Sistema-Shyam plans to add 1,000 employees

Within months of launch of its services across the country, new telecom player Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) today said it will increase its headcount by 1,000 taking the total strength to about 4,500.

SSTL, a joint venture between Russian firm Sistema and India's Shyam Group, started rolling out services in 2009 and initially 2,000 people last year. It has another 1,500 outsourced employees.

"As we are expanding our services in the country, we are planning to hire 1,000 employees by the end of this year," SSTL Chief HR Officer Manish Kharbanda told PTI.

The company is also planning to introduce a game-based induction programme for the new employees.

The induction programme has been designed by Tata Interactive Systems, which develops learning solutions for corporates.

With the market now coming out of woods, the telecom players are back on hiring spree and are introducing slew of initiatives to retain talent.

Analysts feel that the increasing competition in the form of tariff cuts, the entry of new players will force the telcos to ensure that they retain right kind of talent.

At present, the telecom sector experiences an attrition rate of 20-25 per cent.