Spotting the right talent in a bigger pool

Companies find identifying the right talent as much a challenge as colleges in identifying the right corporation to place their final-year students. However, the All India Management Association (AIMA) has already set in motion a solution to such problems. In order to streamline the process of screening the right candidates for the right jobs, AIMA launched a unique Management Aptitude and Skills Test (MAST) in 2010.

The test has been conceptualised as a tool to help employers shortlist students with the right skills. A computer adaptive test, it assesses the students and young management graduates on their psychometric profile, general aptitude and domain knowledge.

Saugata Mitra, chief people officer and group head, human resources, Mother Dairy, says the most important thing for an organisation is to hire good talent and develop them into assets for the company. “This year we used MAST to identify and hire fresh management graduates and it worked really well for us; we intend to use it for all our future hiring. This has the potential to become a national benchmark for hiring MBAs,” adds Mitra.

AIMA aimed to create a universal yardstick for screening and selecting the candidates best suited for the various positions that companies recruited fresh graduates for. MAST, by facilitating the process, offers companies huge cost-savings in recruitment. Especially, when leading corporations are looking for talent in tier 2 and tier 3 towns, MAST provides them with direct access to the right set of talent, assessed against national benchmarks. A Sudhakar, executive director, human resources, Dabur India concurs, “MAST will bring down the time spent in looking for candidates at campuses. I feel positive about the relevance of the test. Though it is just the beginning, it would surely complement our efforts in selecting the candidates.”

Despite being at a nascent stage, with two to three years more to get standardised, MAST already has been endorsed by close to 100 companies. VJ Rao, country head, human resources, Suzlon Energy explains, “The testing pattern of MAST which is based on aptitude and attitude will help recruiters in short-listing the candidates for their needs. If majority of the students from B-schools (business school) take the test, the pool to choose from will be large and the recruiters can look forward for the right talent not only from the most prestigious schools but also from others.”

The test can also improve on the findings in a recent report that states only 25 per cent of graduate candidates are employable at the time of campus recruitment in India and that recruiters are able to cover only less than 10 per cent of B-schools each year. MAST will evaluate industry readiness of MBA/PGDM students and provide a level playing field for all management graduates, irrespective of location or standing of their business school. As a result, it will allow employers to expand their search for fresh talent to newer grounds.

To find talent beyond the top 50 B-schools, a talent recognition scheme has also been introduced from this year. Five bright candidates from different B-schools across the country will be given a fee waiver. Anshuk Sengupta who has joined Mother Dairy after being assessed by MAST, sums it up, “MAST is remarkably comprehensive and cross-functional. It is imaginatively crafted and a real help to students.”