Sanjay thinks that companies are besotted with educational brands and that shows how they don't think of performance on the job:
Recruiters, hiring managers, HR professionals all help in perpetuating this myth.
Why? What's the point of being from a 'premier institute' if it does not add value to the organization?
Update: A commentator blames HR people. However, I'd like to place the majority of the blame on the hiring managers. If they say non-MBAs are to be considered then the recruiter/HR person has to abide by that unless they have a better reason to only look for MBAs
But this is not just about MBAs and non-MBAs, distinction between 'premier' and 'non-premier' campuses is hogwash!
I even remember sitting in a conversation when a promotion was being discussed and there were two candidates one a great performer with great potential but from a so-called tier 2 institute and another one from a tier 1 institute but not as a great a performer or potential and most people seemed to favour the person from tier 1 insti.
I had a really difficult time arguing with the client team that the education is supposed to convert to performance on the floor which should entitle people to promotions and not the tag of the education alone, it definitely was quite a difficult conversation. One of the very strong criteria they had for promotion was the qualification a person carried.
Recruiters, hiring managers, HR professionals all help in perpetuating this myth.
Why? What's the point of being from a 'premier institute' if it does not add value to the organization?
Update: A commentator blames HR people. However, I'd like to place the majority of the blame on the hiring managers. If they say non-MBAs are to be considered then the recruiter/HR person has to abide by that unless they have a better reason to only look for MBAs
But this is not just about MBAs and non-MBAs, distinction between 'premier' and 'non-premier' campuses is hogwash!
Sounds like the client team believed the educational pedigree of this candidate added some value. I wonder how they would answer your question.
ReplyDeleteAll too true. This not only applies to promotions. An MBA degree is valued over experience and proven effectiveness. The biggest irony is that people who were not great performers quit the company and join the company 2 years later with an MBA degree two levels higher. Not only does this reflect poorly on company's perception of talent but also kills employee morale for people who performed in the organization.
ReplyDeleteMost HR's have the myth only MBA's or certified people can perform business roles or become managers.
Standard stuff GG. I am a recruiter by profession and as you say one of the perpetrators of this 'crime' :)
ReplyDeleteOur point of view is that we have to follow the diktat of the HR guys and quite a few times we do not have a say on this. Infact, I have had several discussions with our clients where we have argued about the same and have felt the same as you mention in your blog.
HR guys at the Junior/Mid levels also do not have a say in this. Infact quite a few times the HR guys have no say on this at all. It is the hiring manager who takes a call on this. I have sat in several discussions with the Hiring manager and sometimes they have been very open with their 'whims' of hiring people only from a certain institute. Most times I see a halo effect rather than actual value that the candidate brings on the table.
Finally, it is the argument that you cannot 'go wrong' or cannot be blamed if you go the safer way of hiring only from the 'best' institutes.
- Vipul Agarwal
I agree completely with you. I myself have encountered several instances of the same and this perception is utter rubbish even though I have seen it exist in the top strategy consulting firms in India !!
ReplyDeleteCompletely in agreement with your thoughts. I would further go ahead and say that it is not just the perception of recruitment agencies / HR departments but of the top management of certain organisations which perculates down to the HR department. Being a non MBA marketing communications professional, I have faced this problem in the past wherein I was shortlisted for the final round but was told point blank by the company that I do not have an MBA degree, therefore they have decided to hire someone else, with a degree as it would reflect much better on the company's imagery to have MBA grads from good institutions.....Sometimes i do wonder if the professional credentials are more important or academic!
ReplyDelete