Wal-Mart going for employer branding

MIRED in several employee-related controversies in its home country, USbased Wal-Mart is in search of an able hand which can help build its image amidst Indian employees. The world’s largest retailer is in talks with advertising firms for an employer branding exercise pointing to the fact that Wal-Mart wants to wants to position itself as an employee friendly organisation in India. According to industry experts, employer-branding as a concept has caught up in sectors that need to recruit in large numbers and at the same time facing a huge talent crunch. In a bid to woo and retain talent, companies in the attrition-hit IT sector are aggressively doing employer branding. Retail is expected to be the next sector to join the bandwagon, as it needs to recruit a large workforce. The cash & carry business, where Wal-Mart will invest in a JV with Bharti Enterprises, is human capital intensive. Sources say that to set up the entire pan-India operations which includes sourcing, logistics and supply-chain, the company would need over 2500 people at various levels. According to sources, some representatives of the company have already met 2-3 well-known creative agencies in India. Employer branding would be particularly important for the company in India, as organised retail, as well as the cash & carry business, is in its infancy and there’s a major talent shortage at entry and mid-management levels. The company is learnt to be particularly apprehensive about the high attrition level that the Indian retail sector is currently facing. The company perhaps fears that its global repute may cast a shadow once it goes into full-fledged recruitment drive in India. Internationally, on many occasions, Wal-Mart has been in the line of fire for violating labour laws in the US, Canada and some European countries. In January 2006, the company had to pay $135,540 to settle federal charges that it violated child labor laws in Connecticut, Arkansas and New Hampshire. Still earlier, in March 2000, the company was fined $205,650 for violations of labour laws in one out of every 20 stores in the state of Maine, US. The company is also accused of lobbying with the Canadian government to introduce favourable changes in the country’s labour laws. Sources in the recruitment business in India, however, point out that this has not dampened the spirit of wannabe Indian Wal-Mart execs. “We have been getting enquiries about openings in Wal-Mart on a daily basis. The young Indian executives wants to get associated with the Wal-Mart name,” said an official in a Delhi-based recruitment firm.’’

Courtesy: EconomicTimes
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