Ten B-schools join hands with IIM Ahmedabad in the move.
By 2012, Indian B-schools may report both their final and summer placements in an organised manner like their counterparts in western countries.
The move, called ‘Indian Placement Reporting Standards’, is being spearheaded by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) with ten major B-schools in the country joining the process to make reporting of placement data more meticulous and transparent.
B-schools like the Ghaziabad-based Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Mumbai-based SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) and other IIMs including IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore and IIM Lucknow have shown interest to be part of the move.
“We need to standardise what we report, when we report and how we report on placements. While this will be a draft proposal which is being prepared by our team of students and faculty, the same will be open for others to suggest modifications. After a specific time-line, we intend to put out the final reporting standards soon,” said Saral Mukherjee, placement chairperson at IIM-A.
IIM-A first mooted this idea at a recruiters’ conclave held in Mumbai in October 2010. Recruiters who attended the conference include — GE, McKinsey and company, Hindustan Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Wipro, Standard Chartered, Bank of India, and Monitor Group among others. Among B-schools, IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore, IIM Lucknow, IIM Shillong, ISB, SP Jain Institute of Management Research and Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad were present at the conclave.
“In the US, there is a placement reporting standard wherein B-schools stick to the norms while declaring placement data. There is a need for such standards in India as a lot of ambiguous data gets reported. We are positively inclined towards this idea as it will bring everyone on the same plain,” said Abbas Ali Gabula, faculty in-charge for placements at SPJIMR. Though ISB was a part of the meeting held in Mumbai, it did not voice its views regarding the standards. An email sent to ISB remained un-answered. Post the conclave IIM-A has been working on a draft proposal which it intends to put out soon for recruiters, B-schools, students and other stakeholders.
Some of the proposals include the placement data being audited by a third party auditor and reporting of placement data three months after the placement season is over. According to Mukherjee, along with transparency, it will ensure the privacy of students and recruiters alike.
According to Samir Barua, director, IIM-A, the norms may include salary structure, amount of CTC (cost to company), bonuses, relocation expenses, other cash expenses and even the non-cash part of the salary offered to the students. “We welcome the idea of unanimous B-schools placement reporting standards. However, we are in touch with IIM-A regarding the norms. as it is difficult to comment on this a draft is put out by IIM-A,” said Prakash Pathak, chairman, corporate relations at IMT Ghaziabad.
Moreover, as part of the standards, recruiters will have to give out information about the offer in a certain format. Hence, IIM-A has already discussed this with recruiters. “The recruiters have agreed to support us. Once the draft proposal of the norms will be made public, it will be up to the recruiters to look at the fine print and come back to us with their suggestions,” adds Mukherjee.
The norms will work in two phases. First, when the recruiters are communicating the offers to the institute or the students and secondly, when the institutes are communicating it to the media. Recruiters will have to give information about the offer in a certain format including breaking down the salary components.
