DISSERTATION REPORT

0N

“RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS OF INSURANCE COMPANIES”

AT ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE

SUBMITTED TO AMITY UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF

“BACHELORS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION”

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

MR.RAJENDRA KUMAR VINEETA KHATWANI

BBA-VIth SEMESTER

(A7006408080)

STUDENT’S CERTIFICATE

Certified that this report is prepared based on the study of the topic “RECRUITMENT AND

SELECTION PROCESS OF INSURANCE COMPANIES” under the able guidance of Mr.

RAJENDRA KUMAR() in partial fulfillment of the requirement for award of degree of Bachlors

of Business Administration (BBA-H.R) from Amity University, Uttar Pradesh.

Date.______________

Signature Signature Signature

VINEETA KHATWANI Mr RAJENDRA KUMAR Professor R P Singh

Student Faculty Guide Director (ABS)

CERTIFICATE BY FACULTY GUIDE

Forward here with a STUDY on “RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS OF INSURANCE COMPANIES”, submitted by VINEETA KHATWANI, A7006408080 student of

BBA Semester VI, Section- B. This project work has been done in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Amity University, Uttar Pradesh

Mr.RAJENDR

A KUMAR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my faculty guide Mr RAJENDRA KUMAR ( ) who has been a constant source of support throughout my report.I would also like to thank Mr. R.P

Singh Sir (head of institute , ABS) And last but never the least ,my friends who helped me in getting information regarding the topic.

TABLE OF CONTENT

1-Introduction of insurance industry 2-ICICI life insurance company

.profile

.mission and vision

3-Recruitment and selection4-SWOT analysis of ICICI

5-Recommendations and Suggestions6-Conclusion7-Learnings8-Bibliography

Executive Summary

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations have to respond quickly to requirements for people. The Financial market has been witnessing growth which is manifold for last few years. Many private players have entered the economy thereby increasing the level of competition. In the competitive scenario it has become a challenge for each company to adopt practices that would help the organization stand out in the market. The competitiveness of a company of an organization is measured through the quality of products and services offered to customers that are unique from others. Thus the best services offered to the consumers are result of the genius brains working behind them.

Human Resource Management in this regard has become an important function in any organization. All practices of marketing and finances can be easily emulated but the capability, the skills and talent of a person cannot be emulated. Hence, it is important to have a well-defined recruitment policy in place, which can be executed effectively to get the best fits for the vacant positions. Selecting the wrong candidate or rejecting the right candidate could turn out to be costly mistakes for the organization. Therefore a recruitment practice in an organization must be effective and efficient in attracting the best manpower.

Coverage –The extent and limitation

With largest number of life insurance policies in force in the world, insurance happens to be a mega opportunity in India. Its business is growing at 15-20% annually and presently is of the order of Rs. 450m. Together with banking sector it adds about 7% to the GDP.

Like the case of BPO’s, Insurance sector too faces the problem of attrition. Thus, recruitment is an ongoing process carried through out the year. The project is based on the study of recruitment process. The various recommendations suggested have been the result of the study. The idea is to generate ways of dealing with high attrition and making hiring process manageable and efficient.

Data Used in Project

The main source of data collection used is-

Secondary data:

Study of recruitment policy Websites Published articles

Research methodology used

Study of recruitment and selection at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance by the manual provided by the HR department;

Web sites Journals Magazines Books

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION OF INSURANCE INDUSTRIES

Introduction Of The Insurance Industry

Overview

The story of insurance is probably as old as the story of mankind.

The same instinct that prompts modern businessmen today to secure themselves against loss and disaster existed in primitive men also. They too sought to avert the evil consequences of fire and flood and loss of life and were willing to make some sort of sacrifice in order to achieve security. Though the concept of insurance is largely a development of the recent past, particularly after the industrial era – past few centuries – yet its beginnings date back almost 6000 years.

The first two decades of the twentieth century saw lot of growth in insurance business. From 44 companies with total business-in-force as Rs.22.44 crore, it rose to 176 companies with total business-in-force as Rs.298 crore in 1938. The Insurance Act 1938 was the first legislation governing not only life insurance but also non-life insurance to provide strict state control over insurance business.

Some of the important milestones in the life insurance business in India are:

1818: Oriental Life Insurance Company, the first life insurance company on Indian soil started functioning.

1870: Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society, the first Indian life insurance company started its business.

1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to regulate the life insurance business.

1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses.

1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public.

1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies are taken over by the central government and nationalized. LIC formed by an Act of Parliament, viz. LIC Act, 1956, with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore from the Government of India.

The General insurance business in India, on the other hand, can trace its roots to the Triton Insurance Company Ltd., the first general insurance company established in the year 1850 in Calcutta by the British.

Some of the important milestones in the general insurance business in India are:

1907: The Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd. set up, the first company to transact all classes of general insurance business.

1957: General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance Association of India, frames a code of conduct for ensuring fair conduct and sound business practices.

1968: The Insurance Act amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency margins and the Tariff Advisory Committee set up.

1972: The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 nationalised the general insurance business in India with effect from 1st January 1973.

With largest number of life insurance policies in force in the world, Insurance happens to be a mega opportunity in India. It’s a business growing at the rate of 15-20 per cent annually and presently is of the order of Rs 450 billion. Together with banking services, it adds about 7 per cent to the country’s GDP. Gross premium collection is nearly 2 per cent of GDP and funds available with LIC for investments are 8 per cent of GDP.

Yet, nearly 80 per cent of Indian population is without life insurance cover while health insurance and non-life insurance continues to be below international standards. And this part of the population is also subject to weak social security and pension systems with hardly any old age income security. This itself is an indicator that growth potential for the insurance sector is immense.

A well-developed and evolved insurance sector is needed for economic development as it provides long term funds for infrastructure development and at the same time strengthens the risk taking ability. It is estimated that over the next ten years India would require investments of the order of one trillion US dollar. The Insurance sector, to some extent, can enable investments in infrastructure development to sustain economic growth of the country.

India has come a full circle from being an open competitive market to nationalization and back to a liberalized market again. Tracing the developments in the Indian insurance sector reveals the 360 degree turn witnessed over a period of almost two centuries.

Present Scenario

The Government of India liberalized the insurance sector in March 2000 with the passage of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Bill, lifting all entry restrictions for private players and allowing foreign players to enter the market with some limits on direct foreign ownership.

The opening up of the sector is likely to lead to greater spread and deepening of insurance in India and this may also include restructuring and revitalizing of the public sector companies. In the private sector 14 life insurance and 8 general insurance companies have been registered. A host of private Insurance companies operating in both life and non-life segments have started selling their insurance policies..

Life Insurance Market

The Life Insurance market in India is an underdeveloped market that was only tapped by the state owned LIC till the entry of private insurers. The penetration of life insurance products was 19 percent of the total 400 million of the insurable population. The state owned LIC sold insurance as a tax instrument, not as a product giving protection. Most customers were under- insured with no flexibility or transparency in the products. With the entry of the private insurers the rules of the game have changed.

The 12 private insurers in the life insurance market have already grabbed nearly 9 percent of the market in terms of premium income. The new business premiums of the 12 private players has tripled to Rs 1000 crore in year 2002- 03. Innovative products, smart marketing and aggressive distribution. That's the triple whammy combination that has enabled fledgling private insurance companies to sign up Indian customers faster than anyone ever expected. Indians, who have always seen life insurance as a tax saving device, are now suddenly turning to the private sector and snapping up the new innovative products on offer.

The private insurers also seem to be scoring big in other ways- they are persuading people to take out bigger policies. Buoyed by their quicker than expected success, nearly all private insurers are fast- forwarding the second phase of their expansion plans.

Major Insurance Players

Licenses have been issued for the following companies-

*ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited

*HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited

*Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited

*TATA AIG Life Insurance Company Limited

*Max New York Life Insurance Company Limited

*SBI – Cardiff Life Insurance Company Limited

*ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Limited

*Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited

*MetLife Life Insurance Company Limited

*Aviva Life Insurance Company Limited

*AMP Sanmar Life Insurance Company Limited

*Sahara India Life Insurance Limited

*Sri Ram Life Insurance Limited

Protection of the interests of policyholders:

IRDA has the responsibility of protecting the interest of insurance policyholders. Towards achieving this objective, the Authority has taken the following steps:

IRDA has notified Protection of Policyholders Interest Regulations 2001 to provide for: policy proposal documents in easily understandable language; claims procedure in both life and non-life; setting up of grievance redressal machinery; speedy settlement of claims; and policyholders' servicing. The Regulation also provides for payment of interest by insurers for the delay in settlement of claim.

The insurers are required to maintain solvency margins so that they are in a position to meet their obligations towards policyholders with regard to payment of claims.

It is obligatory on the part of the insurance companies to disclose clearly the benefits, terms and conditions under the policy. The advertisements issued by the insurers should not mislead the insuring public.

All insurers are required to set up proper grievance redress machinery in their head office and at their other offices.

The Authority takes up with the insurers any complaint received from the policyholders in connection with services provided by them under the insurance contract.

CHAPTER 2- INTRODUCTION OF ICICI PRUDENTIAL

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

Company Profile

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank, a premier financial powerhouse and Prudential plc, a leading international financial services group headquartered in the United Kingdom.

ICICI was established in 1955 to lend money for industrial development. Today, it has diversified into retail banking and is the largest private bank in the country. Prudential plc was established in 1848 and is presently the largest life insurance company in UK.

ICICI Prudential is currently the No. 1 private life insurer in the country. For the financial year ended March 31, 2005, the company garnered Rs 1584 crore of new business premium for a total sum assured of Rs 13,780 crore and wrote nearly 615,000 policies.

The Company recognizes that the driving force for gaining sustainable competitive advantage in this business is superior customer experience and investment behind the brand. The Company aims to achieve this by striving to provide world class service levels through constant innovation in products, distribution channels and technology based delivery. The Company has already taken significant steps to achieve this goal.

India's Number One private life insurer, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank-one of

India's foremost financial services companies-and Prudential plc- a leading international financial services group headquartered in the United Kingdom. Total capital infusion stands at Rs. 23.72 billion, with ICICI Bank holding a stake of 74% and Prudential plc holding 26%.

ICICI Prudential was the first life insurer in India to receive a National Insurer Financial Strength rating of AAA (Ind) from Fitch ratings. For three years in a row, ICICI Prudential has been voted as India's Most Trusted Private Life Insurer, by The Economic Times - AC Nielsen ORG Marg survey of 'Most Trusted Brands'. As we grow our distribution, product range and customer base, we continue to tirelessly uphold our commitment to deliver world-class financial solutions to customers all over India.

ICICI Prudential's capital stands at Rs. 23.72 billion with ICICI Bank and Prudential plc holding 74% and 26% stake respectively. For the first quarter ended June 30, 2007, the company garnered Rs. 987 crore of weighted retail + group new business premiums and wrote over 450,000 retail policies in the period. The company has assets held to the tune of over Rs. 18,400 crore.

Distribution

ICICI Prudential has one of the largest distribution networks amongst private life insurers in India. It has a strong presence across India with over 680 branches and over 235,000 advisors.

The company has over 23 bancassurnace partners, having tie-ups with ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, South Indian Bank, Bank of India, Lord Krishna Bank, Idukki District Co-operative Bank, Jalgaon Peoples Co-operative Bank, Shamrao Vithal Co-op Bank, Ernakulam Bank, 9 Bank of India sponsored Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Sangli Urban Co-operative Bank, Baramati Co-operative Bank, Ballia Kshetriya Gramin Bank, The Haryana State Co-operative Bank and Imphal Urban Cooperative Bank Limited.

Products Insurance Solutions For Individuals

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance offers a range of innovative, customer-centric products that meet the needs of customers at every life stage. Its products

can be enhanced with up to 4 riders, to create a customized solution for each policy holder.

Savings Solutions

Save’n’ Protect is a traditional endowment savings plan that offers life protection along with adequate returns.

CashBak is an anticipated endowment policy ideal for meeting milestone expenses like a child’s marriage, expenses for a child’s higher education or purchase of an asset.

LifeTimeSuper offer customers the flexibility and control to customize the policy to meet the changing needs at different life stages. Each offer 4 fund options — Preserver, Protector, Balancer and Maximiser.

LifeLink Super is a single premium Unit Linked Insurance Plan which combines life insurance cover with the opportunity to stay invested in the stock market.

Premier Life Gold is a limited premium paying plan that offers customers life insurance cover till the age of 75.

InvestShield Life New is a unit linked plan that provides premium guarantee on the invested premiums and ensures that the customer receives only the benefits of fund appreciation without any of the risks of depreciation.

· InvestShield Cashbak is a unit linked plan that provides premium guarantee on the invested premiums along with flexible liquidity options.

Protection Solutions

LifeGuard is a protection plan, which offers life cover at very low cost. It is available in 3 options – level term assurance, level term assurance with return of premium and single premium.

HomeAssure is a mortgage reducing term assurance plan designed specifically to help customers cover their home loans in a simple and cost-effective manner.

Child Plans

SmartKid education plans provide guaranteed educational benefits to a child along with life insurance cover for the parent who purchases the policy. The policy is designed to provide money at important milestones in the child’s life. SmartKid plans are also available in unit-linked form – both single premium and regular premium.

Education Insurance Plans

Education insurance under the SmartKid brand provides guaranteed educational benefits to a child along with life insurance cover for the parent who purchases the policy. The policy is designed to provide money at important milestones in the child's life. SmartKid plans are also available in unit-linked form - both single premium and regular premium

Retirement Solutions

ForeverLife is a retirement product targeted at individuals in their thirties.

Market-linked retirement products LifeTime Super Pension is a regular premium market-linked

pension plan. Golden Years: is a limited premium paying retirement solution

that offers tax benefits up to Rs 100,000 u/s 80C, with flexibility in both the accumulation and payout stages.

Health Solution

Health Assure and Health Assure Plus: Health Assure is a regular premium plan which provides long term cover against 6 critical illnesses by providing policyholder with financial assistance, irrespective of the actual medical expenses. Health Assure Plus offers the added advantage of an equivalent life insurance cover

Cancer Care: is a regular premium plan that pays cash benefit on the diagnosis as well as at different stages in the treatment of various cancer conditions.

Diabetes Care and Diabetes Care Plus*: 1st ever critical illness insurance cover for diabetics.

Hospital Care*: Hospital Care offers a Cashless hospitalization facility in more then 3000 network hospitals

Crisis Cover : is a 360-degree product that will provide long-term coverage against 35 critical illnesses, total and permanent disability, and death

Note (*) products Re-launched on 1st July 2006

Group Insurance Solutions

ICICI Prudential also offers Group Insurance Solutions for companies seeking to enhance benefits to their employees.

ICICI Pru Group Gratuity Plan: ICICI Pru’s group gratuity plan helps employers fund their statutory gratuity obligation in a scientific manner. The plan can also be customized to structure schemes that can provide benefits beyond the statutory obligations.

ICICI Pru Group Superannuation Plan: ICICI Pru offers a flexible defined contribution superannuation scheme to provide a retirement kitty for each member of the group. Employees have the option of choosing from various annuity options or opting for a partial commutation of the annuity at the time of retirement.

ICICI Pru Group Term Plan: ICICI Pru’s flexible group term solution helps provide affordable cover to members of a group. The cover could be uniform or based on designation/rank or a multiple of salary. The benefit under the policy is paid to the beneficiary nominated by the member on his/her death.

Flexible Rider Options

ICICI Pru Life offers flexible riders, which can be added to the basic policy at a marginal cost, depending on the specific needs of the customer.

Accident Benefit: If death occurs as the result of an accident during the term of the policy, the beneficiary receives an additional amount equal to the rider sum assured under the policy. If the death occurs while traveling in an authorized mass transport vehicle, the beneficiary will be entitled to twice the sum assured as additional benefit.

Accident & Disability Benefit: This rider option pays 10% the sum assured under the rider every year till next 10 years on Accidental Permanent Disability of 2 Organs.

Critical Illness Benefit: protects the insured against financial loss in the event of 9 specified critical illnesses. Benefits are payable to the insured for medical expenses prior to death.

Income Benefit: This rider pays the 10% of the sum assured to the nominee every year, till maturity, in the event of the death of the life assured. It is available on SmarKid, SecurePlus and CashPlus

Waiver of Premium: In case of total and permanent disability due to an accident, the premiums are waived till maturity. This rider is available with SecurePlus and CashPlus.

Choice of Six Investment Options :- ICICI prudential offers you the opportunity of selecting between investment options to match your investment priorities.

1) Protector:-

An Investment Option with investment indebt and money market instruments.

2) Maximiser :-

An investment option with investment in equity and equity related instruments.

3) Balancer :-

An investment option with investment in a mix of equity and debt oriented instruments.

4) Preserver :-

An investment option with investment in low-risk instruments like cash and call money markets.

5) Flexi Growth:-

New Fund (NFO) launched in March 2007, Long term returns from an equity portfolio lare,mid and small cap companies.

6) Flexi balanced:-

Balance of capital appreciation and stable returns from an equity (large,mid & small cap companies) & debt portfolio.

Vision and Mission of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company

Their vision is to make ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company the dominant new insurer in the life insurance industry. This they hope to achieve through their commitment to excellence, focus on service, speed and innovation, and leveraging our technological expertise.

The success of the organisation will be founded on its strong focus on values and clarity of purpose. These include:

Understanding the needs of customers and offering them superior products and service

Building long lasting relationships with their partners Providing an enabling environment to foster growth and learning

for their employees

And above all building transparency in all our dealings.

They believe that they can play a significant role in redefining and reshaping the sector. Given the quality of their parentage and the commitment of their team, they feel that there will be no limits to their growth.

Registered Office : ICICI Towers 9thfloor, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai - 400 051, Tel: 494 3232

Regional Office : 8th floor EROS Coorporate Tower, Nehru place, New Delhi-110011.Tel:46554405

Delhi office : 3rd floor, Videocon Towers E-1, Rani Jhansi Road, New Delhi - 110055. Tel: 601 3232

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance opens office in Dubai

In a move to consolidate its position in the Gulf region, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (ICICI Prudential), India's No. 1 private life insurance company, also opened its representative office in Dubai, becoming the first private life insurer from India to open an office in the Emirate.

At ICICI Prudential we offer pragmatic, world-class solutions. Put simply, solutions with a lot of common sense. Solutions that take care of your four

basic financial needs - Earning, Saving, Investing and Spending. So you live your life to the fullest, sans worries.

CHAPTER 3- RECRUITMENT

AND SELECTION

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

 “The art of choosing men is not nearly so difficult as the art of

enabling those one has chosen to attain their full worth”.

Recruitment is the process by which organizations locate and attract

individuals to fill job vacancies. Most organizations have a continuing need to

recruit new employees to replace those who leave or are promoted in order

to acquire new skills and promote organizational growth.

Recruitment follows HR planning and goes hand in hand with selection

process by which organizations evaluate the suitability of candidates. With

successful recruiting to create a sizeable pool of candidates, even the most

accurate selection system is of little use

Recruiting begins when a vacancy occurs and the recruiter receives

authorization to fill it. The next step is careful examination of the job and

enumeration of skills, abilities and experience needed to perform the job

successfully. Other steps follow:

     Creating an applicant pool using internal or external methods

     Evaluate candidates via selection

     Convince the candidate

     And finally make an offer

Scope: To define the process and flow of activities while recruiting, selecting

and appointing personnel on the permanent rolls of an organization.

Authorization:

S.No. Authorized Signatory

1 Head- Human resource

2 Managing director

Amendments and deviations:

Any amendments to and deviations from this policy can only be authorized

by the Head-human Resources and the Managing Director.

Exclusions:

The policy does not cover the detailed formalities involved after the

candidate joins the organization.

                                              

ACTIVITY FLOWACTIVITY FLOW

The organization philosophy should be kept in mind while formulating the

recruitment procedure.

The HR department would set the recruitment norms for the

organization. However, the onus of effective implementation and compliance

with the process rests with the heads of the respective functions and

departments who are involved in the recruitment and selection process.

The process is aimed at defining the series of activities that needs to

be performed by different persons involved in the process of recruitment, the

checks and control measures to be adopted and information that has to be

captured.

Recruitment and Selection is conducted by:

     HR & Branch Manager

     Functional Head

 

RECRUITMENT PLANNING

Recruitment planning on the basis of budget

A. The manpower planning process for the year would commence

with the company’s budgeting activity. The respective Functional

heads would submit the manpower requirements of their

respective functions/ departments to the board of Directors as

part of the annual business plan after detailed discussion  with

the head of human Resource Function along with detailed notes

in support of the projected numbers assumptions regarding the

direct and indirect salary costs for each position.

B. A copy of the duly approved manpower plan would be forwarded

by the HR department for their further actions during the course

of the year. The annual budget would specify the manpower

requirement of the entire organization, at different levels, in

various functions/departments, at different geographical

locations and the timing of the individual requirements. It would

also specify the requirement budget, which is the cost allotted

towards the recruitment of the budgeted staff and the

replacement of the existing employees. The manpower plan

would also clearly indicate the exact time at which the

incumbent should be on board in such a way that the Regional

HR has adequate notice for the time lapses involved in sourcing

any other activities.

C. The Regional HR’s would undertake the planning activity and

necessary preparations in advance of the anticipated

requirements, as monthly and quarterly activities on the basis of

the approved budget, estimated separations and replacements

therefore.

D. The vacancies sought to be filled or being filled shall always be

within the approved annual manpower budget and no

recruitment process shall be initiated without the formal

concurrence of the Head of the Regional HR under any

circumstance. Head of the Regional HR shall also have the

responsibility to monitor the appointments being considered at

any point of time with specific respect to the duly approved

manpower budgets.

Review of Manpower Plans and Additional Manpower

A.    Review of manpower budgets shall take place on a quarterly

basis. In the event of any new position or any deviations to the

original plans, details of the positions maybe forwarded to the

VP-HR along with the adequate supporting information. The

recommendations would normally require a formal approval of

the Managing Director. Alternately, VP-HR may record the

summary of his discussion with the Managing Director and the

MD’s approval on the recommendations, to signify the final

decision taken regarding the recommendations.

SOURCING OF SUITABLE CANDIDATES

Selection of Sources

Regional HR would tap various sources/channels for getting the right

candidate. Depending on the nature of the position/grade, volumes of

recruitment and any other relevant factors, the Regional HR would use any

one multiple sources such as:

     Existing database (active application data bank);

     Employee referral as per any company scheme that may be

approved from time to time;

     Advertisement in the internet/newspapers/magazines/company’s

sites/job sites or any other media;

     Placement Agencies (particularly for positions of Managers and

above);

     Headhunting firms particularly for senior positions, specialist

positions and critical positions;

     Direct recruitment from campuses/academic institutes;

     Job websites and

     Any other appropriate sources.

The norms for using any of the sources are not water tight. Number of

positions, criticality of positions and the urgency of the positions,

confidentiality requirements, relative efficacy and cost considerations would

play a role in the choice of the appropriate sourcing mechanism.

ADVERTISEMENTS

     All recruitment advertisements (in any form and any medium) shall

always conform to the KLI compliance norms and would not be

released by any department or branch without the approval of the

VP-HR. depending on the specifics of each position for which

recruitment advertisements are to be released, Regional HR may

obtain assistance from the company’s marketing department and/or

any external advertising agencies for the preparation of the

contents. Key features of the positions as notified by the Functional

Heads would normally form a part of the advertisement text.

     The media for releasing advertisement would depend on the level of

the position being considered and the urgency of the requirements.

     The advertisement mode that could be broadly specified as

newspapers (local or mainline depending on requirements), internet

sites and business magazines.

Placement Agencies/Headhunting Agencies

     Depending upon the vacancies, fresher fitting different description

listed above may be recruited from time to time, from academic

institutes of appropriate standards/reputation/grade, in the requisite

numbers and at the compensation/stipend amounts to be formally

approved of the VP-HR. Plans for such recruitment need specific

special approval of VP-HR. norms regarding the identification of the

appropriate institutes, constitution of the selection panels, timings

of the recruitment, number of candidates to be recruited into

different positions, choice of the appropriate selection process and

the tools thereof shall be decided by the Head of the Regional HR in

consultation with the VP-HR, depending on the specific features of

the position.

Screening the candidates

First level screening

The Candidates would be screened by the HR Manager/Branch

Manager for the respective locations. Screening would be on the basis of the

profile of the candidate and the departmental requirements.

This assessment will be with respect to:

a. The general profile of the candidate,

b. Personality fit of the candidate into the profile,

c. Aptitude/attitude of the candidate,

d. Motives of the person to join the company and whether focus is

in the short term or is a long term player,

e. Basic skill level on our set of requirements, say numerically

ability, networking ability, etc

f. Establish the annual guaranteed cash compensation of the

individual and check whether the person would fit into the

system.

g. Explain the role of Sales manager to the applicant and check the

acceptance of the candidate for the same.

In case of need, the Regional HR may take a Tele interview of the candidate

for further assessment process.

Second Level Screening

Aptitude Test

If the first assessment is positive, the candidates will give the aptitude

test, once such test is selected approved by the company. The scoring,

interpretation and the generation of interview probes from that test will also

be done at this time. People who qualify the minimum criteria on this test will

be put up on to the Functional Head (VP’s in case of HO) for functional

assessment and suitability into the role.

Tied Agency Sales Manager candidates short listed by the BM have will

then take sales Aptitude test, once such a test is finalized. For the final

selection, the regional Manager (Business Heads for HO) will meet the

candidates short listed by the branch manager/VP. The chart specifying the

Minimum approval level for each level of recruitment is specified below:

Category Branch

Manager/Chief

Manager

Area

Manager/AVP/VP

Business

Heads

Managing

Director

CSE/ADVISORS Yes No No No

BIC Yes Yes No No

BM/CM Yes Yes Yes No

SM Yes Yes Yes Yes

 General Norms regarding interview Process:

A. Interviews should consider the entire data provided by the

candidate either through the formal CV or otherwise before

coming to a conclusion about the candidate. They may insist on

seeing the proof of the claims made by the candidate regarding

qualifications, experience and other achievements. They may, at

their discretion, decide to meet the candidate on more than one

occasion or to refer the candidate to another panel.

B. Ratings on various attributes of the candidates shall be recorded

in the interview evaluation sheet, soon after the interview is

over. Along with these numerical ratings, qualitative

observations about the candidate and overall decision regarding

selection or otherwise (including a decision to defer the

induction, referral to another panel, considering for another

position) shall be forwarded to the associated Recruitment

Manager/ Head of Regional HR. Individual panel members have

the option of appending their additional remarks/observations.

No selection will be treated as final unless the IES form is filled

comprehensively. Suitably appropriate IES formats may be

created for specific positions.

C. Any discrepancies noticed by the panel members regarding the

authenticity of the data provided by the candidate should be

specifically and formally recorded on the IES form and suitably

high lightened.

D.  Specific points to be probed during the reference check process,

if any, must also be clearly recorded and high lightened on the

IES forms.

Administrative Actions Regarding Interviews

A. Scheduling and the venue of the interviews would be handled by

the recruitment team in consultation with the short listed

candidate and the selection panel members, after taking mutual

convenience into account. For field positions, respective

branch/regional heads would undertake this co-ordination.

B. After the final round, if the candidate is selected, the complete

set of papers Personal Data Form, CV, job requisition no.,

Interview evaluation sheet ,reference check details, educational

details, along with the interviewer’s recommendations and

Reference check form should be forwarded by the recruitment

managers to recruitment head. Fitment of the candidate into a

grade and compensation fitment shall be on the assumption of

authenticity of the information provided in the CV/application

form.

C. An appropriate formal communication shall be sent to the

candidate whose candidature is not being taken forward, or

details of the verbal/telephonic communications provided to the

candidate shall be recorded on the candidates papers, by the

recruitment team/associated line managers. In the case of

interviews taking place at the branch/regional levels, similar

noting should be recorded on the individual candidate’s papers.

Negotiations of the terms and conditions and other pre-

appointment formalities

A. In the case of sales-Tied Agency functions, the branch managers

will be allowed to fix the salary and grade of the incoming sales

manager, provided the compensation does not exceed 20% of

the candidates current cash salary. Any fitment beyond this

norms will need the approval of Head-HR. HR will forward a

worksheet to support  the BM’s to evaluate the appropriate cash

CTC of the incumbent. For all other functions, the compensation

and grade would be fixed post a discussion between the Head of

the Regional HR and the associated AVP/VP. Any candidate being

offered a CTC of more than 4lacs will need the sign off from

HEAD-HR. In appropriate cases, at the discretion of the VP-HR, a

deviation may be referred to the Managing Director, for the MD’s

formal approval.

B. Responsibility for negotiations and finalization of the terms shall

rest with the best Branch Manager/Associated Manager. They

may seek the assistance of the recruitment managers,

whenever required. Reference checks process should not

normally be initiated unless the candidate has indicated

his firm acceptance of the offer being made by us.

Reference checks

A.    Normal, reference checks should be undertaken with at least

one reference. A second reference check will be done if

considered necessary. Responsible officials from the former

employers, academic institutes and/or any other eminent

personalities can be considered as appropriate references. Close

relatives and friends cannot be considered as references.

Wherever feasible and considered appropriate, a reference

should be made with a senior official of the candidate’s current

employer. In case the candidate is currently un-employed,

reference should be made with the latest employer. The format

of reference check is to be used as a framework for conducting

the process.

B.     Where the minimum two reference checks are not possible

(particularly with the current employer) or where there is a

mixed response from different sources, the matter may be to the

VP-HR for a final decision. Depending on the seniority and any

other considerations about the positions, VP-HR would normally

consult the functional head concerned, before coming to

conclusions. Any candidate whose credentials are doubtful shall

not be recruited.

C.     In case of recruitment of Management trainees, fresher and life

advisors as sales Managers no reference checks will be required. 

Employment offer letter

A. When a recruitment Manager is fully satisfied about the selection

of the right candidate and about completion of all the formalities

connected with the appointment of candidate including requisite

documentation, satisfactory reference check reports and medical

fitness, he/she would forward the relevant papers listed below to

the head of recruitment.

      Personal Data form

      Employee requisition form duly filled by the regional

Head/Branch  Manager

      Interview evaluation sheet filled by the regional head/Branch

manager/interviewer with his/her comments.

      Latest and updated resume of the candidate

      Photocopy of the appointment letter of the last employer or

latest salary slip.

      Employment details.

      Two Professional references.

      Language Proficiency.

 

B. Document check list for every grade is as follows:

      Authorization Release Form.

      Background check Form.

      Highest Education certificate.

      Highest Education marksheet.

      1 Month Salary Slip of Current Employer.

      1 Month Salary Slip of Last Employer.

      Relieving Letter of last Employment.

      Proof of Residence.

      2 Passport Size Photograph.

 

C. Regional HR manager will take the signature of Head-HR on the

employee requisition form and forward the papers to the

employee service team for issuance of the offer letter.

D. Employee services team will issue offer letter, to be signed by

the National Recruitment Manager or Chief Manager-HR, and

send the same to the concerned Branch Manager/ HR Manager.

E. It would be the responsibility of the Branch Manager/HR Manager

to ensure that the accepted copy of the offer letter is forwarded

to the employee service team within a week of receipt of the

offer letter. Till this letter is issued, the ‘offer’ has not taken place

in formal sense. A copy of the offer letter shall be duly signed

and returned to the candidate. Candidate would be expected to

fulfill various joining formalities, which are also formally

communicated to him/her in the form of a checklist that is

attached to the letter of offer. The Regional HR head shall have

the overall responsibility and accountability to maintain the

templates of the offer letters and also for drafting of suitable

non-standard terms to any specific candidate.

F. The employee service team will follow up Branch

Manager/Regional HR Manager for the joining of the candidate

and will collect all relevant documents from the candidate

including the joining report, before issuing the appointment

letter. The employee service team may enlist the help of the

Branch Manager to ensure that all necessary documents within

ten days o the person joining. After the of all necessary

documents, the employee service team will send the

appointment letter to the new joinee.

G. Once the documentation is complete for the new joinee

(including the accepted appointment letter), people who may

have joined before 20th  of the month but have not been included

in the payroll for the month because of delay in receipt of papers

will be given ad-hoc salary advance (up to maximum of 65% of

the pro rated salary). This advance will be adjusted once the

person gets included in the subsequent month’s payroll.

H. If the person does not submit the relieving letter from the

previous organization, where required to be submitted as per the

table given above, within three months of joining, the employee

service manager can put their salary on hold till such time as the

said documents are received.

Key tasks of Regional HR Head

Regional HR Head will have the authority and responsibility to

administer/implement the recruitment and selection process as outlined. An

illustrative list of the key deliverables of these incumbents is listed below.

     Ensuring inductions as per quality, numbers, time and cost

consideration of the company in accordance with the

approved manpower budget.

     Creation of appropriate sourcing mechanism along with

tracking the performance of these mechanisms.

     Creation of quarterly and monthly recruitment plans

     Effective coordination with external parties such as

candidates, placement agencies, consultants,

academic/professional institutes and any other including the

custody of the formal agreements , tracking timely

payments and adjusted thereto

     Creation of comprehensive and appropriate tools, linkages,

documents, templates and any other mechanisms to ensure

smooth execution of the process requirement, along with timely

improvements thereto

     Assistance to user department and line managers including

in interviewing/selection support, scheduling etc.

     Effective internal communication with user departments and

line managers including making the standard recruitment

formats and other templates easily available to such users

and notifying the modifications to such formats and

templates.

     Creation and maintenance of qualitative information base regarding

candidates, placement agencies, campuses, institutes, and any

other employment-market information.

     Creation and maintenance of appropriate and high-quality MIS for

current and future needs of the organization, including

publication/circulation of appropriate reports there from to the

relevant users within the company.

     Monitoring recruitment costs

     Complete documentation for the entire recruitment and selection

process for easy and quick retrieval in a readily auditable format

     Timely and effective communication with all internal and external

parties including the candidates

     Tracking the progress of the selected candidates including

resignation, extensions of probation periods/training period, etc for

the purpose of improvement to recruitment and selection process.

     Effective coordination with the post recruitment arm of the Human

Resource function

     Documentation and creating MIS regarding waiver, deviation, etc

and identifying the key areas for improvement in the formal

recruitment and selection process document.

CHAPTER 4- SWOT Analysis of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance’s Recruitment Process

SWOT Analysis of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance’s Recruitment Process

  Strengths

 Brand equity of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

 Rigorous Pre-Hiring assessment tests to understand aptitude and personality of candidates.

 Proper reference checks to ensure that only bonafide candidates are appointed.

 Adequate number of channel partners to generate footfalls for each location.

               Weaknesses

 Pre assessment tests are costly.

 Conversion of footfalls is low.

 Lengthy pre-offer formalities.

 Huge employee turnover.

 

 Footfall MIS being maintained at each branch locally by Admin.

 

            Opportunities Campus recruitments have huge potential for fulfilling manpower requirements cost effectively.

 Tie up with recruitment agencies on supplying fixed number of footfalls week on week.

 Develop exclusive contract with channel partners to meet the manpower requirements.

 Make blue form brief and to the point.

 Reduce turn around time of making an offer.

                      Threats

 Increasing number of private players in insurance sector creates ample choices, frequent and easy mobility for employees.

   Same channel partners are handling all insurance companies. This leads to same pool of candidates being circulated to all partners.

  Increasing spill over as a candidate has more than one offer at the time of making a job shift.

  As the insurance industry is small, senior level candidates hesitate to meet HR of other companies for the fear of grapevine.

CHAPTER 5- RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS & SUGGESTIONS

- Compress the "white space" in your hiring process.

White Spaces are delays in  hiring process that are unproductive,

waste time, and virtually assure you'll lose talented candidates.

Often the longest delays occur between critical selection events. For

example, a recruiter may need several weeks to screen a few

hundred resumes from the Web job boards, or candidates who make

it through screening may wait weeks to interview with a hiring

manager.

Here at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, the delays occur when the

outstation candidates are called for interviews at Regional branches

like Delhi and Mumbai. Sometimes, because of busy schedule of

senior managers and sometimes because of tight schedule of

candidate, the interview has to be postponed. This delay could be

minimized by scheduling interviews in the regional locations. It is

recommended to reduce the turnaround time for the recruitment

and selection process. It must be made mandatory for the

candidates to take the test, filling up forms etc within the stipulated

time, this will make sure that the candidates do not hold casual

attitude and take the recruitment process more seriously.

Additionally it can send across a positive image about the company. 

White space in recruitment can be compressed by the use of  IT

also. Technology (such as automated or Web-based tracking) is

ideal for eliminating unnecessary steps and reducing delays.

-Tie up with more & more consultants from multiple

segments

 Since the limited placement agencies are sourcing candidates to all

insurance companies, there often comes the problem of duplication of data.

Therefore it is recommended that more and more consultants should be tied

up from multiple segments to attract large pool of new and fresh talent.

-Know what you're looking for in candidates.It is observed that the candidates sourced by placement agencies and send

for further rounds of interviews are rarely found suitable by the hiring

managers. Therefore, in case there is need to utilize the service of a

placement agency, then it is recommended that these placement agencies

be given a well drafted job description and job specification. This can also be

circulated to internal employees under the employee referral scheme. This

will help people to get a clearer picture and provide for most suitable

candidates. Thus making efficient utilization of the existing resources.

-Reduce the pre offer formalities:

Pre-offer documentation includes filling of a lengthy Blue form which includes

all personal, educational and professional details of candidate. This is very

time consuming and even after taking these details from candidate its not

sure that offer will be made or not. This also becomes frustrating for the

candidate sometimes. So, it is recommended that unnecessary details should

not be asked before we make the final offer to the candidate. Blue form

should be made consise.

- One size doesn’t fits all

An effort must be made to study local condition, education levels.

Since applying common test for all candidates across entire country

can overshadow a candidates capabilities. This factor must be given

importance since Indian society is divided on various parameters

such as education, language, infrastructure etc. A test with high

level of English and complicated sentence structure can be a hurdle

in areas where language itself is barrier. An option is to have

different tests for different regions.

- Blend technology into every aspect of your recruiting

and hiring process.

Web-based technology lets you increase hiring speed and quality

while reducing costs. Currently, job boards constitute the biggest

use of the Web, offering access to thousands of resumes within

hours. But the Web can also be a powerful tool for screening and

qualifying that flood of resumes. Companies have begun to use the

Web to collect and instantly match data on candidate skills,

motivations, and experiences against job criteria. Other uses of

Web-based technology include online interviewing, candidate

assessment and testing, applicant self-scheduling, and tracking.

Work the Web wisely and you save time for recruiters and hiring

managers and nab top candidates before your competitors can.

     It is recommended that apart from the person-job fit,

method must be devised to check for person-organization

fit. A person-organization helps to assess how well a

candidate is suited the organization. Whether the attitude

he/she carries will promote both organizational as well

personal goals. This takes a great importance especially

when attrition is high. It will help the organization to retain

its employees for a longer period of time and less burden on

recruitment staff.

- Build and manage your candidate pool as a precious

resource.

A "candidate pool" is a group of individuals who have shown interest in

working for your company and are qualified for and ready to fill certain

positions. Rather than undertaking the time-consuming process of filling one

job at a time, you draw on the candidate pool and fill jobs as they become

available. How do you keep a pool active? Some companies send their

newsletters to pool candidates, give them product coupons, and keep in

touch through e-mail. Pool management is not easy in a tight labor market --

good candidates often go elsewhere. But many organizations, especially

those with a reputation as a great place to work, are able to fill positions

quickly using the pool concept.

-  Create winning impression even on those who are not selected

Its very important to create a favorable impression of your

organization on all those who come for interview. Those who are not

selected in the first round of personal interview should also carry

this impression that they have missed the opportunity to work in a

great company.  For this, there must a proper coordination of the

interview of the candidate and greater degree of professionalism. A

candidate when invited for a interview must be attended as soon as

possible and should be made to wait for hours together. Interviews

conducted on a scheduled time leave a good impression on the

candidate. Even if he is not selected, a good impression about the

will make him recommend the name to his people.

CHAPTER 6- CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

Insurance is confronted with high attrition rate. Therefore it makes 

recruitment a critical function in the organization. In order to grow and

sustain in the competitive environment it is important for an organization to

continuously develop and bring out innovations in all it activities. It is only

when organization is recognized for its quality that it can build a stability

with its customers. Thus an organization must be able to stand out in the

crowd.

The first step in this direction is to ensure competitive people come in

the organization. Therefore recruitment in this regard becomes an important

function. The organization must constantly improvise in its recruitment

process so that it is able to attract best in the industry in order to serve the

best. Thus the organization must look out for methods that can enable it to

adopt best recruitment practices.

CHAPTER 7- LEARNINGS

LEARNINGS

Every endeavor undertaken to accomplish challenging goals, can

only be successful under the experienced and encouraging

guidance. In brief all learnings of this report are summarized as

under:

Understanding of person and profile fit. Convince people about the job profile and to sell the job

to the prospective candidate; Following up with the candidates during the entire

selection process; Learned to convince candidates about the offer rolled out

and making them accept the offer through effective communication;

Learning about salary fitments. Communicating with the corporate; Performance appraisals, its various types, implications

and significance; Handling queries received from various quarters; Managing HR department in the absence of HR manager; Reply to official mails; Prioritize issues according to their importance; Field work exposure to tap candidates that further

strengthened the learning.

CHAPTER 8- BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

During the preparation of project I took the help of various sources which are

as follows:

Books:

- Emerging trends in insurance industry

- Indian insurance

- Competency-Based Recruitment and Selection

Internet:

- www.google.com

- www. icici pru life .com/ipru/memberlogin

- www.linkedin.com/ company / icici -prudential-life-insurance- company -limited