JOYFUL Working 5 or JW5 is the mantra by which LG employees live. Based on five factors; stress, communication, leadership, target setting and working hours, the idea is to  eliminate the existing issues pertaining to the above factors and bring fun at workplace.

So, it is a small wonder that employees, who report at 8.40 a.m., begin their day with exercise and yoga, bracing up for eight hours of fun at work. The recruitments at LG takes place directly and through campus.

On Campus hiring
On Campus hiring is for both engineers and management trainees. A total of 50 colleges are on the panel of LG. Last year the company visited 35 campuses to hire 130 freshers. These are MTech and MBA students.

The engineers’ area of specialisation varies from mechanics, electrical, to other fields. “We recruit students from varied institutions in order to accommodate a broad spectrum of background and cultures,” says Umesh Kumar Dhal, Head, HR and Management System.

Engineers without Master’s degree are not considered at LG. “We need engineers with in depth level of technology who can contribute in research and technology transfer from Korea,” Dhal apprises. The hiring process starts from August for both the lines of requirement. “Right now my department is busy hiring,” says Dhal. The students presented with offer letters in August, 2010 will join onboard from July 2011. The induction programme usually begins on July 1, each year.

Students are selected on the basis of group discussion, after which they have to appear in psychometric test, followed by one round of interview and conclude with another round of personal interview. “They are given offer letter on the campus,” Dhal says. The factors assessed in the interview are students’ degree of   intellectual awareness, drive for performance, levels of adaptability, ownership and passion. “To sum up, it’s the attitude, aptitude and field knowledge that is evaluated,” says Dhal. This year LG plans to recruit a little over 100 candidates.

Campuses, function areas and deployment  
Zero days are preferred but if the dates clash, the second best institutions are chosen.  For engineers, IITs, NIT’s, Punjab Engineering College and Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology are visited. For management trainees, some of the institutions visited are: FORE, IBS, BIMM and ISB. The MBA’s settle into function areas of sales and marketing, product planning, supply chain management, risk management, finance, operations and HR. MTechs join manufacturing and Research and Development. Lateral movement is allowed.

LG has an in-house job portal where employees can apply for vacant positions emerging in various verticals. As far as the deployment of a fresher is concerned, soon after the training a choice of three locations is given after observing them during the training period and preparing a merit list. The remuneration for Management trainees is over Rs. 6 lakhs rupees and perks.

Off campus/ Direct hiring
The interested candidates can log on to the company website and directly register their CVs for any position listed on the site. The CV then goes to the LG data bank for short listing/screening. In case the candidate is rejected, the information is passed on to the candidate or the consultant who has forwarded the CV.  If the candidate is selected, then he is informed of the specified date and time.

All candidates called for the interview are required to fill up their personal profile in a format on the on-line system. They also have to go through the on-line Psychometric tests, at any of the LG branch offices or in the corporate office. “This gives us the flexibility of taking a decision, without the candidate being required to come over to the corporate office, especially for field level positions,” says Dhal. Based on the on-line tests and interviewer’s assessment, a decision is taken for the next round of HR interview. At this juncture, the candidates are apprised with the organisational culture. Those who are unwilling to align with the culture are dropped. “It saves the company valuable time and effort in inducting, grooming and developing a person,” Dhal says.

Training
Once fresh candidates are hired, they undergo an exhaustive induction programme for one month during which they are acquainted with every aspect of the organisation. “This includes apprising about LG products, brand management, manufacturing, and distribution among others,” says Dhal. A thorough integration with HR & business processes takes place and the formulation of Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is done within three days of taking the candidate onboard.

The theoretical training is given for the first 20 days and in the last 10 days freshly inducted candidates are taken for trekking in the Himalayas. It is to develop team bonding, orientation towards bracing up for challenges and adopting a flexible mindset. Also in the training schedule is the ‘Innovation School Training’, in which new recruits observe the manufacturing line.

The aim is to solicit an idea or innovation. “In production, time is of essence,” says Dhal, “so any innovation that reduces the timeline between Step A to Step B is what we look for,” he elaborates.  LG spends approximately Rs. 70 lakhs for fresher training. The duration of training for experienced candidates is 10-14 days.

Other HR Initiatives:
LG runs a scholarship programme in MBA and Engineering institutes called ‘LG Potential Manager Award’ wherein potential candidates are given a cheque for Rs. 36,000 plus a Gold Medal .

There is also scholarship for employee’s children excelling in the field of arts, dramatics, music and sports. Children who score above 85% in academics are presented with Rs. 5,000. For engineering/ MBA/ CA students an award of Rs. 15,000 is offered for qualifying the exam.

The company has an internal energy, environment, safety and health department to create awareness on environmental issues, work place fire and safety. There are informal clubs like singing, games and yoga club for de-stressing.The company provides pick and drop facilities in Air conditon buses and provide meals.