoric: a promotion almost every year, responsibility for the largest brands and a one-year secondment to the company's strategic partner's operations in West Asia.
At present, he manages the Juicy umbrella brand of squashes, biscuits and candy. These together account for about 50 per cent of turnover. Needless to say, head-hunters have been queueing up at Nikhil's door for some time. Recently, he received a lucrative offer from a consumer durables transnational, which offered him a posting abroad. Nikhil turned it down but Sunshine fears he won't do so the next time.
Like all stars, Nikhil is highly ambitious and keeps looking for new areas to test his skills in. He has been in his present job for a year already. There is no higher post in marketing for him and the absence of new challenges is bound to cause him frustration. At his age, he cannot expect to succeed Shrikant Desai immediately. Nor can he join the board since it would trigger off a spate of resignations. Besides, Sunshine, a homegrown company, does not have large business interests abroad other than in West Asia and Bangladesh. The company has just begun operations in Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Sunshine cannot afford to lose Nikhil. But how does the vice-president (HR) retain him?
SOLUTION 1—FROM AN ACADEMICIAN
Any organisation should strive to build itself around a star employee—an employee that the organisation cannot do without.
STAR FIRST
The structure should accommodate him rather than the reverse. Conventional hierarchies should be done away with: the star manager should have an expanded role that allows him to stretch himself. Obviously, this is easier said than done. But even management gurus Sumantra Ghosal and Christopher Barlett recommend this in their book, The Individualised Organisation.
INDIVIDUALISED MENTORING
Another important aspect is mentoring. A star must have a mentor: a secure and balanced professional who will enjoy grooming the star. It can be a structured mentoring programme, administered by select, trained individuals to provide guidance and advice to help develop careers. Or it can be an informal arrangement, where the mentor can act as a friend, confidante and guide. This will give the star a fair idea about his role and the organisation's expectations of him.
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
A star manager like Nikhil should also be given special assignments that project his skills and given responsibilities over and above his usual function.
Such projects can either be general in nature, such as tapping a new business area or setting up a business in a new location. Or they can be specialised projects within his functional ambit. The multiskilling that this will require will benefit both the organisation and the individual.
Sunshine should also be able to diagnose the star manager's specific needs and offer him customised solutions. Perhaps Nikhil doesn't want asset-building facilities as much he would like a sabbatical abroad. The company must respond accordingly.
Finally, a star manager must be made to understand the value of teamwork. And HR has a crucial role to play in providing him with the right inputs.
No organisation can function with just one person, however superior he may be to the others in terms of skills. Even if the organisation is stretched to accommodate him, the individual must always be made to appreciate the role of people other than himself in the organisation.
SOLUTION 2—FROM AN HR PROFESSIONAL
The company's panic is understandable. Want to know why?
For one, is Nikhil Bhandare really a star? Or is he just the tallest dwarf among the rest?
The company has measured his performance so far but has it assessed his potential?
Misgivings about Nikhil stem from the fact that he has excelled in only one functional area: marketing. That he is an ace marketer is true. But has Sunshine tried giving him additional responsibilities to test how he performs on unfamiliar territory?
So far, he has not had any general management responsibility nor has he had stints in other important areas, like finance or HR. He has been expanding the existing businesses, but has not set up a new one—his secondment was not a start-up assignment—and he has not managed a business unit independently.
INTROSPECTION NEEDED
So how is he considered a star? Functional excellence alone doesn't justify the label. Forget that, the fact that Nikhil manages the portfolio of products that account for half the company's turnover makes him a hot asset. Increased compensation cannot, or should, be a driver for Nikhil—or, for that matter, anybody else—at that level.
He can be offered stock options, but these aren't unique benefits.
Further, compensation tools can make a stay comfortable, but do not, by and large, influence career-decisions, particularly at the senior level.
If an organisation falls into the trap of upping the ante every time a valued employee wants to leave, it will eventually find itself pushed into a corner.
TEST FUTURE VALUE
Although the organisation must ensure that the learning curve for the star employee is steep, a sabbatical may be counter-productive since it can ill-afford to send away a professional with a crucial operational role for any length of time. A better way to test him out in his future capacity—one presumes he is slated to step into Desai's shoes eventually. Another incentive to stay would be to rotate him functionally and involve him in general management.
Ask him to set up a new division—if market conditions permit.
Let him scout for new opportunities. Involve him in senior-level recruitments.
Include him in strategic planning outside marketing.
Asking Nikhil to head a multi-functional taskforce on strategic issues, like M&A, is a good option since it will provide him with a live platform to function as a leader. Operationally, it will enable him to head a team, interact with people belonging to functions other than his own and test his mettle in a vital strategic area.
SPECIAL GROOMING
Besides acting as the logical rungs on the ladder to the top job, each of these assignments will pose a new challenge and hone his professional skills—something that the lucrative offers he is receiving may not provide.
Nikhil should be informed about his career-path and involved in planning his own career.
It is important that he too perceives his new assignments as stretch tasks to groom him for a new role. If Nikhil is assured of the company's interest in his career, it can sufficiently motivate him and act as a retention tool.
This task needs to be initiated by HR or Desai. The involvement of a senior manager will reinforce the sanctity of the process.
If Nikhil succeeds in his expanded role, he should be pushed up to the board-level by all means, without consideration for his youth or for the possible adverse reaction of his peers and seniors. Competence is not a function of age.
If he does not succeed, others can be groomed to take over his job. The company can also prepare to face a short-term loss.
Moreover, HR should revisit the appraisal system to ensure that next time a star is identified, he or she shines under all conditions—not only on his/her home turf.
From India, Bahadurgarh
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India Inc Goes All Out to Retain Star Performers.pdf
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