JobsDialog: A mobile based recruitment solution dedicated to MSME sector

Youth employment- unemployment scenario, 2012-13′, a report by the Labour Bureau, Chandigarh, says that one out of every three persons in the age group 15 to 29 years who has completed his graduation is unemployed. Unemployment among educated youth is more than that among the uneducated ones. On the other hand, at close to 51 million units, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) constitute over 90% of all business units in India. The MSME sector contributes 45% of the manufacturing output and 40% of the total exports of the country.

After agriculture, the MSME sector is the second largest employer in the country. There are over 111 million people already working in the MSME sector. It has potential to provide employment to many more people. In fact, with large organisations hitting a plateau in recruitment, it is the only solution to the growing unemployment problem in the country. Yet, ‘lack of skilled workforce’ is one of the top challenges the sector is facing today. This problem is so severe that it is crippling the sector and preventing it from achieving its peak.

Recruitment woes of the MSME sector

The problem of ‘lack of skilled workforce’ is two faceted: 1. Inability to attract skilled candidates 2. Inability to retain the workers

A survey of SMEs conducted by our TMI group in five districts and a metro inclusive of both manufacturing and service segments revealed that 50% of SMEs had attrition greater than 20%.

The reasons behind the recruitment woes of SMEs are multi-faceted. For example, they cannot pay competitive salaries or carry the charisma of brand. Most SMEs lack the expertise required to attract and hire the right kind of people for the vacancies with them. As a result, they grapple with poor or mediocre talent which, eventually translates into low productivity.

A Solution – JobsDialog

To address this problem, we, at TMI Group have launched India’s first mobile-based recruitment solution called JobsDialog, designed exclusively for Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises. JobsDialog is designed keeping in mind the fact that the recruitment challenges faced by SMEs are different from those of large companies. Its features address the various challenges (negative attitude of jobseekers towards career in SMEs, lack of web presence, lean HR teams, limited budgets, etc) the SMEs face.

Different hiring models for different requirements: Direct Hiring: For Small and Medium Enterprises with high growth aspirations, we provide Direct Hiring solution. We understand that recruitment needs are different for different SME customers. So, we designed JobsDialog with a range of features to address various obstacles SMEs face in the attempt to attract and hire good candidates. The features include:

Employer branding support: We create a micro site and company write up for SMEs to present their company a great place to work. This helps them compete with large companies for good candidates.

Double filter process: Recruitment is a long and tedious process. Wrong candidates can eat into valuable recruitment time and resources. So, we connect SMEs to only those candidates, both suitable for the job and interested in working with them.

Service level agreements: We provide expertise of our recruitment professionals to cut recruitment cycle time up to 50%. Our recruitment experts deliver suitable CVs in just 10 days. This helps SMEs conduct interviews in 14 days or less and close the openings.

Sophisticated technology: With mobile technology and sophisticated software in place, JobsDialog helps SMEs cut their recruitment cost by 50%.

Tie-up with Idea cellular: We connect candidates within the desired geographic limits. This improves the chances that the candidates take up job with the SME.

Access through mobile: Our contact center executives will fill in the registration details for the SMEs and coordinate with candidates to schedule the interviews.

Connect to recruitment experts: SMEs are often pressed for human resources. And when there is a necessity to hire someone, it is burden on line managers. By connecting with our recruitment experts, SMEs can allow their top executives focus on what they are meant to do.

E-Vehicles

Over 90% of India’s MSME sector is micro enterprises – small traders, cottage manufacturers and varied business outlets. Owners of such micro enterprises do not use job boards or social media for recruitment. Their limitations restrict them from aggressively seeking out suitable candidates. To address the recruitment needs of such micro enterprises, TMI partnered with Government agencies like APSSDC and GHMC to run E-Vehicles. An E-Vehicle is equipped with technology and manpower required to gather the details of job seekers in the city and register them. The registered candidates are connected to jobs in micro enterprises, when their profile matches the eligibility criteria laid by the employer. We charge neither the candidates nor the micro enterprises for this service.

Job Fairs

Apart from working with clients, one-on-one basis to provide suitable candidates for a variety of job roles, we conduct job fairs to serve employers with bulk manpower needs. JobsDialog’s versatility reflects in the six large scale job fairs conducted across the country, including one in Davanagere, Karnataka and one in Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, in partnership with government organisations, universities and public sector units.

Job fair is a platform connecting multiple employers to jobseekers and therefore helping promote both employment and industry. It plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between educated job seekers and companies with bulk job postings.

Job Fairs are elaborate process that involves several tasks like creating print ads and organising press meets, developing portal for providing information about the job fairs and registering candidates and employers, connecting with candidates through SMS and Email, providing call centre support to connect with employers and assist them in registration, mapping candidates to job openings based on their qualifications, and branding and managing the event. We have time and again demonstrated our expertise by efficiently handling jobs fairs end-to-end.