Maruti Suzuki is giving its talent management practices a face lift this season in an attempt to counter poaching efforts from rival companies. India has provided a breeding ground for many international players in the automotive industry. Competitors like Volkswagen, Honda, BMW , Audi and Hyundai are offering lucrative salaries to attract high performers away from the country’s largest automobile company.

The auto industry in the country has seen a growth of 30% last year along with a near doubling attrition rate which rose from 10% in 2008 to a whopping 18-20% in 2010.

The company plans to induct young professionals into senior management and also formulate salaries which are linked to performance in addition to increasing its entry level pay.
"We have linked our variable pay to the financial performance of the company with a greater focus on cash variables as the liability is lower," said S.Y Siddiqui, Managing Executive Officer, HR & Administration, Maruti Suzuki. Other incentives include helping employees to buy a house by bargaining with builders for a better cost.
Incidentally over the next couple of years, approximately 200 employees who joined the company since it started in 1982 will reach superannuation. This will bring in a demand of fresh talent, which the company is tackling by a structured and well planned induction process. "We have been empowering these young talent and are giving them a higher compensation package," says Siddiqui. The starting salary is at 5.5 lakh, which is higher than 10% of what was offered last year.

The company will increase its engineering strength from the current 700 to over 1,500 by the end of fiscal year 2012. Most of these will be fresh pass outs from the Indian Institutes of Technology and other technical institutes.