Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Sunday 5 October 2003

PROJECT FORE COURT

INTERVIEWER’S CONSOLE


INTERVIEWER’S CONSOLE                05/10/03
Ø As soon as Tele Operator transfers a waiting candidate to any interview-cabin, the desktop in that cabin will display the details as shown in enclosed INTERVIEWER’S CONSOLE.
Ø Left side of the screen will get filled up with the details / data about that candidate. Right hand side is the Interviewer’s WORKING AREA.
Ø Obviously, any assessment / evaluation of a candidate has to be in relation to
®   For what position he is being interviewed (position)
®   What job would be expected to perform (Job Advt.)
®   Where is he likely to get posted  (Posting Location)
(knowledge of Local language/familiarity roots with that geographical territory / any previous work-experience in that territory etc.)

So, the interviewer needs these INPUTS for a good judgment.
Ø With headphones, interviewer uses Mouse/ keyword to click / Type
Ø When interviewer clicks on NEXT , red light on cabin changes to green, informing Tele-Operator that he is now free to receive the next candidate.
Ø Top right hand CABIN-STATUS on Interviewers desktop is identical to  what appears on Tele-Operator’s console. So both know the balance load (back log) & ensure that there is no loss of time. Premises is simple. Interview Experts time is most precious & even one minute cannot be wasted-even if that means, keeping a few candidates on hold at any given point of time for 2/5 minutes !



CLIENT :
DATE:                            INTERVIEWER’S CONSOLE
IMAGE-BUILDER RESUME


STRUCTURE DATABASE (INCL.CAREER HISTORY)
Post Applied for




   




Posting Location
Choices Indicated
1
2
Job Advt copy
3
FUNCTION GRAPHS
KEYWORDS


INTERVIEW EDUCATION
Job Knowledge
0
0
0
0
Expression
0
0
0
0
Attitude
0
0
0
0
ORIGINAL E-MAIL RESUME





















Overall Rating
0
0
0
0
Special Remarks




Send in NEXT
NEXT






TELE-OPERATORS CONSOLE
Ø This console will appear on desktop of each tele operator.
Ø All 22 cabins status will appear on left side. status of candidates “on hold” to appear on right.
Ø As soon as “candidates on hold” list drops below 5, telephone operators will click on “Dial” button on auto-dialer which will dial the next candidate in the QUEUE ,as per pre-allotted time given.
Ø As soon as connection is established & tele. Operators ascertains that the candidate is online, she will click a button /checkbox (next to candidate name) to light-up the name, indicating that this candidate is now “on-hold”.
Ø As soon as any CABIN’s annunciator-button turns green indicating “end of interview” , any tele operator will transfer, the FIRST/ LONGEST waiting candidate to that cabin. This action will, simultaneously transfer, concerned candidates resumes & Evaluation sheet onto the desktop of that cabin. It will also reset the annunciator button & change value in
®   No. of Candidates already interviewed
®   Balance No. of Candidates remaining to be interviewed
(by that cabin) for the day. This will keep-up pressure on Interview Expert & ensure that he does not “Idle” /wait for the next candidate
Ø By using headphone, interview expert will use his hand to fill up (online /simultaneously as interview is progressing) Interview Evaluation sheet by mouse-clicks.

PROJECT FORE COURT


The important elements of this projects are:
Mass Recruitment of 700-900 persons
-    Never done by us before / nor anyone else.

Very tight Time – Frame
-    Just 10/12 weeks  from green signal
                                   (zero date)

-    (i.e- Receipt of Commercially clear Purchase order accompanied by retainer )

Scope of Work
-    Drafting of Advt
-    Receiving & rating 2 lakh applications
-    Tele interviewing of 40,000 candidates

Resource – Mobilization
·      Space / HW / S W / Tele. Lines & Instruments
·      11 raters
·      22 Tele-Interviewers
·      8/10 Help-Desk operator
·      10/15 online D/E operators
·      4/5 Telephone operators
·      Recruitguru Platform
Quite possibly RPL will give us no more than max. of 4 weeks (from zero date) to mobilize our resources. Any over-run here will eat into overall project-time. There is every possibility that RPL may attach a PENALTY – CLAUSE / RISK – PURCHASE CLAUSE / LIQUIDATED DAMAGES CLAUSES, for time overrun.
For us, resource mobilization means finding / selecting / appointing 60 persons & putting them into a large enough / furnished office. All within 3 weeks ! This is going to be tough.
One possible Solution could be :
Ø Group A
®   11 raters   +
®   22 Interviewers

These people shall be asked to work from their homes.
At home, each will be given a PC & Internet connection (Phone Line)
Raters will get ONE phone connection to log into Recruitguru & Carry-out their rating (A/B/C/R) online.
Interviewers will get TWO phone connections
®   One for log-into Recruitguru online & make “Interview Evalution” entries on resumes.
®   Second for dialing-up the earlier shortlisted candidates (as per daily schedule / program available online on Recruitguru)

This means, we do not need Tele Operators. Interviewers to do their own dialing. Each phone no. dialled / & duration of phone call will be recorded by phone- service provider (Reliance Infocom 3).
We can take 2 wireless Landline / mobile phones of Reliance Infocom for each interviewer. These phone-lines can connect to internet also.
(Nirmit got one for his residence)
Thru log we will know that a particular candidate did actually get called up & did get interviewed and by whom.
So interviewer (be cause  he is operating from his home ) cannot simply fill-up the Interview Evaluation sheet, WITHOUT even phoning the candidate concerned.
We can even consider, asking the candidates to send an email, saying he was interviewed  by so-and-so, on such-&-such date.
What are the advantages of getting rates & interviewer to operate from their own residences ?
Ø No limit on. of persons that can be pressed into this services. Everybody has a home (-most likely with a PC / a Phone-line / a study-room / a wife to serve tea / an A/C if it gets warm etc.
Ø The  raters & experts could be in any city
(as long as they can log in)
Ø We don’t have to hire /rent an office-space. So we save this mobilization time & cost.
Ø We don’t need tele – operators to dial the candidates. Interviewer will dial themselves.
Ø Even though raters & interviewers are spred-out all over, our central monitor their minute-to-minute performance directly from Recruitguru console.
Ø Interviewers can “pace” their interviewers on their own, taking more or less time, depending upon the candidate.
Ø We need not indicate to the candidates precise date & time, at which to remain present near his “phone-instrument.”
Now we can just tell the candidates only the “ Date” on which he  should keep himself free.
Although interviewer will see, on his “Interviewer’s console” the day’s “Interview-schedule and will generally  follow the sequence in which the candidate names appear, he can always skip-one & go to the next ,if he finds line is busy or the candidate is in the toilet ! he can always dial again, a little later or leave a message.
By only giving the “Date”, we can have some interviewer start, as early as 8 a.m & go on till 10 p.m ! They don’t waste 3 hours on the road.
And they will be free to take their tea-break / Lunch-break etc at their personal convenience ( and their own cost !)
We don’t need to control / monitor that they are
1.  Available in our office
2.  Using their time most/ productivity.
And,
We can pay them by  “Nos interviewed” rather than by “ Hours put-In”. This will be a powerful incentive for recruiters to earn more by working longer !
Of Course, to ensure that in a mad-rush to earn more money, quality must not suffer, we will stipulate
Ø Base Load (No. of Daily Interviews)
Ø Maxm Permissible Daily Interviews
Ø Mines No. of minutes / interview                           etc.
In our Contract / agreement with the Interviewers, we will also stress that whether they will get from us, “ repeat” assignments. or not, will depend upon
·      Not only their QUANTITATIVE  output
But
·      Their QUALITATIVE output
                                                                As well.

We will cheek their QUALITY (of interviewing / judgment ) by plotting the percentage of candidates shortlisted by him, who finally got selected / appointed by RPL / So, if he has done a good job, a higher % age will get appointed. We can fix a Quality-bonus based on this % age.
Same logic will apply to “Raters” as well.
Of Course, as far as raters are concerned, & do not envisage any difficulty for them to work from their homes.
When each morning, as they log in, they will find a list of resumes to be rated & start their work and continue as long as they like (with or without breaks).
But here again, we must specify in their contract
·      Base Load / day
·      Max Load / day            etc.

And same type of QUALITY – CONTROL stipulations.
Ø Group B
®   8/10 Help Desk Operators
®   10/15 D/E Operators

Although, theoretically, these persons can also operate from home,- and get paid on “per piece” basis – I feel, in their case the, best solution would be to hire, so many “seats” in an existing call-centre, because these people will require “joint training” right in the beginning. By working next to each other, they will also learn from each other, when they face a problem. On top of that, a supervisor should be available to guide them.
We should negotiate / coutrated with the call-centre concerned for availability of these persons from 8 a.m to 8 p.m. These timing should be boldly printed in Job-advt of RPL, so that candidates do not call-up at odd hours.
One thing is quite obvious.
If the entire exercise is about “remake” of the “employer-Brand” of Reliance, then RPL’s name has to appear in bold in the job-advts released all over the country.
If not for benefit of themselves, why should RPL spend lakhs of rupees to provide a WOW experience to candidates? Afterall, why do we / RPL want to give to 2 lakh jobseekers, this WOW experience?
(For whom the bell tolls?)
Despite this, if RPL has their own internal compelling reasons, not to put their name on the job-advt., then, at least, let us ensure that our / 3 P & Recruitguru / names do appear – and not inconspicuously in a corner ! If our name is on this “historical” job-advt., it will form part of all our future proposals for Mass-Recruitments, to national / Multinational companies, coming into India in a big way, in RETAINING.