Systems in HR practices might be more or less universal, but processes require real-time, contextual changes that address the demands of a dynamic and unique business environment. That, in a nutshell, might sum up the challenges faced by Harrisons Malayalam Ltd (HML).

HML (now part of the RPG group) had its origins in 1844, making it one of the oldest plantation companies in India. The legacy has its pluses and minuses. For one, the management practices of plantation companies were established by the British long before Independence. While it is true that they have withstood the test of time, the task of effecting changes can be quite daunting. There is also the question of how far and how fast changes should — and can — be effected.

With 24 estates of tea and rubber and 21 factories (and processing plants), spread over 50,000 acres, HML is also one of the country's largest plantation companies. At the base of the organisation are 10,700 permanent employees and 2,400 temporary staff who live in the estates spread across six locations in Kerala. Handling the challenge of managing them and growing the business is a team of 273 executives and 338 support staff.

Among the executives, 175 are at the junior management level (Junior Executive to Assistant Manager) and 68 in the middle management (Deputy Manager to Senior Manager). The remaining 24 — designated General Manager and above — comprise the senior management.

While labour attrition is close to zero at HML, absenteeism at the lower levels is a problem. The labour keeps an eye out to take up temporary opportunities for higher daily wages.

Training starts at this very level, and covers the technical aspects of the job across the board. In addition, 300 people were trained under the guidance of Central Board for Workers' Education last year. Quite understandably, the executives who manage this huge workforce have been in focus for HML's HR team.

While the lure of a life in the lap of nature has drawn many, there have been some who have returned to their urban confines.

Conceptual mismatch

There are often conceptual mismatches between the plantation work environment and the expectations of the employees, reveals Baburaj V. Nair, Vice-President of Human Resources, Harrisons Malayalam. While most managers take the isolated work atmosphere in their stride, there are a few who baulk at it. And then there are the pet stories about threats from wild animals; some true and some fancied.

A young and promising junior manager from North India joined the group and was posted to one of the plantations. He liked the environment, revelled in his work and was making substantial progress.

Until the day his wife came down to join him — what was peace and tranquility for him, was loneliness for her. She returned; the young man had to quit his job in a hurry to rejoin her in the city.

There are mismatches on the basis of educational backgrounds too. Nair admits that while the number of applicants has been growing, the company is more careful now about where it hires from. The intake of new executives is only 15 to 20 each year, but given the numbers they have to manage, retaining and training each new batch is a priority.

Five years ago, HML was admittedly more focused on B-schools when it went on campus. From 2010-'11, it was made the recruitment head's mandate to get 75 per cent of the intake from agriculture-based courses — including B.Tech, M.Tech and MBA equivalents. Campuses were chosen for recruitment on the past history of intake. Some of the campuses HML has hired from are GB Pant Agriculture Institute, Pantnagar; BHU, Varanasi; Allahabad University; OUAT, Bhubaneswar; and the Tamil Nadu and Kerala Agricultural Universities.

“The conceptual mismatch between the plantation work environment and the candidates' expectations is far more pronounced in the case of engineers and pure management students. For several of them, the work environment in the plantation proved to be far removed from the slick and comfortable city lifestyle or the college environment,” explains Nair.

HML has on its rolls recruits from IIM Ahmedabad (post-graduate diploma in agri management) and the Institution of Plantation Management, Bangalore, as well, but their numbers are understandably fewer. The average pay for junior managers recruited on campus last year was Rs 4 lakh per annum. This year's campus visits are on hold as the company awaits some corporate go-aheads.

Retention

The shift to recruiting those with an education in agriculture has contributed to better retention levels, claims Nair. The number is at 85 per cent, up from 75 to 80 per cent earlier.

“They are better equipped and often have a relatively better idea of what to expect of life in plantations,” says Nair.

Led by a focused IDP (Individual Development Plan), retention of ‘critical talent' identified by the company — across the mid- and senior management levels — is at 95 per cent, up from 90 per cent in 2009-'10.

This is despite a plethora of job opportunities. Indian companies are making a foray into the plantation sector of several countries in South-East Asia, Africa and Latin America. So managers with a fair amount of experience are becoming sought after.

This is over and above ‘plantation job-networking' which brings foreign jobs and ‘exotic' postings to middle- and senior-level estate managers, says Nair.

Individual development

Employees' professional development is an ongoing process to ensure that they stay current in their fields with mission-critical competencies. HML's HR team has custom-made IDPs that describe the objectives and activities for the employee's career development.

The IDP defines the areas of responsibility assigned to the employee and the competencies needed to perform those.

One or more specific development activities are suggested which would help the employee practice that level of competency. Post-activity, achievements are measured against defined time lines.

The impact has been clearly discernible, according to Nair. While retention has gone up, there has also been a significant increase in the employee engagement score for career and personal growth.

According to him, the employee engagement score in 2009 and 2010 was 69 per cent; it went up to 78 per cent in 2010-'11. Employee engagement on the parameter of ‘career and personal growth' in FY '09 was 51 per cent. And from 47 per cent in FY '10, it has gone up to 60 per cent in FY '11.

“Employee perceptions of growth opportunity was different from the realities on the ground. Similarly, while we were sending people for training programmes, they did not feel the connectivity. With IDP, each employee defines how his or her career would progress and the skills they would learn,” says Nair.

The ‘connect' has now been established with IDP, marrying individual aspirations to corporate goals.

But as the HR team admits, on the hilly terrain of the company's plantations in Kerala, innovation in people processes can never cease.

cj@thehindu.co.in

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