The market meltdown has forced many individuals working in small firms to think: should I move to a bigger—and presumably, more ‘secure’—employer? While there is some merit in the fact that a large organisation is relatively insulated from the shock of a downturn, size doesn’t matter nearly as much as transparency and an engaging work atmosphere. 26-year old Narayanan R, an application consultant with Skillnet Inc., a Mumbai-based maker of Retail Point of Sale software, quit his job at IBM in Bangalore and moved to Mumbai just over three months ago because he ‘never wanted to get tied down’ to any one place. Narayanan’s attitude was that as long as he could feel satisfied that his priorities were being met, it didnt matter who paid his salary. Plus, there were some obvious advantages in being with a small company. “Large corporations follow procedure for the heck of it, whereas in small firms, even meetings are need-based. Also there is some comfort in being known by one and all within a week or two of joining. I preferred to be known for being me, than being a mere name in an Excel sheet,” he explains. However, Narayanan doesn’t deny that tough times do end up rocking the boat for small enterprises. Agrees E Balaji, CEO and Director of Ma Foi Management Consultants which provides human resource services, “Small and medium-sized textile, auto component, real estate and retail firms have lost skilled talent to large competitors due to the meltdown. However, sectors like insurance, pharma, healthcare, FMCG and telecom still seem to be hiring.” He adds, “Certain sectors have been affected much more than others, but small firms must remember that how your employees treat you during bad times, often depends a lot on how you treated them during the good times!”
Smaller firms are better equipped to build a sustained enabling culture, especially if the top management is experienced in handling leadership roles in the past. Again, small here is a state of mind. In certain areas, especially where the delivery platform is online, a national presence is not required and companies tend to be smaller. In other cases, a certain infrastructural bandwidth is necessary. But in general, small firms can be quite creative in the ways in which they manage their personnel resources. “It is all about communicating the vision clearly. If every last person knows what role he or she plays in the larger scheme of things, that’s enough too,” affirms KA Ramakrishnan, director of Avalon Consulting.
Mumbai-based ad agency Pinstorm has six international offices and 135 employees. For this company, working in a cohesive family-like environment is of utmost importance. This, of course, results in a lot of fun and games. Ansoo Gupta, VP-Global Business at Pinstorm says, “Many of the initiatives come from the staff themselves, and not HR. For example, some senior people created a fake project where a ‘banana promotion’ campaign had to be designed for a fictitious banana orchard owner client. The newer staff members went about the task in all earnestness and even prepared presentations for the same-until the prank was revealed!”
If there’s one thing that everyone agrees makes a major difference to the perception of an employer, it is transparency. If there’s a problem, don’t deny it. Left to their own devices, employees interpret rumours and half truths as facts. “Being upfront with the realities of business will probably get you a lot of respect,” says Balaji. Building strong bridges of communication with the staff also gives them a reason to stay besides just money. Balaji adds, “When you walk up to your people and tell them that you may be cutting salaries to stay competitive, they’ll be more confident about sticking it out together through the tough times.”
The second critical aspect is training. Narayanan says that his employer went through a rough patch, with new clients being difficult to get. “HR communicated to its employees that they should upgrade their skills. They also encourage cross-training between staff to ensure their skills remain market-relevant.”
And finally, walk the talk! In tough times, austerity measures are common. But they should be demonstrated from the top, says Ramakrishnan. It is not enough that you encourage people to participate in economising exercises: remember that this is a scary prospect for anyone. The truth is simply that size is neither a facilitator nor a constraint. There is no reason a small ad agency or consultancy should feel disadvantaged in the talent war, if it pursues a communicative and sensitive policy of engaging its people and making them feel wanted and responsible.
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