An interview with Atul Khosla, Vice President HR, Pepsico India Holdings Limited.

Can you give us an idea of the approximate number of job opportunities generated in the market, with regard to your organisation?

With multi-based, up market and rapidly expanding MNCs like Pepsi setting up shop in India a lot of job openings have been created in the country. With 49 factories that are either directly or indirectly owned by the company, through partners, franchisees and bottlers, Pepsi alone has created more than 50,000 jobs. Besides this, our extensive distribution network is labour intensive and needs experts to make the product available in every nook and corner of the country.

Apart from the educational qualifications, what else do you look for in the candidates?

We look for talent in people; we hire them for their talent and help them to grow in the organisation. We take in people who have the potential to grow once they join the organisation. We provide the necessary skills to convert their potential into performance. All our capability programs are built around the individual and the organisation's needs.

We provide a stimulating working atmosphere, which enriches their performance and they also have a lot of fun and really get to enjoy whatever they do. Experience is important but the bottom line is performance. We want people who can excel in the field. The person has to be passionate about his work, surpassing mediocrity and developing both the organisation and the personal self.

Can you explain your recruitment and training process in detail?

The reason for our success in India is that we have managed to get the best talent available in the country and build our strengths. Since we are a highly successful organisation in the country, now the best in the industry want to work with us.

We go through the normal channels for recruitment. People get in touch with us when there are vacancies and we have our search partners who are involved in finding the best person for the job. We have highly comprehensive training packages for the new employees who join in, wherein their track performance is reviewed. We work with the individual to try and find out their skill `gaps' and bridge them to enhance their capabilities, leading to excellence in performance.

Our training programs are driven by two factors, the skill sets required by the individual to transact successfully with the market and the areas in which the individual feels that he needs to develop. On the basis of this we create our own capability agenda, which will allow the individual to develop in a holistic manner.

What about compensation packages?

We believe that it is as important to retain the person, as it is to hire the right person. Therefore our salary packages are extremely competitive. Other than the normal turnover of employees we have been able to retain our talent.

How is your organisation structured?

Our structure basically starts with the customer executive, the person in touch with the consumers and he is the most important person. All the energy of the organisation is driven towards supporting that person who is the front-runner. We call ourselves supporters or facilitators who provide him the right training, motivation and space to grow, to optimise his performance.

We have also done away with structural hierarchy, so the front- runner does not need to seek permission to interact with the CEO of the company. We have a very open and friendly environment where we work as friends and interact on informal levels.

What is the secret behind your success story?

The secret behind our success is definitely a passion to excel and make our mark in the industry, which each and every individual in this organisation possesses. This brand has become so powerful and unifying that each and every employee feels that he is an intrinsic part of the organisation and strives to attain greater heights. We have also managed to get the right kind of people along the way who possess the urge to win. That has now translated into our excellent performance record.

MALINI SURYANARAYANAN

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