RPG hits B-School to increase talent pool

In view of the growing need of skilled manpower in top managerial positions to steer its business operations, the $3 billion RPG Group has hit the campuses of the country's top B-schools to strengthen its talent pool.

RPG has resorted to the method of direct recruitments from the top B-Schools in the country and plans to increase recruitments from top management institutions in the coming year, RPG's President (Corporate Development and Human Resources) Arvind N Agrawal told PTI.

"We have recruited nearly 80 management graduates from premium campuses including IIMs this year against 64 last year. Considering the growing requirements in top managerial levels, this number is expected to go up further in the period ahead," said Agrawal.

Of the total campus recruitments, nearly 30 per cent were women who have been placed in critical roles in RPG's various group companies, he said.

While nearly 50 per cent of the new entrants were deployed in the retail arm of the group-RPG Retail, about 20 per cent were appointed in the human resource department.

"We have a special scheme called Group Management Resource (GMR) for recruitment and management of the top talents. The value proposition for this talent is to have a higher responsibility in the early stages of their career," he said.

The RPG Group has experienced very low-levels of attrition compared with its peers, he said, adding "our attrition level has been below 10 per cent in the past year".

The RPG Group is a diversified group with interests in power, retail, transmission, technology and entertainment.

The group's headcount as at the end of last year stood at around 40,000.