 We are straight getting into a first panel discussion as our speakers are here and the topic is hot. How do you attract young talent and retain them? This is a question everybody wants to once answers for. So challenges, advantages of recognizing young talent, how to spot them early and new ways to retain them, this and so much more is going to be discussed in our first panel of the day. We have with us as our panelist, Siddhipta Gupta, Vice President HR from the practice. We have Lovina Gujral, COO from Canada Communication. We have Amit Arora, Head of Corporate and Communications and Public Relations from Housing.com. And moderating the session is our very own editor of Exchange Media, Mr. Rohail Amin. I welcome all of you to the screen, a very warm welcome. Thank you, Khyati, and thank you everyone for joining us on this very first panel. And the discussion is so relevant, you know, I think with more opportunities, millennials especially the newer talent, you know, they have so many opportunities, so many places to go, staying loyal and retaining them of course, of course we used to think it's an HR problem, but it's not just an HR problem. It is the problem of the brand and to address is the need of the hour. So I want to ask, start with you, Siddhipta. So how do we tackle with this problem of, you know, retaining and keeping the new talent engaged? I mean, what is the story that your company is following, the approach that you're following to ensure that they stay loyal to you and it's not just transactional, it's not just the next 10K hike and they leave it. How do we build that culture? What is your story like? Okay, thanks for having me on this panel with, you know, my esteemed fellow panelists. So interestingly, you know, I stand for an organization or a representative organization that has been built on young talent. So all our people who've grown to the senior roles are all people who started off as executives with us and we have always believed in placing our trust and nurturing young talent. This journey has just got tough over the years. However, I think, you know, we have always taken that leap of faith and believed in the young talent. And my experience has been, I think, the talent today in the category of the zero to four years who's, you know, starting off, they are very clear about what they want. So I think the kind of work, the alignment to the culture and values and helping them see, you know, what is in it for them is something that we have, you know, continually continue to do. I do feel that as HR and as managers, our orientation of what's loyalty or what is a tenure that you look at has changed. So I think, you know, that is something we've reoriented ourselves. But I think giving them the right opportunities, being transparent and values and culture is what will get someone to, you know, work with you or not work with you in my opinion. Right. Right. I'm sorry to pitch in here. My apologies. We also have on our panel, Mr. Rahul Mehta, CEO, media mantra, my apologies of missing that out. A very warm welcome to you, Mr. Mehta. I was just going to Rahul, you know, I was just going to ask him a question. Rahul, I wanted to ask you about, you know, the media mantra story of, you know, I get a lot of calls, by the way, from young PRs, you know, and I, or as much as, I mean, I may not be able to answer them, but I make sure that I respond to them. How do you ensure, you know, they stay loyal to the company and, you know, to understand the larger vision of an organization is not possible, I think, at an entry level. So how do we engage? What are the best ways that, you know, organizations can offer to new talent, you know, for them to stay loyal to be there at least for two to three years minimum? I think it's a combination of different facets. So first of all, is the work culture that we kind of imbibe in the company, which is a very friendly political work culture, which is based on meritocracy. And also, the fact that we have an open door policy with the senior management, people can come in, give feedback, ideation about anything and the senior management lessons. We also have a fun work culture. We do, you know, initiatives to engage employees every month and let them have a bonding with the company. We also, you know, of course, reward performers. We have, you know, annual award events, recognizing top performers, which, you know, is something that the employees appreciate. Also, in all the awards that Media Mantra has been winning over all these years, you would notice that in the actual team which has done the work goes on stage and accepts those awards. It's not the senior management that goes, but it's them, it's for them to feel the sense of ownership, it's for them to feel the sense of achievement. So I think it's a combination of all these facets, but I do believe that, you know, employees are your greatest advocates and happy employees help get you more young talent on board because they spread the positivity about the company in the industry. Amit, the housing.com approach for retaining young and attracting and retaining young talent. What is that? Yeah. Hi, hi everyone. You know, thank you so much for, you know, inviting us here. Rohail, I think I would like to, before that, you know, I think I would like to state her that, you know, you know, a recent report by the recruitment agency, Michael Page, you know, they have stated that, you know, around 60% of employees in India are willing to accept a lower salary or forego or pay, you know, basically for to have a better life, you know, to as Dr. Narag Bhatra just said that, you know, they are more responsible. They want to give back, you know, to lead a happier life. And again, you know, one more that, you know, Amrish Rao of Fine Life, he recently tweeted that, you know, the average life cycle has come down to one and a half year for an employee. Hence, you know, and the reason is that they don't hence, you know, they need to spend time and in a relationship and with the pandemic. I think it's become very challenging for all the organization to build a strong relationship. Hence, you know, I think it's very important for all the organization, like in our organization also, the people and the culture are our top priority. Hence, you know, it's important that you build a great workplace for organization and people at the bottom of the pyramid need to be given that importance and need to be given that independence, which is obviously, you know, it has to come through the leadership. And hence, the vision has to be crystal clear to each and every individual of the organization. I think that is very important for any organization to thrive and to grow. Yeah. LaVina, what is your approach like at your organization? First, then I have a set of questions for you. So firstly, thank you very much for having me. Very happy to be part of this panel. At Kander, I mean, pretty much everyone's covered all the basic important things, right? We've all been in this industry. So the needs and requirements of people are pretty similar across all companies in this industry. I would just like to add that at Kander, we have a pretty flat structure. We don't have designations. So that is our way of ensuring that, you know, we are all on the same, you know, level, we are all on the same playing field. Yes, experience of the seniors matters. But what we look at is that experience is here to guide and develop the youngsters and help them imbibe, you know, and learn about what is important in the industry, what works. But once they are there, we also recognize that the most important thing that makes people stick to an organization is whether you, you know, give them a sense of self-esteem. Now, how do you give them that? You give them that by involving them in everything. So we don't have, you know, a practice where in the lower levels of the youngsters have to do the bulk of the, you know, the basic work. Once they show the ability to learn, the ability to deliver, we are happy to put them in front of the client, whether with one year of experience, two years of experience. Our company also has been built with many who have been with the organization ever since it was started, many for whom it was their first job. And today, after seven, eight years of experience, they are, you know, they're doing extremely well. They are very happy where they are, you know, even people who have moved on after a few years, say, four, five years, always have, you know, remain connected with us. And that's all we can really expect, right? We can expect that so long as they are here with us, their experience is one which is full of learning, one which is full of contribution, one which, where they feel valued and mattered and all of those things. And that is the kind of culture basically that we embody. Okay. So, you know, attracting them is one thing, but holding on to them. I think that is where the organizations really play a large amount. I will come to you, Amit, start my next round with you, you know, because you mentioned about organizational culture, you know. So if you see the life cycle of a typical career has changed now, you know, it's not the same what it used to be, attrition is a norm, HRs, you know, worldwide accepted, you know, that the average age that that carrier span at an organization has really come down to 2.5 years. Can organizational culture change that, you know, what are the best ways to build that organizational culture where people stay with you, they stay loyal to you. They are not swayed by every second offer that comes their way. Thanks, Royal. You know, I think this is very close to me. And, you know, I'm sure everyone, you know, I'd like to start with an analogy. You know, earlier, the messages used to take, you know, not less than four to five weeks, like if you send a message to a foreign country, you know, through a mail, like a written mail, it used to take three to four or five weeks to be there. So we, you know, our age, we grew up in the age of emails, you know, and now the time has changed. We are, you know, the today's generation is screen angels. They are, they are all, they're on the screens all the time, be it their cell phones, be their TVs, you know, they are, they're on the social media all the time. So, so I think things have changed. So we need to, you know, we need to accept that, you know, the time has changed. It doesn't take much of time for, hence, we need to engage with our audiences at all the level, at different, at a different level and keep engaging with them, you know, earlier, the, the, you know, the, the review process also used to be like Emily, which now has changed. It has come to monthly and from monthly, now there are policy like we have internal policy where and, you know, we have a platform where you can, you know, we give a very importance to feel at home and the, the moment you don't feel like home, you know, you can go on our internal platform and you can post a message and, you know, housing.com's internal platform where and you can say that, you know, I'm not feeling at home. So, so that life cycle has changed. It is the, the, as I said, that, you know, Amrish mentioned in his tweet that it has come down to one and a half year. So you need to have a process to ensure that the meaningful relationships are built and meaningful connect is built among the employees and with the organization. That's very important. So, how can, you know, an organizational culture address the problem of retaining, you know, talent and, and keeping them engaged? Yeah, so I think Amit has, you know, covered some very, very valid points, but I have also seen a lot of ex-employees and we've always had that record of a lot of ex-employees wanting to re-engage with us through their career. And I think that the one thread that has been binding that is the culture. So I do think that apart from, you know, all the hygiene that you do, I think Raul also spoke about, you know, the policies, recognition and all of that that we do. But I do think that walking the talk and not, and, you know, I think of course transparent and open communication, but actually walking the talk and, you know, just living all of that up brings in a lot of credibility and connect. And, you know, I think agility is another thing that, you know, Amit spoke about. Everything today has become so fast. So, you know, how agile you are, how are you adapting and how you're kind of walking the talk and actually showing, you know, employees, what is it for them and where they are going. And I think we, you know, when people come to us possibly with their aspirations, you know, people who maybe joined us fresh out of college or maybe a couple of years and if they're exploring, you know, studying abroad or doing other things, we actually kind of have, you know, senior people who mentor them and guide them through that journey, even if it is maybe taking up something else down the line. So I think that is what I would say. I think, you know, the lifestyle, the life cycle has come down, but how deep and how quality qualitatively can you engage does, I think, leave an impact with. Rahul, your take on this culture part, you know, what are the best ways to build that culture? I think I would agree with what Sadeeta said of walking the talk, saying that employees are like family is just a statement, but actually actioning that in terms of what you do for them is what matters to them. So, you know, just to take the example of the lockdown, you know, I do know people in the industry and I think a significant chunk of the industry and agencies saw salary cuts during that time. We as an agency did not do even a 1% salary cut to our employees. We retained them on the current salaries. We did explain to them that we couldn't afford to give them increments that year, but they were more than happy because they knew the industry colleagues had all got salary cuts and post the pandemic, you know, when the business picked up again, we actually gave them very good increments. They understand that the company cares about them and I think that's what matters. I also see a very, very friendly, very open work culture with a lot of positive vibes in media mantra. I think that's what helps us retain talent. That's what helps us re-engage talent when they leave. They want to come back. So, I think it's just the management philosophy of making sure that we are taking care of our employees and we're giving them the opportunities to grow with the open, you know, open-door culture. Employees can come in and even ask for horizontal movements. Somebody from servicing team wants to join the digital team. We get them training. We help that lateral movement also. Somebody wants to move from the content team to the servicing team. So, all of that is possible here and, you know, it's a very, very open-door policy, very friendly policy, very friendly work culture. So, I think all of this as a amalgamation really helps us to retain employees and them as advocates helps them to get more younger talent on board. Well, Lavina, how do you see this correlation between culture and retaining and attracting talent? Definitely, I mean, it's a direct correlation. People will stay on only when they are happy with the culture that they are part of, right? You may join a company basis, you know, the job profile or the offer on the table etc. But they will stay on only because of the culture, the kind of experience they have, how their interactions are on a daily basis, you know, especially at that level, the zero to four years level, are we making them feel important enough? Are we recognizing every contribution that they make, whether it's in, you know, and we are a fairly, you know, we are a boutique agency, so to speak. So, we are not very large in terms of number of people, but we therefore, so we have roles which allow you to gain experience across multiple dimensions in the PR role, right? So, there is client servicing, there is content, there is media relations, there is all of that. And thankfully, during the pandemic years, we are, you know, maybe we were one of the fortunate ones, our business actually grew, so people got increments, people got bonuses, people got all of that, and that made people feel that, yes, we are not, you know, because we as an agency did find we passed it on to our people, we did not, if we wanted, we could have followed the industry norm and, you know, climb down on maybe increments or something like that, but we did not see the need to do so, and I think that is something people appreciate. And even now, you know, one of the important things to people at this, at this band is flexibility. So, we are still in a hybrid format, we are still, you know, work from home, there are kids who are still back home in the, you know, in the smaller towns where they actually come from. So, all of those things are there, and this is only being, this is only possible, this is only successful for us because there is a very high degree of trust, right, even sitting in a remote location, you are, are you involved, are you taking up your job seriously, are you making the contribution that you're required to make, and yes, if you're taking all of those boxes, we trust you completely as an organization and we are happy to reward that, that's the kind of culture that we have. So, it works both ways, right, company is a culture, it's the people who add to that culture and keep it alive and keep it thriving. So, there has to be contribution from both ends. So, if you are going to say that only the management is responsible for building a culture, and therefore it's our job to retain people, that's only half the picture. That's an important point, I think, yeah, I think, I want to touch upon it and come to you, Amit, one is this part, you know, when we talk about culture, what thing is the bosses, you know, is their responsibility, we are not part of it, you know, culture belongs to them. Is this mindset actually prevalent? I mean, I want to one understand from you, second you mentioned somewhere, if I correctly remember, that the mindset has shifted from just paycheck, you know, you see the other benefits, you know, are you getting flexible hours, are you getting time for yourself, you know, it's not just about the paycheck. Have these mindset shifts taken place? Also, is the mindset still the same that the culture belongs to the bosses, it's their problem? See, I would, you know, I would like to, you know, start here with a very, you know, funny kind of chatter, which we keep on hearing on social media and also the ground when you're in office, although not regularly doubted because, you know, we are at housing, we are a hybrid mode organization. So, you know, the interesting chatter which we keep on hearing that, you know, I am taking a call, you know, you know, whenever it is needed, I am taking a call at 9pm. So, why am I not supposed to, you know, post a reel on Instagram at 11am? So, you know, the mindset has to change. We need to look at the bigger picture that, you know, things have changed, things are evolving so much, you know, as I said, you know, hence the expectations have to be changed. You can't be, you know, having a mindset of, you know, the 10 or 15 year earlier that, you know, when you're in office, it's a 9 to 5 job, so it is, and even, you know, 9 to 5 is is no more, even for the people who are working in a public sector, you know, you call up nowadays any public sector employees, be it government organization or be it any bank or anything. So, they'll tell you the story. So, hence the, you know, expectation has changed, you got to, you know, evolve your organization culture and the individual need to be trained and not only at the junior level, at the senior level, you need to be trained and the mental, you know, thing has to change overall. That's what I'm saying. Absolutely. So, Dr, what has been your observation of the new mindset at work? Are people driven by paychecks or are they driven by, you know, maybe flexible space, I mean, where they can be themselves, you know, also the culture part, you know, do people still think that, you know, let HR worry about the culture, but, you know, I mean, it's not my, you know, responsibility. I'm trying to understand your observation of the current workplace, as far as the young talent is concerned. Yeah, so definitely it's, it's nobody sees it as an HR or, you know, a bosses thing. I think, you know, people expect it from everybody they deal with and I'm going to bring in another key element here which I'm sure everybody would agree with, is apart from everything that we do here for our people, I think in the public relations industry, I think the kind of clients, the kind of client dynamics, the kind of relationship and the kind of exposure people are getting is also a big factor in, you know, how they kind of enjoy their role and, you know, look forward to staying. So I think that's a big element and I would say that managers have an important role to play there. So I think, you know, people right now, I think they look at it in totality, while they, you know, are happy with the culture and everything, they just see how much they can learn and if they're, if their managers are as people they would aspire to be. So I think it's a combination of all of this that, that is, that is kind of people are expecting. Rahul, I mean you are dealing, you have team members who are millennials, youngsters who have joined, what is their mindset like, you know, as far as this sector is concerned, you know, how do you read them if you have to, you know, kind of share few traits and expectations they have from the workplace, you know, what have you observed individually? It is an age and day of individualism and everybody comes with their own personalities, but the one thing you see in common is that they do want opportunity to learn, they do want an opportunity to grow and they do want an opportunity to be heard and to be recognized. So I think it's a combination of all of these and also the fact that, you know, there's a chance to learn new skill sets. So, you know, so what we do is what we make sure is that, you know, on basis feedback from the teams, we actually organize external trainers who come in and train our teams on different skill sets, helps them grow. Also, I think one thing that does, you know, kind of motivate them is that their company is constantly in news, with positive news, growth-led news, new clients coming in all the time, you know, the award wins, the culture. So I think it's a combination of all of these, but us recognizing their personalities, us helping them to grow is their own individual requirements. I think that's what matters to them a lot. So it's an overall mix. I think we have done it successfully for our employees and which is the reason why we are trying to put talent and we retain that. Ravina, any insights to share what you have observed? Yes, I would just like to just add that, you know, I think the, in terms of talent, we are at a little cast wherein, you know, there is the younger generation which has been brought up like everybody mentioned on a whole new set of dynamics from where we, you know, which is different from where we come from, right? So we are at a juncture where we are both trying to understand each other and help each other out to the maximum, to the best possible way. I think that things are progressing. I think that we are becoming the, you know, the sort, the management, so to speak, in most agencies, which is pretty much our age group. Is becoming more accepting of the new generations, requirements, their understanding what is important to them, their goals, etc. And the younger generation also, all due credit to them, they're stepping up, they're learning. It's just that they look for more instant gratification and PR is more of a slow burn kind of a profession, but when it does burn up over a few years, it's pretty bright. So, you know, like so that I spoke about the kind of experiences, the kind of clients that you get to interact with their management, etc. Those kind of things are not, you know, not something that you get into many professions. So, my advice to the younger generation would just to be, you know, hang in there, do the learning, and it will be a very, very rewarding career in a few years. Great. We have around 10 minutes left. So, let me pose my final question starting with you, Amit. You know, we are fully powered by your hybrid work culture, which means at times we are not available in person. And that emotional connect, you know, and that hand holding is not there, you know, the way it should be. In such a setup, dealing with new talent, has it become, how have you adjusted to this one and ensured that the connect stays, even if there are new people joining the organization, they don't feel that they don't have the guidance of the senior colleagues there. So, how do you try to bridge this gap? Yeah, thanks. So, see, I think it's very important that you build a process of learning, you know, in the organization, which is very important. Like for example, at housing.com, we have a separate learning platform which wherein everybody has to, each and every individual has a set of bases, their roles, they have a skill set. And, you know, before you, you know, get into your role, there is a proper, there is a proper training which you have to go through, which is personal training, plus at the same time, you have to finish those skill set things. So that actually helps in bridging. And each and every individual of our organization at housing are being allocated mentors, which are not in their role, or which are not specifically, I would say, which are not part of their team or their extended team. So, I think that helps in bridging the gap, which I think that helps. So, then, Tom. Yeah, I think we do have a lot of what Amit spoke about in on, in terms of an R&D platform, but I think what we have seen is I think a connects multiple touch points, you know, larger team touch points in terms of people working on similar clients. One of the initiatives that we actually started during the COVID time, and, you know, if we continue to do is a peer-to-peer connect because we somehow felt that over the years, you're always talking top down or, you know, bottom up, but how are you getting people at the same level across various locations and clients to come together and share their experience? So, we've seen that do very well because people then, you know, know that they have such a big system of people within at their level doing so many things whom they can reach out to who've grown some anew in the organization. So, all of that, and I think our senior managers and, you know, above have taken a lot of efforts in doing multiple levels of connects with groups, teams, formally, informally, and even on the HR side, we've done all of that. And we did do, we do a good amount of internal comms as well. So, we have very specifically done campaigns on values and various other things, you know, through this period for people to kind of understand these softer aspects. So, I think, yeah, some of those things is what we've kind of done. Rahul, has hybrid culture made it difficult for that hand-holding and emotional connect to happen or has it have organizations found a way to deal with it? I think when there was a full lockdown in place and everybody was working from home, that time initially there was an adaptation required and, you know, one thing we did was make sure that the team was connected virtually on a daily basis in terms of the intra teams as well as, you know, every week doing some kind of HR initiative to engage the whole team virtually and being on call with them, you know, listening to them, and to them as well. So, I think over that phase, it was, we actually managed a smooth sailing in that phase, but right now, we do have a flexible work policy, but most of our employees actually choose to come to office because I think the life coming to office is a very positive work culture. So, currently, we do not face that challenge, but when we did have that limitation, we actually were able to be managed and keep our employees engaged and ready and then as well. Right. Finding words from you, Lavina? I think what I would say is that there is, you know, huge amount of learning in this industry. There is huge amount of opportunity, the kind of, you know, role that one can grow into. It's the, you know, the opportunities are varied. They are with all these, you know, international agencies here now and we are becoming more and more relevant, more so in the post pandemic era. I think it's a great industry to be in. I think that, you know, it's just a mindset that one needs to have. The mindset of the fact that you want to be successful, that you are open to learning. All of those things from this generation is what we expect. As organizations, it is our job to handhold, train, whether in a hybrid, remote or in office mode. After a certain point, don't really matter. One can connect with people if you really want to. There are enough and more tools around these days to make that connect and people are doing it. But it's just that one thing I would like to point out is that what, you know, this little upheaval has done is that there are enough people who have been jumping jobs for the sake of money. So my only advice to them is don't do it. It is something which will catch up in your career, in your career graph over a period of time. So stability is important, especially because these are your learning years. So learn, stay at a place, learn, and then make a move if you have to. No problem about that. But don't be jumpy. That always reflects, that does not reflect well. And yeah, I think it's a great culture that the PR industry is and these kind of forums where, you know, recognitions, you're recognizing people under 30 years of age. So that in itself is a huge industry level recognition that they are able to get for themselves. Not too many industries have things like this. So enjoy PR to the maximum. So I have five more minutes. So one, I need a one line answer from all of you. Quick suggestion, Amit, for ensuring that you attract young talent and retain them in one line. Yeah, I think as an organization you need to define that, you know, you understand employees, give them a flexible workplace. So, you know, wherein you provide a meaningful interaction and relationship. And, you know, creating a great place to work. Yeah. That's very important. Sudepta. I just say approach it with raising the bar of talent for the industry. I think that's what we've done. And I think just stick to that. And just one more point I wanted to make. I do think that, and this has come up in various industry forums. I do think the public relations career does need to do some PR for its own self with Academy and others. Because I think a lot of the young sort of talent is not really, you know, seeing is not really understanding it. So, I think, you know, that that would be a point that I just like to make. Yeah. Rahul. I think the one point is that make them feel empowered and make them feel like family. And by empowered, I mean, what they say to us as as the organization is heard and is actioned and that automatically translates into the fact that they are a part of the company's family and we are all one family. I think the moment we are able to invite bad feeling in an employee they will stick longer and they will always be there for the company. Loving that. Yeah. I just like to end with, you know, that is about self esteem. So, I think self esteem of the youngsters means a great deal to them. I think we should be very mindful on a daily basis. We need to ensure that they are getting the learnings that they need, that the work that they are doing is being recognized and on an open forum. Like, you know, whatever is the format that you implement in your organization, make sure that, you know, whatever a person does well is spoken about is articulated to others as an example. You know, so that peer to peer inspiration also comes in from that point of view. But yes, like Siddhata said, PR industry needs to do a little bit of PR for themselves. PR as an industry is very secure in business. We need more talent is the keyword and we need solid talent. We need talent that is open to learning because the growth opportunities are immense. So, you know, are my only work this thing would be all the people, all the youngsters who are attending this tell your friends, bring them in. Thank you so much. And the beauty of this discussion was that, I mean, we discussed something which earlier we might have thought that only HRs could relate to, but it's such a great thing that people first approach is being taken at all forums and thank you for, I mean, doing this current and thank you, my esteemed panelist, Amit Siddhata Rahul and Lavina for joining us on this first discussion. Thank you everyone. Thank you. Thanks everyone. Thanks everyone. Have a good day.