Contents

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Submitted By

Abhishek Narula 11PGHR01

Sudhanshu Sharma 11PGHR52

Varun Kansal 11PGHR58

SUBMITTED TO

PROF. SANJAY CHANDWANI

STRATEGIC CHALLENGES IN MARKETING FOR HR

PROFESSIONALS PROJECT ON

A study of strategies followed by select employers to be perceived as preferred employers in India’s

leading B-Schools

Methodology....................................................................................................3

Introduction.....................................................................................................4

Findings: Chosen Organizations.....................................................................9

Findings: Employer Strategies........................................................................9

Godrej...........................................................................................................9

Hindustan Unilever Ltd..............................................................................11

PepsiCo......................................................................................................15

Aditya Birla Group.....................................................................................18

Tata Steel...................................................................................................21

Intel............................................................................................................22

Infosys........................................................................................................25

Axis bank....................................................................................................26

Mahindra & Mahindra...............................................................................27

Conclusion.....................................................................................................28

References.....................................................................................................29

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Methodology

The methodology followed for doing the project was as follows:

1. Study of why organizations follow various strategies to be understood as preferred employers in B-schools

2. Study of four surveys from internet- Great places to Work, Best Employer, Best IT companies to work for, Campustrack to get a list of organizations that are rated high as employers.

3. Selection of organizations that can be approached by the team members

4. Interviews (Face-to-Face) with students who have worked in the select organizations as summer interns.

5. Collection of data about what the organizations are doing in campuses through secondary research

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Introduction

Organizations have always been concerned about attracting and selecting the "right types" of employees. To date, the management and organizational behavior literatures have focused on recruitment as the dominant tool for attracting applicants. However, prior economic research into the functioning of labor markets suggests that improved recruitment is frequently an inadequate response to attraction difficulties, particularly when vacancies are unattractive, or labor shortages persistent. In such situations, more aggressive strategies generally become necessary.

General Strategies employed by OrganizationsUnder any given set of market conditions, at least three conceptually distinct strategies exist for increasing success in attracting prospective candidates. These are: (1) improving recruitment practices, (2) altering employment inducements, and (3) targeting nontraditional applicants.

Recruitment PracticesOf the proposed attraction strategies, recruitment practices have received the most attention in the management and organizational behavior literatures. The following summarizes four dimensions of recruitment that have been hypothesized to influence applicant attraction.

Organizational Representatives: Several characteristics of organizational representatives(e.g., recruiters, hiring managers) have been hypothesized to affect applicants' impressions and decisions about organizations. If in fact organizational representatives have important effects on applicants, it would make sense to ensure that recruiting representatives possess the "right" characteristics through selection, training, or some combination of the two (Rynes & Boudreau, 1986).

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To date, research on organizational representatives has concentrated almost exclusively on campus recruiters. A review of this research suggests that: (1) recruiter characteristics explain more variance in attitudes that are far removed from job choice (e.g., impressions of recruiters) than those closer to choice (e.g., likelihood of accepting a job offer); (2) recruiter characteristics generally explain less variance in studies that control for job characteristics than those that do not, and (3) virtually no evidence exists that actual job choices are affected by recruiters, once job characteristics are taken into account (Rynes, in press).Thus, the employer wishing to attract more or better applicants will not find much support for the notion that improving the performance of organizational representatives will enhance job acceptance rates (although it may enhance the more general "public relations" aspects of attraction). It should be noted, however, that prior research has not directly tested the potential benefits of recruiter selection and training programs. Rather, recruiters have been studied as "naturally occurring phenomena" in campus placement offices. Second, it should be noted that other (unstudied) representatives such as hiring managers or potential coworkers may exert greater influence on applicants than do campus recruiters (e.g., Fisher, lIgen & Hoyer, 1979).

Recruitment Messages: A second recruitment dimension that may affect attraction is the nature of the "message" transmitted to prospective employees. Although vacancies are ostensibly composed of a "given" set of attributes, discretion is nevertheless possible in terms of the content, favorability, and detail with which vacancies are described. Room for discretion arises from such factors as imperfect job seeker information, inherent subjectivity in describing and evaluating certain attributes (e.g., career prospects), and the flexibility built into many job descriptions (Schwab, et al., 1987).To date, the vast majority of research has focused on message favorability (usually called "realism"), rather than on message content or level of detail. Interest in message favorability arose from concerns that employers take advantage of job seeker uncertainty to "oversell"

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vacancies (e.g., Schneider, 1976), perhaps at the expense of subsequent employee satisfaction and turnover.Empirical evidence is mixed as to whether or not realistic messages reduce job acceptance rates. For example, a meta-analysis of ten studies showed no effect whatsoever (d=.OO) until a large outlier containing more than 1/4 of the total sample was eliminated from the analysis (Premack & Wanous, 1986). Additionally, considerable work remains to identify the psychological processes involved, the generalizability of effects across a wide variety of jobs and applicants, and the productivity-related characteristics of acceptors versus rejecters under more (less) favorable messages (Rynes, in press).Beyond favorability, however, other potentially important message dimensions remain almost completely unstudied. These include: (1) The effects of emphasizing certain kinds of content over others (e.g., extrinsic versus intrinsic, verifiable versus non-verifiable); (2) The effects of revealing various kinds of information (e.g., pay) at early versus late stages of the process; (3) The most effective ways to present credible information about non verifiable attributes; (4) The extent to which strategies for designing effective recruitment messages generalize across "good" and "bad" jobs!, and (5) Whether different kinds of information (e.g., verifiable and non-verifiable) are equally effectively communicated across different media.

Recruitment Sources: Success in attracting desirable employees may also depend upon the source(s) through which applicants are located. Presumably, sources differ in the extent to which they provide detailed and accurate information (both to applicants and employers), as well as in the productivity-related characteristics of the applicants reached (e.g., Ullman, 1966; Schwab, 1982).

To date, research on recruitment sources has focused exclusively on:(1) Selectees rather than job applicants and(2) Post-hire rather than pre-hire outcomes (e.g., Breaugh, 1981; Taylor & Schmidt, 1983)

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Unfortunately, selection, self-selection, and post-hire effects are all inherently confounded in such research (Rynes, in press). As such, extant research has little to say about source effects on applicants' pre-hire attitudes, productivity-related characteristics, and decisions.

Recruitment Timing: Two hypotheses have been offered as to how recruitment timing might be modified to an employer's advantage. The first suggests that by avoiding delays between recruitment stages, employers can minimize the chances of discouraging applicants and causing them to accept other offers (Rynes, et al., 1980). To date, this hypothesis has received little empirical attention, and only mixed support (see, e.g., Arvey, Gordon, Massengill & Mussio, 1975 versus Taylor & Bergmann, 1987).The second hypothesis suggests that employers who extend the first offer to a candidate may have an advantage over those who extend subsequent offers. According to Soelberg (1967), the costs, anxieties and uncertainties of job search cause many applicants to favor "sure" offers over uncertain ones, provided they do not contain any minimally unacceptable features (e.g., insufficient salary). If true, employers who practice early recruitment may have a competitive advantage in attracting applicants. However, this strategy may only work for employers of above-average competitiveness, as the "best" applicants (see footnote 1) may not jump at early offers unless those who offer them are also highly desirable employers (e.g., Weiss, 1980; Yellen, 1984).In sum, despite the fact that the timing of recruitment activities has been hypothesized to affect both the quantity and quality of applicants attracted, no firm conclusions can be drawn about timing effects.

Employment InducementsA second strategy for enhancing applicant attraction is to improve the nature of the inducements offered. For example, employers who are confronted with attraction difficulties can raise salaries, improve benefits, implement flextime, provide child or eldercare, develop internal career paths, or make any number of other improvements in working conditions. Although previous studies have typically used the

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term "job attributes," we use the term "inducements" to convey the notion of deliberately modifying attributes for the explicit purpose of enhancing job attractiveness.

Most research on employment inducements has been of limited usefulness to organizations. For example, the vast numbers of attribute rating or ranking studies share a number of serious flaws that threaten both their internal and external validity (e.g., Lawler, 1971; Rynes, Schwab & Heneman, 1983). Policy capturing experiments address some of these difficulties (e.g., they reduce social desirability tendencies and provide a concrete decision context), but introduce limitations of their own. For example, policy capturing experiments involve hypothetical rather than real job choices, cannot be generalized beyond the inducements and inducement levels presented, and presume market characteristics that are not realistic for most job seekers (e.g., perfect information, multiple simultaneously available alternatives.

Nevertheless, previous research does suggest that job attributes are far and away the major determinants of applicant reactions. For example, in the few psychological studies that have simultaneously examined recruiters and job attributes, both laboratory experiments and field surveys suggest that attributes dominate applicants' attitudes, particularly at later stages of the attraction process. In fact, recruiter effects have typically faded to non-significance once job attributes are taken into account (e.g., Powell, 1984; Rynes & Miller, 1983; Taylor & Bergmann, 1987; for an exception see Harris & Fink, 1987).Moreover, a limited number of field experiments suggest that inducements affect behaviors as well as attitudes, and applicant quality as well as quantity. For example, experimental inducement programs in the Armed Services have shown that both the quantity and quality (as measured by aptitude test scores) of Army recruits are highly sensitive to changes in extrinsic inducements such as salaries, recruitment and retention bonuses, and educational incentives (e.g., Lakhani, 1988; Tannen, 1987). Similar results were obtained in a cross-sectional examination of Navy enlistment rates by region, where

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enlistments were modeled as a function of alternative employment opportunities, regional office expenditures on recruitment, and Naval salaries relative to local wage levels (Hanssens & Levien, 1983).Unfortunately, a variety of difficulties prohibit firm conclusions as to precisely which inducements are most strongly related to applicant attraction. For example, different methodologies appear to produce different attribute preference hierarchies (Schwab, et aL 1987). In addition, the relative importance of various inducements appears to be subject to both individual differences and differences in market characteristics (Lawler, 1970; Reynolds, 1951). Still, theoretical arguments (e.g., Rottenberg, 1956; Schwab, et at, 1987) and limited empirical research (e.g., Lakhani, 1988; Rynes, et aI., 1983; Tannen, 1987) suggest that verifiable attributes with calculable pecuniary value are likely to be particularly effective attractors.

Applicant PoolsA third way to increase the ability to attract candidates is to direct recruitment efforts toward individuals who are, for one reason or another, less marketable than "traditional" applicants or the applicants sought by competitors (e.g., Finney, 1989). Generally speaking, organizations are assumed to target initial recruitment activities toward the most desirable individuals they think they can attract (e.g., Ken- & Fisher, 1950; MaIm, 1955; Doeringer & Pi ore, 1971).However, if such efforts fail, they are then hypothesized to relax their standards until all vacancies are filled (Thurow, 1975).

Considerable empirical evidence suppons these assumptions. For example, during World War II, employers sought women and handicapped applicants for jobs formerly filled only by able-bodied males (Kerr & Fisher, 1950). More recently, employers turned to untrained clerical and administrative employees to fill entry-level programming jobs when programmers became scarce and expensive (Osterman, 1987).

Although targeting nontraditional applicants might, at first glance, be assumed to lead to lower subsequent productivity and overall utility, it should be noted that some employer preferences (and, hence, factOrs

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determining applicant "marketability") have not been definitively shown to be productivity-related (e.g., Doeringer & Piore, 1971; Thurow, 1975). For example, low marketability may be the result of various forms of discrimination (e.g., occupational crowding or statistical discrimination) rather than true productivity-related differences (Arrow, 1972; Spence, 1973).

Thus, it is not clear that all marketability-related characteristics (e.g., age, sex, prior experience) are associated with true differences in productivity, length of service, and other determinants of overall utility. Indeed, it is possible that pursuit of non-traditional applicants wil1 sometimes lead to greater utility, because such individuals may be equally productive, but work for lower wages than conventional applicants (Doeringer & Piore, 1971). In any event, because pursuit of nontraditional applicants appears to be a common adaptation to attraction difficulties, additional research is warranted in this area.

Findings: Chosen Organizations

After studying and looking at the surveys and based on the approachability of the organizations, the following nine organizations were shortlisted.

1. Godrej2. Hindustan Unilever Ltd.3. Pepsico4. Aditya Birla Group (ABG)5. Tata Steel6. Intel7. Infosys8. Axis bank

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9. Mahindra & Mahindra

Then intensive primary and secondary research followed in order to understand the strategies of these employers.

Findings: Employer Strategies

The following are the strategies that the selected employers follow in order to become preferred employer in leading Indian B-Schools.

Godrej

As a part of their campus branding activities, Godrej started doing the following:

1. Case Study Competitions: GPL case study competition was launched by Godrej last year in order to engage more students. The following is a snapshot of the case study launched last year.

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2. Godrej Loud: This recently launched event also focus on engaging B-school students. It says, “Tell us your big dream and we will give 5 winners up to 1.5 lakhs each towards fulfilling their dreams and also, Pre Placement Summer offers into Gurukul 2013, the summer internship programme at Godrej”.

3. Business Talk Leadership (BTL) sessions: Godrej since 2008 go to campuses and give lectures/ talks. They are engaged very much. Almost 2 sessions in 1 month is the frequency.

4. Summer Internship: As a part of brand building, Godrej is focusing on their interns who join them for summer internship. They believe in word of mouth. Hence, they pamper their interns a lot.

One month before they join the organization for summer internship, they are given many goodies – personalized mug with their name and message imprinted.

Also, they provide their interns with accommodation and have a very good working culture in the organization. There is very good work life balance for them.

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5. Sponsor Events: This year they are planning to sponsor events on B-schools. This will do lot of marketing both internally and externally to Godrej.

In 2008, Godrej underwent restructuring and they changed their logo also. It was a red logo earlier, now when there is change in philosophy, they changed it to a combination of Red, Blue and Green.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

Nielson survey has recently revealed that the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is the most preferred choice for B-School graduates. Hindustan Unilever has topped the list as the most preferred recruiter. Nearly 30% students prefer to pursue a career in FMCG sector.

In this survey, views of 1,100 final year students from the top 35 b-schools of India were taken in October- November last year. Majority of students expressed that FMCG has high growth potential.

Other sectors preferred by MBA graduates include IT consultancy and services, management consulting, investment banking, IT product and development, foreign and domestic banks, financial institutions, retail and business firms. Amongst the most demanded recruiters, HUL followed by Google+, Aditya Birla Group, Accenture, McKinsey & Co., Infosys, P&G, BCG, Citi Group, Microsoft, TAS and Axis Bank topped the hit list.

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1. Case Study Competition: “Lessons in Marketing Excellence”

December 26th 2009: Hindustan Unilever Limited and CNBC-TV18 launched ‘Lessons in Marketing Excellence’, a marketing and business challenge across top B-Schools in India. Over 1500 students from across 12 premier B-schools in India registered to participate in the challenge.

The challenge has been extended to each B-School in the form of a case study from 12 distinct industry verticals. Teams of two to three students will be presenting innovative solutions to these case studies in the form of audio-visual presentation and an executive summary. The best two teams from each B-School selected by their own marketing faculty members will present case studies to an eminent jury consisting of senior representatives from HUL, CNBC-TV18, Mint and the industry vertical. This will be captured on CNBC-TV18 as an 18-episode series starting from 27th December 2009 at 8:00 pm.

The winners will get an opportunity of an express business leadership training module at HUL including an international stint. The winners will also get a chance to be the guest editors for CNBC-TV18’s Storyboard, in addition to a host of other exciting prizes.

The participating B-schools include IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Lucknow, IIM-Kozhikode, IIM-Kolkata, IIM-Indore, XLRI, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, NITIE, ISB Hyderabad

2. Business Leadership Trainees

No more sacking out. No more two-hour chai sessions. It's just you and 15 months of pure, unadulterated, intensive training. Some may call it the boot camp. But the HUL Business Leadership Trainee Program (BLTP) is probably the most thorough warming up that you can ever get. The rigorous training will help you develop an almost natural ability to take calculated risks, cope with the pressures of corporate life and hone your leadership skills.

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What makes Hindustan Unilever Limited the perfect choice for ambitious Campus Recruits with bags of potential?, quite simply, everything about it. Exciting brands: 2 out 3 Indians uses a HUL product. That means you'll be working with a portfolio of brands that includes market leaders and household names. A chance to make a genuine impact on people's lives.

3. Local & internationalOperating in more than 150 countries, Unilever is a successful and respected business. They focus on the needs of local consumers by harnessing global expertise and team working. For new recruits, that means exceptional exposure and experience.

4. Learn something new every dayThey offer world-class development opportunities in a fast-paced, challenging work environment. That means opportunity to learn from the best, both internally and externally.

5. Working togetherWe look for people with different views, ideas, experiences and backgrounds to bring dynamism to the business and, most importantly, an empathy with consumers. It's those individuals working together that make Unilever one of the most successful consumer goods companies in the world. Individuals with the courage to be heard, seize opportunities and take risks.

PepsiCo

PepsiCo's Search for India's best brains to become Indra's advisors contest for B-school students

Winners to get a chance to present case study to Indra Nooyi along with a Pre Placement Offer at PepsiCo

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First segment of the competition is a virtual game of Business Simulation

PepsiCo, one of the world's largest selling Food and Beverage Companies, has a unique initiative called 'Taste the Success – Become Indra's Advisors' challenge for management students in India. The emerging winners will get an opportunity to present their case study to Indra Nooyi, Chairperson & CEO, PepsiCo in New York along with a Pre Placement Offer (PPO) at PepsiCo while the runners up will get a cash award of Rs 1,00,000/- and Pre Placement Interview (PPI).

Become Indra’s Advisors Contest’ is business plan contest in India and attracts rigorous competition. In this competition students have to present their challenge solution to PepsiCo’s Chairperson and CEO, Indra Nooyi at PepsiCo’s Headquarters at Purchase, New York. The winning team get pre-placement offers at PepsiCo India.

The competition has been divided into two rounds, the first being the newly introduced Business Simulation and the second, a Case Study Contest. A game of Business Simulation – a virtual battle of brains, which truly tests the participant's acumen in handling business related challenges, witnessed 582 entries. The participants are required to strategize and take real business decisions impacting the growth of their virtual organizations. The winning team stands to receive Rs. 50,000 cash prize plus PPI.

The Case Study category aptly titled "PepsiCo: The Corporate Citizen" revolves around the belief that corporations today are intrinsically connected to the community and world around it, and have a clear responsibility to help enrich society. The winners of this category stand to win Rs. 50,000 cash prize plus PPI (Summer Internship for First Year Students). Cumulative winners will get to present their case study, to Indra Nooyi, CEO and Chairman, PepsiCo at New York plus a PPO and runners up get Rs. 1, 00, 000 plus a PPI

Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Pavan Bhatia, Executive Director- HR, PepsiCo India said, "The success of the B-school contest that we had launched earlier this year gave us immense confidence to take the initiative forward to the next level. The tremendous response that we received from the management students last time clearly showed that the students are always on a look out for such opportunities and innovative mediums to prove their talent."

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This contest provides new avenues for the students who are always on a lookout for various platforms to showcase their business sense, creativity and talent. The case studies that we received last time were truly amazing and I look forward to more brilliant work this time as well. The fact that this involves presenting the case study in person to Indra Nooyi makes the prospect even bigger for the young minds of India."

Become Indra’s Advisors Contest’ is business plan contest in India and attracts rigorous competition. In this competition students have to present their challenge solution to PepsiCo’s Chairperson and CEO, Indra Nooyi at PepsiCo’s Headquarters at Purchase, New York. The winning team get pre-placement offers at PepsiCo India.

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Aditya Birla Group

Aditya Birla Group targets only 6 top colleges in India (IIM – A,B, C, L, XLRI and ISB) for campus branding activities. They concentrate their time and resources on only those people whom they really want. As a part of their campus branding activities, they do the following:

1. On-Campus Competitions: As part of their engaging activities, they conduct a simulated competition where they offer PPIs based on this. The name of the competition is “Stratos” which is named because it is a strategy based simulation game. This competition is only for 1st years and is conducted just before their summers in order to create hype. They are planning to come up with similar competition for 2nd year students also. The following is the poster that they use for the same:

2. Workshops: They go for on-campus workshops also3. Sponsorships: They sponsor B-school events so that both

internal and external branding is done4. Pre-Placement Talks: In order to get good amount of attention,

when they come for pre-placement talks, they make sure that atleast one alumni is accompanying them. This helps in connecting well with the crowd. The students can easily relate to him and can see where they will be in a few years from the time they join the organization

5. Branding through Interns: They provide the interns with lot of stipend and facilities so that they go back to the college and can

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brag about the same. They also give them T-shirt and stationary with ABG written on it.

6. Website: ABG has a website http://www.abglp.com/ where they have testimonials by their interns and people they have hired. This has other campus related information also.

7. Scholarships: They also have “Aditya Birla Group Scholarships” which are given to people from specific colleges and before the commencement of their academic sessions. The following is the snapshot of their website http://www.adityabirlascholars.net/about/The_scholarship.aspx which has all the details related to their scholarships:

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Other than the above activities they are already doing, they are planning to come up with Campus Ambassadors for each campus. He/She can be an alumni or senior person in ABG. He will be the face of ABG on campus.

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Tata Steel

Tata Steel has recently revamped its campus branding strategy. It is aggressively looking to build its corporate as well as employer brand. The following steps are being followed by the company to enhance its perception as a preferred employer on B-School campuses:

1. Testimonials by Employees: Tata Steel is using a lot of employees, including recognized personalities like Bachendri Pal, to promote the work culture and growth opportunities at the company. It has developed a series of advertisements to attract individuals from different walks of life to understand the values of the company and what working at the company means.

2. Campus Engagement Activities: As part of its revamped strategy, Tata Steel is looking towards involving itself to a much greater extent with the different B-School campuses. It is aiming at the following ways of engagement in the current academic year:

a. Sponsorship of B-School events and fests

b. Case study competitions

c. Interaction with students through the format of guest lectures and workshops

3. Salary Offerings: Recently, Tata Steel has modified its compensation structure, resulting in a significant (around 40%) increase in the salary of management trainees. Coupled with the strong values and the unique work culture embodied by the brand, the company is becoming an increasingly attractive proposition for B-School candidates.

4. Engagement with Academia: Due to its proximity with XLRI Jamshedpur, the employees of Tata Steel have regular interaction with the faculty and students of the institute.

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Students are given plenty of opportunities to work on live business problems. Guest lectures by senior ranking officials are also common.

5. Using the Corporate Brand: The Tata Group is one of the biggest, most respected conglomerates in India, with a strong emphasis on ethics and corporate values. During its interaction with students, especially at pre-placement talks, Tata Steel employees highlight the pride in being a part of the Tata family, and also share their joy in working a culture characterized by strong ethics and respect for all individuals.

Intel

Intel they say is the place to make an impact in the society. They call themselves the “Sponsors of Future”. The following are some of the strategies they follow to be branded as preferred employers.

1. Campus Engagement Activities: As part of its attraction strategy, Intel is trying to involve itself to a much greater extent with the different B-School campuses. It does the following to engage campus students:

a. Sponsorship of B-School events and festsb. Interaction with students through the format of guest

lectures and workshops

2. Engaging internal employees: Intel supports its employees extensively. The work environment is such that the employees love to work in the company. They project their organization as a place where the employees can pursue their passions and support world changing initiatives. They can also thrive intellectually. The employees are as diverse as their customers, vendors, and colleagues in the global market. This worldwide perspective helps them anticipate and provide for the growing needs of a changing marketplace.

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The employees act as a source of word of mouth branding and the students get attracted to the company because of its work environment.

3. Employee Testimonials: The website has many employee testimonials that emphasize on the fact that Intel is a great place to work. These are in the form of videos that are easily accessible by the students of the B-Schools and the testimonials are given by employees who have stayed with the company for a long time. This is the screenshot of the videos on the career website of Intel.

4. Compensation and Benefits: Intel's comprehensive compensation and benefits package is designed to attract, retain, and reward the people necessary to create Intel's longer-term growth and profitability. Wherever possible, they provide the ability for employees to participate in a range of compensation programs, which allow employees to share in Intel's financial success through profit-sharing and stock

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programs; and innovative benefits that help employees and their families achieve improved quality of life and financial security.Intel's comprehensive package:

a) Provides financial rewards based on individual performance;

b) Shares the company's financial success with employees; and,

c) Provides employees with a range of health care, insurance coverage, paid leave and employee development opportunities

These benefits are very attractive to the students as Intel places its compensation much higher than the Industry average. This makes Intel one of the preferred employers in leading Indian B-Schools.

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Infosys

Academic Entente (AcE)

Infosys' Global Academic Relations team forges Academic Entente (AcE) with best-in-class global academic and partner institutions. It explores co-creation opportunities between Infosys and academia through case studies, student trips and speaking engagements. They also collaborate on technology, emerging economies, globalization, and research.

Some initiatives include:

Research CollaborationsInfosys engages in research collaborations with leading academic institutions. It, along with students and professors co-create intellectual property and publish research in peer-reviewed journals. Whether creating software code or new business frameworks, Infosys partners with academia to leverage combined intellectual and research prowess.

PublicationsInfosys publishes collaborative research in peer-reviewed journals and publications, SETLabs Briefings and Finacle Connect.

Conferences and Speaking SessionsInfosys shares expertise and points of view at conferences, student clubs and in classrooms.

VisitsStudent groups visit Infosys campuses across the globe to learn more about technology-led business transformations and the power of emerging markets.

Campus Hiring

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Infosys hires bright, talented students at varied experience levels. Today the InStep Global Internship Program is also part of AcE activities at the Global Academic Relations Team. InStep is Infosys' flagship global internship program that attracts talent from top academic institutions around the world. The program draws students from management, technical and liberal arts backgrounds. InStep fosters a multi-cultural environment within the organization and provides high-impact strategy and cutting-edge research projects. We also benefit from the diverse perspectives of a best-in-class talent pool.

Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, has been Chief Mentor of InStep since its inception in 1999. InStep alumni have grown to 750. In 2010, 150 talented professionals were hired from 97 top universities for strategic projects.

Axis bank

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The Bank aims at maintaining a strong employer brand in the financial services sector especially on the campuses of the premier business schools of the country. In a major initiative, the Bank launched Axis Academic Interface Program (AAIP) with the 2-fold purpose:

1. Building long-term partnership with Institutions to offer youngsters an understanding about the financial services industry,

2. Creating ‘Axis Bankers’. So far, the Bank has tied up with Manipal University, NIIT, IFBI and Guwahati University.

‘Axis Ahead’ is an eleven month Management Trainee Program at Axis Bank Ltd. The program selects graduates from some of the premier business schools in India including the Indian Institutes of Management, MDI, Gurgaon, XLRI Jamshedpur, FMS Delhi, ISB Hyderabad, SPJIMR, Mumbai, JBIMS, Mumbai and XIM, Bhubaneswar.

Axis Ahead, the Bank’s Management Trainee Programme focuses on grooming business leaders of tomorrow through a rigorous 11 month cross-departmental and branch exposure training.

The bank has identified top 10 b schools all over the country which they regularly visit.

Mahindra & Mahindra

The Group Management Cadre (GMC) program draws in highly talented MBA graduates to jumpstart their careers in key positions throughout the Group.  They recruit from the top 17 business schools in India through a rigorous process based on resume scores, group evaluations, a leadership round, and a final interview.  They want to attract and retain the best of the best for lifelong careers leading our businesses. 

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Mahindra War Room: The War Room, first commissioned in 2007, is Mahindra's spearhead campaign, rolled out in 17 top Business Schools, to create excitement and transform perceptions, while attracting and engaging top notch B-school talent to creatively respond to live and realistic business issues through a fair and rigorous process of evaluation. The War Room has been instrumental in improving the Mahindra Group's Employer Brand rank from 67th in 2008 to 16th in 2011.

Summer Internship: Internship at Mahindra provides opportunity to contribute real deliverables to the sector of one’s choice.  One can create lasting relationships with Mahindra managers and leaders across all levels through close interaction on his/her projects.  It provides experience of the complexity and opportunity of working for a dynamic, high-growth federation of diverse businesses.

Conclusion

Hence our study has concluded that there are many different strategies that organizations pursue in order to become a preferred employer in leading Indian B-Schools today.

We can see that there are many new strategies that have been put in place by these employers when compared to the conventional strategies that once existed. This goes on to prove the fact that employers these days are putting more efforts in trying to attract the top talent for their organizations. They are ready to spend more on these initiatives. Also the perception of the Human resources has changed. They are now becoming resourceful humans and increasingly, the employers are trying to provide a work environment that allows the employees to mix fun with work.

With a majority of the workforce retiring and a high level of competition, employers are facing talent crunch in their organizations. In this view, attraction and retention of top talent has become even more important to them.

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8. Best Employer Survey: www. bestemployersindia .com 9. Boudreau, 1. W., & Rynes, S. L. (1985) Role of recruitment in

staffing utility analysis10. Best IT companies to work for:

www.greatplaceto work .in/ best /list-in.htm 11. www. campustrack .net 12. ndia.co.in/Media/pressreleases/News-19-jan-2011.aspx 13. http://www.hul.co.in/14. https://www.facebook.com/GodrejLOUD 15. http://www.mahindra.com

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