Exit interview, enter change

Santrupt Misra

Around six months ago, eight management trainees from different organisation received a call from a management consultant. They were invited to participate in an interview with the Rs 27,000-crore Aditya Birla group. They were surprised, given that all eight had quit the group at various times over the past year "" and all within three months of joining.

But this was not an attempt to woo them back to the organisation. Instead, the Aditya Birla group was embarking on a reverse learning exercise "" the feedback from the former trainees would be used to rejig, if necessary, the group's six-year-old management training system (MTS). Says Aditya Birla Management Corporation (ABMC) Director Santrupt Misra, "Our core aim was to find out which areas we could have improved upon vis-à-vis training."

Why did ABMC feel the need for exit interviews? From the start, the group's MTS has reeled under attrition rates of up to 20 per cent; last year, of the average batch of 35 management trainees, 15 quit "" eight within the first three months of the programme.

Clearly, something was wrong. To get an objective, third-party view of the problem, ABMC took on board a management consultancy firm (the company declined to reveal the identity of the firm).

The objective was clearly stated "" revitalise the group's training and management development skills. The first task identified by the consultant was to speak with the former trainees. But they would have to be approached carefully. It was decided that there should be a time lag of at least six months from the time the trainee quit the organisation.

That was important: speak to them too soon, and you're likely to face an emotional backlash; delay it too long, and the respondents may be disinterested. There are other, more mundane reasons as well: you're unlikely to get candid responses unless the former employee has cleared his dues with the erstwhile employer, and is now well-settled in his new job. "Given some time, they are more mature and objective in their assessment and analysis," agrees Misra.

So, what responses did the exit interviews get? The former trainees had something to say on all aspects of the training programme "" from the structuring of the training modules, to the projects. The management trainees were particularly dissatisfied with the projects they had been given "" rather than the cross-functional projects that are generally assigned to trainees, they suggested that core functional projects that have actual implementation value, be assigned in future.

The Aditya Birla group's practice of rotating trainees between functions was another problem area; the respondents said they would have preferred spending more time learning the ropes at the business where they would ultimately be absorbed. Extended assignments in rural areas and even the quality of the mentors were other stumbling blocks.

Building on the findings of the consultant's interviews with the trainees, ABMC decided to take a fresh look at its training structure. The result: the group's curriculum for its management trainees is now more detailed and comprehensive.

The marketing and sales training, for instance, now includes in-depth studies of sales and marketing channels "" trainees will now spend more time working on details such as how dealer orders are processed and tracked, how product pricing is determined, how discount patterns work and so on. "Such minute details were missing in our earlier training curriculum, which was much more generalised," points out Misra.

The observation about the quality of mentors was also taken seriously. Earlier, mentors were chosen depending on the location where the trainees were posted. Now, trainees will report to function-specific mentors, irrespective of where they are located.

Says Misra, "We realised that it makes more sense to have one senior person from a special function overseeing and making sure that the trainee's professional development is taking place."

At the same time, to ensure that trainees understand the vision and purpose of the group "" and do not get mired in the intricacies of their function "" ABMC has increased the number of presentations made to the trainees during the induction programme. Until last year, only a couple of directors addressed the new recruits; now that number has gone up to six or seven business heads.

ABMC has also taken steps to address the biggest bone of contention between trainees in the group "" the pay packet. Earlier, trainees in different businesses had different compensation levels. But what is considered a high salary in the commodities business may be a pittance in the information technology field.

Meanwhile, the trainees were undergoing the same training programme, where the issue of salary often caused friction. Now, ABMC is considering a single compensation structure for the training period. "We can always segregate it afterwards," points out Misra.

Of course, not all suggestions found favour with the group. Being a conglomerate, the Aditya Birla group is broadly spread across three business areas "" commodities, branded goods and services (IT and financial). There is a temptation among trainees to change functions after the training period.

During the interviews, the former rookies had suggested that the option be open for trainees to join the business of their choice. But this is one demand that was set aside. "We decided to keep the option of their final placements with ourselves. There are limits to flexibility," declares Misra.

Even before the exit interview exercise, ABMC had been trying to retain trainees better. Misra claims that better role clarity, more stable, value-adding projects and better on-the-job assignments have already ensured that the attrition rate for management trainees is already down to between 2 and 5 per cent. Will the new learnings help it fall further?

(Additional reporting by Prasad Sangameshwaran)