Digital and data analytics are most sought after in Telecom industry

Talent demand exceeds supply in these areas, says chief human resource officer of Telenor India

The telecom party may be over in India, but the sector is getting refined when it comes to offering jobs. It is not just hiring for pure telecom and core engineering roles. On offer are jobs in the digital and data analytics too.

Telenor India is one such company looking to hire digital and data analytics experts.

TechGig.com spoke to Quazi Mohammad Shahed, chief human resource officer, Telenor India, and explored the company’s hiring plans and strategies.

Q. What are your hiring plans for India?

We are in a competitive industry where every hiring is scrutinised as per the business and future need. But our focus it to make sure our hiring plan is inclusive of gender diversity plan. We aim to increase the number. Historically, last year we have doubled the number of women employees within organisation, which is around 11 per cent and we aim to take it to the next level 15 per cent by end of 2016.

We want to increase the percentage of women employees, as it will give us benefits. Overall, the numbers would be static because we are growing business in our circles and we will hire there as we grow.

In the centre, we want to be more efficient. We would be hiring for digital and data analytics.

However, the number of people being hired depends on the projects and would be available when the project rolls out.

Numbers are dynamic so we really cannot comment on numbers, but can only give direction in terms of how the composition will move. As of now, we have over 3,500 people in India, including on rolls and customer acquisition officers.

Q. What is the general talent demand you see in the telecom industry?

The general talent attrition rate in our industry is about 20 per cent. So we will have to hire to fill these positions. However, the two sectors that are going to be very important in the telecom industry moving forward will be digital and data analytics. These areas will see a lot of hiring. We have plans to go big when it comes to hiring in digital and data analytics.

Q. What is the demand and supply ration of talent in these areas (digital and data analytics)?

For general areas, there is a good equilibrium but there is a challenge when it comes to data analytics, and digitally-savvy talent who are willing to experience the telecom industry. We lack talent who have industry experience in the digital area. So we need to get the talent from outside industry. The demand here is more than the supply.

Q. What kind of enthusiasm you see in fresh talent nowadays?

As a digital service provider, we are excited to see the talent and people who want to move to that space where they can contribute to the success journey of our company. There’s a lot of excitement to join and contribute in the telecom segment.

Q. There are many dedicated institutes in telecom. Are you getting right kind of talent from them?

Just to mention that we have started a management training programme. We have gone to IIM Lucknow, XLRI and we will be going to Symbiosis. However, we have not recruited recently, so we won’t be able to comment but we are visiting campus in next couple of months to test their talent.

Candidates from dedicated telecom institutes come with a high degree of learning ability. Their general data analytics ability is high. They are tech savvy and keen on dabbling with technology, which is an added advantage. So, all these things are ingredients for our future talent, they bring in lot of potential to grow in our organisation.

Q. How many have you hired from the management training programme you have introduced?

We started our management training programme recently. First we started with a functional training within which we could use circles and areas where there is a hiring from C school. But from the beginning of this year, we have started to hire via our management training programme. We have a plan of hiring 15 in total, and we have selected nine candidates who will be joining us after graduation in June.

Q. Since Telenor is an MNC, what are the work culture differences as compared to Indian companies?

Transparency and less hierarchy are the hallmarks of our work culture. At Telenor, you will not see any walls segregating higher management. So, accessibility to top management is easy and that is what differentiates us. It also makes decision making process easy. It breaks the hierarchy, brings in transparency and expedites the decision-making process.

Diksha Gupta, TechGig.com ([email protected])
Source: techgig.com