123Pune.com

Mumbai: Can a partnership between the industry and the academia help in retaining quality talent? A few players in the pharma industry seem to think so. They have found the educational route effective to meet the challenge of talent crunch, especially in research and development (R&D).

Only a year ago, firms ranging from Orchid to Ranbaxy expressed concerns over attrition and rising salaries, especially in R&D, at a Confederation of Indian Industry's pharma summit,

A year later, at the same summit, there was not even a mere mention of these problems.

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While the pharma companies have attempted to satisfy monetary aspirations with average starting salaries of Rs 4 lakh, they are also forging greater interaction with institutes and universities to keep the flock together.

A case in point is Lupin Ltd. About 6-8 months back, the company tied up with Baraktulla University, Bhopal and the universities of Pune and Manipal for PhD programmes.

Lupin, which has a strength of 400 scientists, encourages its employees in the R&D section to take up PhD programmes. Senior employees act as guides to the PhD students.

This not only helps in raising the knowledge quotient of the employees, which, in turn, benefits the company through the research work that they carry, but also acts as an incentive towards retention.

As most individuals who join the R&D department are MSc graduates, Lupin through its PhD programmes tries to upgrade their knowledge, said Rajan Dutta, president of human resources at Lupin.

"Very few would think of leaving before completing their doctorate. We expect those who have completed to stay over," he said.

At another level, Lupin has invested over Rs 1 crore in a programme called A Cutting Edge, or ACE under which employees are trained in management skills for a week at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

These programmes have increased employee loyalty towards the organisation and helped in checking attrition, which now stands at 15 per cent in the R&D section, much below the overall 20 per cent at Lupin.

Nicholas Piramal India Ltd (NPIL) has tied up with Bombay College of Pharmacy, the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research in Punjab and the Vellore Institute of Technology. Scientists at NPIL teach at these universities. "Scientists provide on-hand industry perspective, which increases the intellectual quotient and helps in aligning it more with the industry standards," Sanjay Muthal, president HR, NPIL, said.

Once the course is over, the company offers recruitment to those students who it thinks can fit into the organisation's culture.

From the 40-50 people NPIL recruits each year for its 400-strong R&D section, it hires about 15 from the institutes with which it has a tie-up. Its overall attrition level stands at 5 per cent from the double-digit figure sometime back.

Employees in R&D at the Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratory (DRL) are encouraged to complete their M Sc in pharmaceutical chemistry through a course with the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. DRL also encourages employees to take up an MBA programme at Narsee Monjee Institute that has been customised to suit company's requirement.

Pravir Jha, DRL's global HR head says the company has started giving projects in pharmacology and chemistry to students of some institutes.

"As students work on our projects, they get a first hand industry perspective. It also helps us in knowing the students and their capacities and this in turn aids during campus recruitments," he says. DRL hires about 200 freshers every year.

These initiatives have helped in reducing the attrition levels in R&D from 20 per cent to 16 per cent, claims Jha. Companies are also setting up academies on their own.

The Pune-based packaging company Bilcare that offers services in clinical research has started its own institution to provide courses in clinical research.
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