Career counsellors in the office!

In the knowledge economy they are a new retention tool.

Say career counselling, and it will probably be brushed aside as something for 'college kids'. It was earlier seen in schools and colleges as an activity aimed at helping confused students, or to help those needing guidance; now it has invaded the cubicles of corporate honchos. Indeed, companies now commonly use the services of career counsellors.

It has become customary for the IT, BPO, ITeS and other service industries to have career counsellors for guiding junior staff in particular. This helps to motivate them. Some firms have trained counsellors, but many others prefer senior officials to act as career counsellors for their juniors.

In the heyday of manufacturing, employee satisfaction wasn't given much importance. But in today's knowledge economy, it's the 'thinking individual' who has to be dealt with. Companies cannot afford to lose staff, which is in some ways their most vital asset. Companies reckon that career counsellors to guide and motivate them are what the doctor ordered.

Accenture, which claims to be the first firm to have career counsellors, says these counsellors help boost employee morale. "They help guide people into the right jobs," says Rahul Varma, head of HR at Accenture India.

If a person is not able to do well enough in a given job, the seniors in the firm help the juniors fit into the job that suits them best, he adds. Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company.

The relationship between the career counsellor and the ward, says Varma, is often an independent one and this helps to look at a situation objectively. It becomes an effort to find people for the right role and this particular effort turns out to be a good retention tool.

"Firms try to fit the employee in the right job by matching the competencies of individuals with requirements of the job. However, sometimes later, people turn out to be right person and sometimes not," said D Subramanyam, Head- Group HRM of N K Minda Group, a Rs 545 crore automobile components manufacturer.

The group has over 4,000 employees with 18 plants in India and one in Indonesia, and supplies components to OEMs.

"A career counsellor helps employees on the professional and personal front, and helps find a work-life balance," adds Subramanyam.