Before final placements, rise in PPOs boosts buoyancy at B-schools

Going by the trend in pre-placement offers (PPOs) at some of the top and mid-rung business schools, the season is set to get better than last year.

Based on the number of PPOs thus far, B-schools, other than Indian Institutes of Management, such as XLRI, Amity Business School, and Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) are witnessing or anticipating double-digit growth over the same period last year.

While offers are still being confirmed by recruiters, management campuses are expecting the rise in PPOs to ease the final placement process as well.

For instance, having seen a growth in number of PPOs from 18 in 2017 for its 2016-18 batch to 28 last year for its 2017-19 one, IRMA is expecting the numbers to only grow, said director Hitesh Bhatt.

Similarly, XLRI’s human resource management students have seen PPOs rise to 58 so far since completion of summer internships, as compared to 53 for the same period last year. According to Rajiv Mishra, chairperson of placements at XLRI-Xavier School of Management, a major reason for the rise is due to recruiters wanting to hand out more offers through PPOs than final hiring, since candidates have already proved themselves at the organisations during internships.

“Recruiters, especially FMCGs (makers of fast moving consumer goods) are increasingly seeking organisation and culture fit, since capability specific to the sector can be moulded in the management trainee programme most of them have for final hires. The hiring outlook this year looks better in certain sectors such as consulting. However, recruiters from automobiles and FMCG might offer lower numbers, judging by initial discussions. However, the numbers will be known only after the process,” Mishra told Business Standard.

As such, consulting has already seen a rise in the number of PPOs offered so far this year. At XLRI, as against 20 PPOs offered in all last year, the number this year is already 18, with more expected. In sheer number, FMCG remains the sector which has offered the highest number of PPOs at Xavier School of Management.

Amity University’s Amity Business School (ABS) has seen PPOs already double, albeit in small numbers. As against three PPOs last year by mid-September, it has got six, of which three are from Deloitte, said Sanjeev Bansal, director.

“Recruiters are happy with the kind of talent pool we have. There have been new, as well as old, recruiters which have come till date and shared positive feedback,” said Bansal. Among the sectors, he adds, BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) and information technology have led PPOs at the campus this year.

So, B-school campuses are anticipating reduced pressure during the final placement process. However, they say, they are also ensuring overall successful recruitment in the end.

For instance, ABS, which saw around 300 recruiters visiting, is not only raising the invite base from last year but grooming students. “Students have been given more grooming workshops and we have started giving company-specific ones for the students, to increase the employability prospects. An MBA 4.0 curriculum has been introduced to align with the requirements of Industry 4.0. ABS is ensuring to keep its students updated with the new skills required by industry,” Bansal added.

XLRI, too, is anticipating participation from more recruiters. “The number is slated to grow this year primarily because of the diverse interests in the batch, who would be seeking employment in niche sectors as well,” Mishra said.