It is thought that around 2000 BC, wandering Aryan tribes, hailing from Caucasus Mountains, crossed the mighty Indus and entered the plains of Bharata. On finding fertile lands near the ever-flowing Ganges, the cow herders decided to settle down and make it a home. The clinching aspect was the endless supply of water and rich alluvial soil that aided and sustained the new immigrants.

Similarly, the IT industry, constantly on the hunt for a fresh reservoir of talent, found home in the Queen of the Deccan, Pune. Here they found abundant talent and an employable workforce. Much like the blue-eyed Aryans, the blue-eyed IT companies settled down happily under the shade of Sahyadri Mountains.

But, off late, concerns have been raised on Punes ability to retain its special position. With its workforce in high demand across the nation and the globe, how will companies in Pune buck the trend? Would they succumb or will they succeed is a question that lingers on most minds, except those that should be worried, the HR heads of companies in Pune.

A Cultural Melting Pot
Sipping tea at her cozy office, Prameela Kalive, associate vice president and global head, Human Resources, Zensar Technologies, talks about the citys evolution over the last many years. The place around the Zensar campus has changed drastically, especially so in the last few years, a clear indicator of how fast things are changing. She is concerned about the fact that the city could face a talent crunch, but she isnt too bothered by attrition unlike her contemporaries in other cities of India. The cultural ethos of the city are very strong and Pune definitely scores very low on attrition compared to other industrially advanced cities in India, she says.

The most distinctive aspect of Pune is its rich and vibrant culture. Known as the cultural capital of Maharashtra, there are many who are keen to escape the hustle-bustle of crowded cities like Mumbai and Bangalore and wish to settle down to a peaceful life in Pune. Talent is mobile today. Hence, we are able to hire from across India. Today, 75% of the people we hire every month come from various parts of India. About three years ago, almost 80% of the talent was hired locally, says Kalive.

Siddharth Madhusudan, director, Marketing and KPO Services, Synechron, also seems to be in agreement. Fifty-five thousand IT professionals have migrated to Pune over the last two years. It will touch one lakh in the next couple of years. This has really boosted the economy of the city, he says.

Oxford of the East
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had dubbed Pune The Oxford of the East due to many renowned academic and research institutions in the city. The denizens of the city are also renowned for their fastidious devotion to education, and are one of the most prized assets in the entire country.

The Pune culture is being replicated in other cities as we are sending our senior executives to spearhead operations there. Not only that, we are in Pune in a major way as a lot of IT SEZs are coming up Arun Nathani, CEO, Cybage	The cultural ethos of the city are very strong and Pune definitely scores very low on attrition compared to other industrially advanced cities in India Prameela Kalive, associate VP and global head, HR, Zensar Technologies

There are many universities in India, but there are 450 colleges in Pune. There is no other city that can boast of so many colleges. The point remains that each college is enrolling many students, so there is a huge supply of talent. Thats the most important thing. The presence of universities is one of the biggest prerequisites for IT to be around. A lot of IT companies have affiliations with universities, Kishor Bhalerao, VP, HR, Persistent Systems.

Pune is a major center for all streams of engineering and professional courses. It attracts the largest number of foreign students in India and the best foreign language centers in India. In addition, IT companies in Pune have a young talent pool because more than 50% population of the city is under 30 years of age. This more or less ensures that there is no dearth of young people.

Industry Participation
Another big factor that seems to be working in favor of the city is the unique industry-university participation. It all started with the automotive sectorcompanies like Bajaj and Tata Motors started working with local educational institutions to ensure a reasonably decent supply of workforce. The tradition is still carried on by the IT industry.

The industry-university collaboration in Pune is very strong. Hence, the quality of education is very good. Students are getting a lot of exposure to industry practices. Pune has indeed become the Detroit of Asia, being an automotive and engineering knowledge city, says Milind Kaulgud, head, Human Resources, Asia Pacific, Incat.

Meanwhile, Geometric, a provider of end-to-end product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, believes in hiring a lot of interns from leading colleges. For the past fifteen years, we have been hiring from all national engineering colleges; MIT, COEP for training, Walchand Engineering College in Sangli, IIT Mumbai for product development expertise, etc. We have also hired from a lot of local colleges in Pune. In MIT we have sponsored CAT labs. We also have an educational exchange program with Walchand Engineering College, says Rajiv Singh, vice president, HR, Geometric.

The presence of universities is one of the biggest prerequisites for IT to be around. A lot of IT companies have affiliations with universities Kishor Bhalerao, VP, HR, Persistent Systems	Students are getting a lot of exposure to industry practices. Pune has indeed become the Detroit of Asia, being an automotive and engineering knowledge city Milind Kaulgud, head, Human Resources, Asia Pacific, Incat

Lots of training institutes have sprouted over the years which, in partnership with companies, provide training to fresh talent. At Persistent, we have an internal training cell. If required, we also take services of training institutes for certain areas. We have tied up with BITS Pilani and IIT Mumbai for students training programs, says Bhalerao.

Retention Issues
While there might be an abundant supply of talent from innumerable colleges and institutes in and around Pune, retaining them is still a tough task. Cultural ethos of the city might come in handy for companies, but they need to do a lot more to hold on to their prized assets.

Retention is challenging, but we have been able to manage retention at a much better level vis--vis industry average. Retention involves a clear approach and clear programs around the issues that cause attrition. It also depends on having effective mechanisms to listen to the voice of employees. So long as you have effective mechanisms, it becomes easy for the company to take mid-course or define futuristic action to determine what will fly well with employees, Abhay Valsangkar, senior director, HR, Symantec.

Also, the fact that most companies in Pune are into specialized domains like ESO (engineering services outsourcing) and OPD (outsourced product development), it helps them to retain people by the challenges that are on offer on the job front. Attrition is not that big an issue at KPIT because we are able to retain talent successfully and also attract fresh talent continuously. Our attrition rate differs for different domains. Our BPO services segment has the highest attrition within the company, says Sachin Tikekar, chief, People Operations, KPIT Cummins.

Real Estate Special

Innovative HR
Beyond all measures of trying to hold on, IT companies in Pune are also ready to look beyond the box when it comes to HR management. For instance, Synechron gives ESOPs to all its top performers which is a good tool for engaging and rewarding employees. All our employees are excited about working in a pre-IPO company, adds Madhusudan.

Surprisingly, a lot of hiring in the city is done through internal referrals, this could be due to the fact that engineering students tend to become a more bounded community because of their interestsbe it automotive or electrical. The kind of people that we look for is not very easy to find. So, we have a strong internal referral system. Some years we hire close to 30% through internal referrals, says Singh from Geometric.

Even Valsangkar seems to be in favor of internal referrals. For lateral hiring, everything is done internally. We have put in place a very robust internal referral program. Sometimes internal referrals go to the extent of 40% of the total hiring, he adds.

In the end, all HR honchos seem to be gung-ho about operating out of the city. It seems that they are enjoying as much as the employees, and even profiting from the experience gained. For instance, Cybage is now expanding to other cities in India, and is using experienced professionals from its Pune office to drive this growth. The Pune culture is being replicated in other cities as we are sending our senior executives to spearhead operations there. Not only that, we are in Pune in a major way as a lot of IT SEZs are coming up, Arun Nathani, CEO, Cybage.

But with all the growth and development, Pune is now turning into any other bustling metropolis where real estate rates skyrocket, and malls and flyovers appear in different places. The metro nightmares have very much come to haunt the city as well. The city of intellectuals is slowly turning into a bustling business township. It remains to be seen whether the city is able to retain its original ethos.

Priya Kekre
priyak@cybermedia.co.in

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