The Unethical Talent Hunt

IT is one of the major
industries which provide bread and butter for thousands of graduates
across the country. If the software industry helps professional
graduates to secure a job, the hardware industry provides job for
school passouts with decent salary. The opportunities for channel
partners are bright in the future
as the growth of the IT industry promises to be great in the
forthcoming days. Studies also reveal that any investment in Indian
IT hardware industry will never go in vain. But at the same time, the
challenges are also at par with the opportunities. In many
situations, the salary drawn by the employees of the channel partners
is equal to those who work in corporate firms. When it comes to
maintaining the workforce, it is one of the major hardships faced by
the channel partners. 'Poaching' is a term given by channel
partners to this very common practice followed by many big vendors in
recent days.

AN UNETHICAL PRACTICE

This practice, now
followed by some vendors, has affected many channel partners across
the country to a great extent. What is this poaching? Take an
example, a person with his basic degree (which is sometimes no way
related to IT) does not find a suitable job in any place. A channel
partner, who not only gives him a job and handsome salary, but also
makes this employee gets trained in the industry. Some partners even
reveal confidential business contacts and allow him into high-value
business deals. In such a situation, a person, through a leading
vendor-supported job consultancy or directly by the vendor team,
finds out that experienced employee from the channel community.
Later, developing rapports, the employee is brain-washed to quit the
job without any notice and is urged to join vendor or a fellow
channel partner's firm. The employee also falls prey to the tactics
and cause damages to the company. The channel community asks the
vendors as well as their own community, who are having mammoth
presence across the globe to recruit people from the colleges, train
and then employ them.

WHAT IS POACHING?

When channel partners
contact vendors for such activities, vendors try to justify their act
as 'recruitment' or 'headhunt'. However, in actual HR terms,
headhunt is the proper way of recruitment. Headhunting is when
candidates are called for a conversation and getting him/her
interested in the opportunity but is completely recruited only
through proper removal from the previous employer. Poaching is when
headhunt is done from the direct competitor who works for the same
client. In fact, what the vendors are doing is worse than poaching.
The vendors recruit the employees not from their competitors but from
those who are working day and night to sell their products amidst
tough competitions. “We are working very hard to market their
products, but the vendors are indirectly spoiling our business by
recruiting our employees in unethical ways,” said a partner on the
condition
of anonymity.

CHANNEL's VOICES

“Poaching is happening
for a long time. The vendors induce our employees and make them quit
the job,” said a Madurai-based dealer wishing to remain anonymous.
He also added that now the dealers through href="http://www.dqweek.com/Confed-ITA-to-implement-its-%27SOUL%27-project">Confed-ITA
have started
speaking to all the vendors about poaching. Now, it has reduced to
some extent but the culture has not completely vanished. He also
added, “Some vendors call and ask us before
recruiting an employee, but some directly hire them thereby making a
huge loss to us”. In Kolkata, this practice started a decade before
with rampant poaching practices becoming the order of the day. “The
practice is being followed for a long time. When the issue started
affecting our business gravely, we protested against it and through
our association we ensured that no employee is poached,” said KL
Lalani, chairman, Lalani Infotech. He also added that now the issue
is better from the past. “Now, the vendors ask for a no-objection
certificate (NOC) from us before recruiting any employee or a one
month notice period. This has to go off completely to get a clear
picture.” In Kerala, the situation is not different. “We had this
issue in our state for quite some time now. However, we had an
unwritten agreement with the vendors and asked them not to poach our
employees. If they are impressed with any employee, now they have
started asking for a NOC from us and a one month notice period,”
said Toshy Mathew, a dealer based at Ernakulam. He also added that
the state association is also planning to sign an MoU with the
vendors against poaching.

However, in other parts of
India, the problem is not that much. “This issue is found only in
IT hardware industry. Can you imagine such a situation in
pharmaceutical sector?” questioned PN Prasad, a Puducherry-based
dealer. He also said that some vendors have a 'divide and rule'
policy for this poaching. “It is a question of unity among the
dealers and this is high time that dealers understand that if we get
united such issues can be easily solved,” Prasad further added. G
Mahendar, a Secunderabad-based dealer affirmed the same. “In Andhra
Pradesh, poaching still exists at a microscopic level. Some 2-3 years
before, some dealers voiced against this issue.” Mahendar further
added, “Poaching depends on how strong the state-level and
district-level associations are. If the dealers are united, no one
can poach any employee.”

“We do not have such
issues. Of course, we have heard of some incidents of vendors
recruiting employees from the distributors but not from dealers,”
said Champakraj Gurjar, a Mumbai-based dealer. He believes that his
employees cannot be poached by any vendor as his employees believe
that they have good growth in his company.

THE SOLUTION style="font-weight: bold;">

One main cause for
poaching ,according to some channel partners, is that there is a
communication gap between the HR team of the company and the teams
which deal with the market. “It is for the top-level management in
all vendor firms to look into this issue seriously and ensure that no
partners are affected by the poaching activities,” said a partner
on the condition of anonymity. The marketing team in vendor companies
should also explain the problems to their HR teams about the concerns
of the channel
partners when a person quits from the organization without any
intimation.

RURAL CHALLENGES

If the partners in big
cities face such poaching issues, partners in the rural areas face
other issues. “Today, all graduates prefer to work in a metro town
than working in a small town. Only those fresh graduates from
villages who cannot successfully complete their studies or students
who could not perform well in their studies, irrespective of the
course, drop their resume in our office for a job”, said K Vijayan,
a Kumbakonam-based dealer. Another dealer, on the condition of
anonymity said that many people from villages do not prefer a job
these days, as some of the government schemes give them money even if
they do not work. “In such a situation we are having tough time to
train the employees and the day when he/she is fully trained, we
receive resignation letter,” he said.

ADVANTAGES OF BEING
EMPLOYED WITH CHANNEL PARTNERS

However, it is not tough
to be employed with channel partners. The partners are not on par
with the corporate companies in
taking care of their employees. “First and foremost is that we are
creating a pleasant working atmosphere for our employees. We never
have a 'hire and fire' policy and we never give our employees
unachievable targets,” said R Mahesh Kurup, a Coimbatore-based
dealer. He also added that proper leave and other allowances are also
provided in order to provide them a flexible working platform. “We
are also offering them service-based incentives and are given high
respect,” said Lalani. He also added that the PF, ESI and other
benefits are also provided for the mployees. In some states, the
dealers, through some private insurance agencies, provide insurance
schemes for the
family members of the channel partners. A Hyderabad-based dealer, on
the condition of anonymity said, “You will not believe that one of
the senior executive in my firm draws around Rs 50,000 which is at
par with those who work in MNCs”. “I accept that a fresher who
enters our office may be paid less. However, after gaining
experience, he should be paid very well,” he added.

NOT AGAINST THE
DEVELOPMENT OF OUR EMPLOYEES

Some partners say that
they are not against the growth of their employees. Channel partners
also know that an employee who is not interested in the job can not
bring fruitful results to the company. Many dealers who are
successful entrepreneurs today, were once an employee of some
organization. They too started their careers at junior-level and they
understand the problems of the employees. The moment an employee
submits his resignation, no dealer stops the person. But what the
dealers ask is a one-month's notice as it takes some time to
recruit and train a new person. There is no need for an employee to
resign from a job and join another dealer as the salary and other
benefits are almost equal. Associations also insist the same. In this
secular country everyone has the right to work or do business. But at
the same time, the interest of the employer who employed them when
they did not find a job should also be considered.

NEED NEW LAWS

Even though the issue is
seen at one-to-one level, the law is to be seen at micro-level.
“Poaching is against business ethics. An individual cannot be
treated as a machine which is treated as use and throw,” said V
Jeevakumar, a Thanjavur-based advocate. He also added that such
selfish practices are an impact of
globalization. “Till date there is no effective law against such
employees who breach the trust of the employers. And small companies
can not fight against the big companies,” he said. “The
government should form a tribunal constituting a judge, social
activist and an expert in labor law through which judgments are made
immediately as in the history. Some verdicts by the labor courts were
made
only after the death of the employees. When an employee quits an
organization without any intimation, he not only breaches the trust,
but also causes damage to the employer,” added
Jeevakumar. When asked why this issue has not come to limelight even
after many have suffered through this, Jeevakumar explained, “While
constituting the laws, the law makers did not anticipate such
poaching. During that time, such huge corporate companies were not in
the country so poaching was not there.” Jeevakumar also added that
the affected employer may approach the court under Industrial
Disputes Act and fight for justice.