Fresh MBAs, Just SHUT UP and LISTEN!

This was the succinct advice given to students at VGSoM by Mr. Radhakrishnan Nair, Chief of Corporate HR, Tata Steel.  He  said this while telling the students about his experience with fresh recruits under him all these years and advising on things to keep in mind before stepping into the corporate world.

In a guest talk with students of both batches, Mr. Nair spoke about the mistakes he had committed during his career. He told the students about his first job at Indian Aluminium Company after passing out of XLRI and how he was given the job of maintaining the leave record. Instead of complaining about the mundane job, he impressed his boss by performing an effective analysis of the leave record. His experience taught him that we must not state the unpleasant truth.

He then went on to speak about “Change Management” and felt that we should be invisible agents in the change and line managers are the ones supposed to bring about change.

Mr. Nair also highlighted the difference in various industries such as hardcore manufacturing, consulting and IT. The difference in the HR focus is a result of the different evolution curves of the industry as a whole and the different needs that it has.

The Tata Corus integration on the HR front was one of the focus areas of his talk. He spoke about the Tata Group philosophy of not looking at the acquisition of a company as an “acquisition” but as a “partnering”. Tata has given raw material security to Corus while Corus has benefited Tata by high-technology sharing.

His closing remark struck a chord with the students, “You are successful when you are free from fear. You have to attain that stage of freedom from fear of what you are doing.

Article Courtesy – Kunal Sharma, Final Year, VGSOM