In this end of the season (2009) e-zine, we present tips of Hiring Right from Peter Earnshaw, MD,SilkRoad Asia. SilkRoad is one of world's foremost HR technology providers.

1. About Hiring Right & Retaining Long
Tips from the bottom of the pyramid.
“How do we hire right and retain long?” is one question that every employer
must have lost sleep over once in a while. Pasha bhai who runs a motorcycle Peter Earnshaw
workshop in Old Alwal, Secunderabad, India, worries about his new recruit just
as much as the Head of HR for India’s largest bank.
Through this e-zine feature, I would present views from seasoned professionals on what they
believe is the right way to talent acquisition and retention. To begin this series, we spoke to
Peter Earnshaw, Managing Director-Asia, SilkRoad Technology.
Highlights:
• The Three Rules
There are three rules that Peter shares with every candidate he has ever met for a job
interview or employee who has worked for him:
Rule-1: You will never have “enough funding” to do all that you want.
Rule-2: You will never have access to “enough resources”.
Rule-3: Do not expect to be “loved” by everyone.
Innovation and creativity flourish when people have to think on how to deliver success
through the application of ideas, not money. Think of Gandhi’s budget for delivering
independence to India; these 3 rules applied to him and everyone who worked with him
yet they paved way for the world’s largest democracy.
• Understand the profile!
While I love to fill my office too with six languages speaking, Thuraya flaunting geeks who
speak like servers, I stick to the basics. I will not hire a superstar where a TVC actor
would suffice. I grew up seeing the same faces in our nearby retail outlet but the video
store next door has new faces every other day. Reason? Well, they hire musicians as shop
floor assistants!
• Set realistic expectations
“Sometimes I am appalled by the apparent dumbness among new hires”! “The only letter
they can write well, I assume, are the SMS texts they send out”! If you have felt this way
recently, you need to do a reality check. Judging young hires or candidate by your
experience is surreal! Let them be, they have their own learning curve, just like you had
when you were their age.
• Tangible targets
Sometimes big sounding sales and management jargons carry us off. We leave new hires
confused. An example: “Get me data on how many commodity brokers migrated to share
broking in the last ten years!” Some people can only process limited quantities of data at
one go; help them do a good job by breaking down your umbrella expectations into small
bytes.
TMI is a full cycle HR service provider catering to corporates based out of India or interested in the Indian Talent Pool. For solutions in talent acquisition,
management or development solutions, write to business@tminetwork.com or call +91 9246 554193

2. • Your business = Sum total of your people capabilities
Imagine what would happen if all employee of a software development company walk out
one day and leave behind world-class super computers and development Software! As a
supervisor you have to believe that your business will be only as good as your people let it
be. This respect for people and the skill they embody will help your team succeed.
• Run a cost benefit analysis
I remember seeing a very important open position advertised in one of the Internet
shopping companies for 6 months! I was mighty curious about this since I believed that no
company can survive without a person manning that position and six months seemed a
wee bit too long. I enquired and here is what I found out: The management was looking for
someone from the Microsoft and Google of the world to join them in the position and…
guess what! They were planning to pay less than what Aunty Mary pays to her Pizza
Delivery Supervisor!
Always do a cost benefit analysis for each position; the age-old adage stands firm… if you
pay peanuts you get monkeys. In these post recession-days, monkeys are again becoming
costly.
• Conditional “No hire & fire” period
Ok, so you have hired someone and followed the best possible assessment available at
that point of time… and your alarm bells start ringing on the third day. It can be for any
reason, maybe late coming, maybe a poorly written mail, the list is endless. Here is what
you should NOT DO… fire him/her within the week. Once an employee is in your system,
there has to be a cooling off period. Let the Almond Effect subside, let the new hire get
into routine before you go judging him.
• Personal benchmarks to be followed.
People who report to you synchronize their actions with you periodically. This is because
following what Boss does is the easiest way to keep boss happy and their job safe!
Set personal benchmarks in all that you do. If you walk in to office late and expect others
to be on time, surprise yourself someday by walking in early and finding an empty office!
• Attitude/Passion check
All employees want to do a good job, having said that, organizations are also reflections
of our society. You will find every type in here. At any point of time (day 1 or day 1000),
you get this eerie feeling that you have someone not all that engaged with the work,
floating around, take steps to separate him from other team members. Observe in
quarantine, and if your suspicion founds concrete evidence, patch it up before it spreads.
“In another words, “My interest in you is only as high as yours in getting your job done!”
About SilkRoad Technology
TMI is a full cycle HR service provider catering to corporates based out of India or interested in the Indian Talent Pool. For solutions in talent acquisition,
management or development solutions, write to business@tminetwork.com or call +91 9246 554193

3. SilkRoad technology, inc., is a leading provider of talent management solutions across the
globe. The SilkRoad hr suite consists of best in class software for HRIS, Performance
Management, Recruiting, Onboarding, Learning and Corporate Communications.
About Peter Earnshaw
Peter is easily among the best professionals in Talent Management space we have come
across. He has over a decade of experience in promoting HR software and HR consulting
solutions across the globe. In his own words, (Peter) has been to places in the world where
“very few idiots have ever gone… and come back safe!”
Lets Connect
Peter Earnshaw:
TMI:
Silkroad Technology Asia: SilkRoad Tech
TMI: TMI
TMI wishes you and your families many happy occasions this Festive Season and,
until next year, happy recruiting!
Best Regards
Rajesh Kumar
General Manager
Business Development & Special Initiatives
+91 40 6676 5310, +91 9246 55 4193
TMI is a full cycle HR service provider catering to corporates based out of India or interested in the Indian Talent Pool. For solutions in talent acquisition,
management or development solutions, write to business@tminetwork.com or call +91 9246 554193