Reference no: EM133107807
This is the story of Ms. Rai Patel, a finalist BBM student with strong academic background and high job ambitions.
Every year, companies look for students who are in their final year to recruit. In the year 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit hard the campus recruitment of final year students who were eager to start their careers in the professional world and get the first job that they could lay their hands on. The worst hit specialization during this period is HR (Human Resource) Management, or so it seemed to Ms. Patel.
The organization:
Taigar Kenya Company Ltd was established in the 1990's in industrial area in Nairobi, Kenya to carry out manufacturing of consumer products. With operations covering more than 4 countries, it is one of the top 3 manufacturers of such products in the region. In a nut shell, the company was well established in terms of its business, employee strength, and market share. The company came for campus recruitment to the University looking for students from all functional areas - Marketing, Finance, ICT Systems and HR. Obviously, as a student pursuing BBM - HR option, Ms. Patel was excited.
The Initial Shock:
A day after the students were informed about the campus recruitment, a pre-placement talk (PPT) was arranged in the campus at 2:30 pm to be delivered by the higher officials of the company. After a long wait, at 4:45 pm, the Director of HR and the Director Marketing met the students. The Director HR was 51 years of age and the Director Marketing was 29. They gave a presentation which included only their company and product profile ignoring the role of Management Trainees (MTs) who they were here to recruit, their pay package, location and growth prospects in the organization. During the interaction and question-answer session, any question by the students on job profile and location of work were brusquely ignored. The students were spell-bound to hear that the Director (HR) had promoted a BCOM (Finance) person to the post of HR Officer and a BBM (Operations Management) person to the post of Personal Assistant to the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of the company within a span of one year. They were confused between whether the organization lacked proper structure, performance appraisal and promotion policy or it was that it had a culture where growth was not an issue as long as one showed potential and interest and that it had a strong cross functional policy?
The Selection Process:
The selection process was a 2-tier one: group discussion (GD) and interview. Students were not shortlisted on any criteria. As long as they were interested they were welcome to appear for the GD, which was the screening process. Ms. Patel's GD was scheduled the next day after the PPT. Again it was behind schedule - it started at 8 pm instead of 6 pm. After the GD, the Director (HR) asked questions individually to each of the candidates. He was scornful with each of the answers given by the students. Ms. Patel was confused as she didn't understand what she would answer when her turn comes. There was a lot of expectation gap between the answers given by the 23 or 24 year old students and the 51 year old Director of HR. Thankfully Ms. Patel moved up successfully to the next tier. Personal interview was scheduled for the following day. Again it was to start at 10 am but it started at 11.30 am. It was a one man show. Ms. Patel was the 4th candidate to be interviewed. The Director (HR) did not exhibit excellence in either interviewing skill or soft skills. When the candidate was asked to give location preference, she was given Kisumu despite her choice of Nairobi, citing no vacancy as the reason. All other candidates after Ms. Patel were placed either in Mombasa or Eldoret where the company had factories and offices. The take home salary offered was Kshs.30,000/annum for freshers and Kshs.35,000/annum for engineers or experienced candidates. The sky high ambition and self-estimation nose-dived but the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic made Ms. Patel swallow her pride and accept the offer. It was true for all the 19 MTs picked up by the organization from the Institute, out of its total 20 new MTs.
The Offer Letter
Finally, a month after the interview and the offer, the offer letter came. It had no reference number, the designation of the individual who signed the offer letter, the address of the factory where each individual was to report and even the gross salary (Cost to the Company) was not mentioned. It took the University a long time and a number of reminders to confirm the gross salary from the organization. Through a brief email it was communicated that the gross salary offered was Kshs.30,000 to the freshers and Kshs.35,000 to engineers or people with prior work experience. This disappointed all 19 MTs as the amount was supposed to be their take home and not GROSS SALARY. The joining date mentioned was 1st of June in respective locations. Suddenly the company changed all the plans. The selected candidates were to report to Nairobi and stay there for a week for orientation before joining their respective locations. Rumours spread thick and fast across the University that this period of stay in Nairobi usually varies from 3 months to 1 year for this employer. Fed up, Ms. Patel contacted the Director (HR) who confirmed that all MTs were to be in Nairobi for 1 year. The organization promised to provide accommodation for a few days till the MTs arranged their own accommodation. But at the last moment, when they called up the HR Officer to get the address of the place where they were to be accommodated, she mentioned that the Company was not providing any accommodation, not even for 1 day, citing that the Finance department was not supporting the same. Even talking to the Director HR did not solve the problem as according to him "finding an accommodation in Nairobi is not at all tough" and that he found his in three days when he had come to Nairobi for the first time. Ms. Patel took the help of the alumni network and was welcomed by one to share a room with her till she found her own. All these disturbed the selected students, who did not have money to rent houses. They lost trust in the organization even before they actually joined it.
The Joining
The MTs assembled at the HR Centre in the University on the assigned date of joining their new employer. HR Centre was a small air conditioned class room, equipped with age old furniture, a white board, an LCD and white sheet for projection. The two ACs were in dire need of maintenance, as, when switched on they produced such a noise that audibility became a problem. The MTs were immediately handed over a form and a green coloured paper on which it was written "AGREEMENT". Some of the clauses of the agreement were as follows:- 1. There was a bond of 3 years post 1 year training period in the organization. 2. If the company felt that the MT was promising (post-training), he/she will be absorbed as Assistant Manager, with or without increments, and must continue with the organization for a minimum period of 3 years. On the contrary, if the company felt that the trainee is unsuitable, then he/she would be asked to leave without an experience certificate or letter of recommendation. 3. If the trainee decides to leave during the training period then he/she would have to pay back the company the entire stipend received till then and at the same time also pay back the training cost as ascertained by the organization at the time of leaving. No experience certificate will be granted even in this case. After the agreement was signed and submitted by all the MTs, the appointment letter was issued the very next day. But the photocopies of the agreement were given after 7 days and many reminders. Ms. Patel's appointment letter had a number of errors e.g. in her address.
The Induction Programme
A 3-day induction programme was organized which covered introduction about the organization and its products, details about their manufacturing process, their competitor, certain unethical practices they follow to continue their business, bribes they give to the trade union to solve labour issues and so on. The speakers - in-company personnel - generally arrived late and overshot the time allotted to them. They also boasted about the company and their contribution to the organization. The MTs were asked to come to the organization on a Sunday at 3 pm to meet the company CEO. After waiting till 7pm, they were met by the Personal Secretary to the company CEO. He met each of the MTs individually and asked them if they wanted to be a part of his team that involved work related to Finance, Accounts, Auditing and so on. Most of them declined as they were soon-to-be HR and Marketing graduates and wanted to work in their respective fields except for one HR specialist who grabbed the offer. Unfortunately, she was put on the job without any guidance and every time she approached anybody for help she was snubbed. Clearly, she was unwelcome to the department. The MTs were taken for a factory visit to see the manufacturing process. The shop floor was neat and clean. Workers had proper uniform. The food at the Canteen was being offered at a subsidized rate of Kshs.300 per plate and unlimited quantity. However, the canteen needed renovation, number of utensils to be increased, and the quality of food and hygiene had to be improved. Also there was a crèche for children below the age of 6 years. Women were not put to operate machines. They were put into the packaging department. Hence, their safety was taken care of. There was a medical room to provide first aid. Provisions for clean drinking water and clean toilets had been made within the factory premises. All legal compliances under the Factories Act had been taken care of. All the workers - men and women - were equally happy to receive the MTs and explained the processes with a lot of enthusiasm. But as soon as they came to know that they were coming from the management and were there to work as managers, their facial expression turned to suspicion. The workers mentioned that they were receiving wages late, sometimes up to 4 months late, in the last period of 2 years as the company had been making severe losses since the past two years. This was contrary to what the company projected itself as - a profit making organization. On enquiry, the MTs were told that they would receive their salary on the 10th or on the 15th of the next month. This came in as a shock as it is difficult to survive in Nairobi with salaries being paid 10 or 15 days late when all expenses towards rent and food needs to be met on time. The only good thing was the lunch offered on the first day of the induction in a good hotel. On the second day they were taken to the factory canteen for lunch, which was not up to the mark.
The Resignation
After analyzing all these points Ms. Patel decided to resign. The fact that another colleague had already put in her resignation influenced her decision. After a lot of persuasion to change her decision without success, she was released but without any release letter. Ms. Patel felt that the organization was like a crocodile ready to swallow everything in sight. It had already swallowed her image of an ideal corporate life, her zeal to work and all her HR-related knowledge about policies and procedures that have been taught class after class. This continuous clash between theory and practice and the unprofessionalism of the organization made her resign. Today, Ms. Patel is jobless (and searching!) but a happy person.
Question:
Explain how each of the following human resource practices can be improved to address the issues related to them in the Taigar Kenya Company Ltd:
- Learning
- Referal
- Absoption
- Job
- Privileges