Doesn’t this setting up of a whole eco-system add to the HR cost?
It surely adds to costs, but it is money well spent. Employees feel that they own the company. This is the reason why most of the recruits stay on with us for long. We give tenure awards to employees who have spent with us five, seven, ten or more years, every year. And, let me tell you, the number of each batch is over 120-130.
What profiles are freshers hired for, and what are the typical starting salaries?
We hire many design engineers and software engineers to work on embedded systems. Salaries are really competitive. The typical salary band starts from Rs 600,000 per annum onwards. Over and above this, there are a lot many other benefits that are offered to candidates. For certain profiles and qualifications such as suitable PhD candidates, we do not hesitate from offering astronomical salaries.
Do you pass on certain guidelines to campuses that have been associated with Freescale for a while?
In most of the campuses with whom we are associated, we have established our labs. These labs are equipped with equipment that design engineers would be using later in their professional lives. It is like developing an ecosystem. We are modifying the system and trying to raise the bar.
Apart from the open culture, what are the hallmarks of Freescale’s HR policy?
All our HR practices are focused on ensuring that learning opportunities are ample for everyone. Freshers are apprised at the outset itself that in a technical company like ours, they need to keep themselves abreast with the latest in the field. We spend a lot of time in emphasising on this aspect. We also tell our employees that if they want to learn, Freescale is the place for it.
We encourage employees to grow by competing with themselves. We don’t have many grades but if an employee grows from one grade to another, everything for that person changes. There is no meaning in awarding promotion if the profile doesn’t change completely.
What message would you like to give to other HR heads in the industry?
Freshers are very valuable. If your selection process is good, if you can add energy to the whole environment in your organisation, and if you can identify people who are eager to learn, you can build an organisation that can innovate and stay ahead of the curve.
