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Setting the Right Expectations

In the competitive business world today, the biggest unidentified issue faced by all companies is the association of employees and employers. Are the employees really working for companies thinking as if they are their own? Or Are the companies really treating their employees as their partners or shareholders?

The answer to these questions lies in the meeting of organization goals/objectives with that of the employees. In other words it’s the meeting of the Right People for Right Jobs Vs Right Place at the Right Time. An organization would always want to put the right people on the right jobs while an employee would always like to be at the right place at the right time to give an edge to their careers. This brings an important aspect to light-Setting the Right Expectation. Does the organization clearly lay down its objectives/goals when it hires people and does an individual clearly communicate his/her aspiration to the prospective organization at the time of the interview? If we sit back and think we would realize that this is by far the most common reason of why an organization fails to achieve its goals completely and why people quit an organization to join an organization where they see their ambitions & desires being met. To counter these problems the expectations of both employers and employees should match. This missing link needs to be plugged. It can be addressed to a large extent if clear communication passes through both ways. Though it’s common across industries the sector that is getting affected the most is the Outsourcing industry. The Business Process Outsourcing companies face one of the highest attrition rates in the industry today. With consolidation happening in a big way the industry has seen some of the big players wipe out of the market.

Companies in the sector should discuss in detail why and what they are looking for in an individual and the prospective candidates should in turn discuss why they are pursuing or looking forward to a career with the respective organization. This is critical for the success of both. One challenge is that in majority of cases companies do not have clarity on the exact profile they are looking for.

This is because BPO companies do advance hiring mainly due to short lead times between the project signoff and take off stage. In the same way majority of the prospective candidates are not clear on what they want to do mainly because they get lured by mega bucks and big brands. From the candidate’s perspective getting a combination of good money, superior brand and perfect work profile is difficult. Though this issue cannot be completely fixed, companies can take some steps to address and reduce its impact.

One step could be an informal interaction between candidates and employers specifically targeting the fitment for each other before the formal interviews start. This interaction should include questions probing the inclination of the candidate for the profile in question as well as giving the candidate a flavor of what he can expect from the company. On the face of it every candidate is bound to say yes and be affirmative about the profile but if asked some specific questions would spell out his/her interest and comfort level.

Another approach to achieve this balance is: Know Your Company Vs Know Your People. Run campaigns/programs where people are forced to learn about the company and supervisors are forced to learn about their colleagues in depth. This could give the required understanding to both and matters can be taken forward from here. However, it requires a concerted effort from the management as well the employees.

The author is a Finance professional with over 7 years of experience in the Indian BPO industry. He can be contacted at jain_ankur77@yahoo.com