Ahmed Faizan Kashmiri

Student ID: 14447

27-Aug-14

Standard Chartered Leasing Ltd.

Problems in Recruitment process

LETTER OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

August 27, 2014

Shah Muhammad Saad Hussain,

Faculty, Human Resource Management Department,
Institute of Business Management
Korangi Creek
Karachi-75190

Dear Sir,

This is to inform you that I, hereby, am submitting the term report of Recruitment Problems in
Standard Chartered Leasing Ltd..

I am grateful to Almighty, who permitted me to undertake this task; His great blessings all the
way through helped me. I am highly indebted to you for your valuable time and advices that
you rendered in spite of your busy schedule and for your precious guidance at every step. You
have been a source of enthusiasm and courage which kept me energetic during the whole
semester. The knowledge you shared is inestimable and would remain with me throughout the
life.

Sincerely,
Ahmed Faizan (14447)
MBA Executive
Institute of Business Management, Karachi.

Contents
STANDARD CHARTERED LEASING LTD..................................................................... 3
A 1 - COMPANY PROFILE................................................................................................ 3
A 2 - VISION ...................................................................................................................... 3
A 3 - MISSION STATEMENT ........................................................................................... 3
A 4 - SCLL CORE VALUES ............................................................................................... 4
A 5 - PRODUCTS AND SERVICES .................................................................................. 5
A 6 - CURRENT CREDIT RATING .................................................................................. 5
HR DEPARTMENT AT STANDARD CHARTERED LEASING LTD. ........................... 6
B 1 - STRUCTURE OF HR DEPARTMENT..................................................................... 6
B 2 - SCLL HR STRATEGY AND ITS FIT WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONAL
FACTORS ..................................................................................................................................7
B 3 - HR STRATEGY INLINE WITH SCLLS BUSINESS STRATEGY ......................... 8
HR PROBLEM: SLOW PROCESS OF RECURUITMENT ............................................. 9
C 1 - SCLL RECRUITMENT PROCESS ......................................................................... 10
C 2 - SEQUENCE OF ACTION ........................................................................................ 12
C 3 - IMPACT OF SLOW RECRUITMENT PROCESS ON THE COMPANY...............14
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS OF PROBLEM ...................................................................... 15
D1 - TOOL # 1: ISHIKAWA FISH BONE DIAGRAM ................................................ 15
D 2 - TOOL # 2: RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAM ...........................................................16
DATA COLLATERAL & COMPILATIONS .....................................................................19
E 1 - METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH .........................................................................19
RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................. 26
F1 - INOVATION FOR RELEVANT APPLICATION COLLECTION ........................... 26
F2 - HEAD HUNTING BY SOCIAL MEDIA .................................................................. 26
F3 - USING REFERAL TO OVERCOME POTENTAIL VS CURRENT DILLEMA .... 27
F4 - HIRING FOR REMOTE LOCATIONS ................................................................... 27
F5 - RECRUITMENT GUIDE LINES TO REDUCE TAT ............................................. 27
ACTION PLAN ................................................................................................................. 28
LAST WORDS .................................................................................................................. 29

STANDARD CHARTERED LEASING LTD.

ORGANIZATIONAL INTRODUCTION
A 1 - COMPANY PROFILE
Standard Chartered Leasing Limited (SCLL), a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan)
Limited was established in 1993 and has maintained its unique market position by catering to
the customers' leasing and investment needs , through customized solutions which are cost
effective and simple.
SCLL core business is lease financing with a focus on Corporate, Small and Medium enterprises.
It also offers unique investment opportunities to Individual and Corporate / SME customers
through Certificates of Investment, which provide flexible investment options.
SCLL is an investment grade company with existing PACRA credit ratings of AA+ for long term
and A1+ for short term. These ratings indicate low expectation of credit risk emanating from
very strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
SCLL operates in the major cities of Pakistan including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and
Faisalabad. Its registered office is in Karachi. SCLL is listed on all the three Stock Exchanges in
Pakistan. Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Ltd holds 86.45% shares in SCLL.
The authorized capital of SCLL is PKR. 1 billion with paid up capital of PKR 978 million. This
amply meets the minimum capital requirement of the Securities and Exchange Commission of
Pakistan (SECP).

A 2 - VISION
To be the preferred provider of Leasing Products in the Market

A 3 - MISSION STATEMENT
To create exceptional value for our clients, investors and staff; through market leadership in
providing innovative Leasing Products & Solutions, and by adopting and living our core values.
3

A 4 - SCLL CORE VALUES

At standard chartered Leasing every things revolves around a core ideology that is Here for
Good it not only symbolizes the passion to progress but also incorporate values that provide
sustainability and stability by investing a share of progress with in society and planet at large.
Agenda of standard chartered Leasing is simply an extension of its core belief that it are here
for:
1. Here For Good
2. Here For People
3. Here for Progress
It can be viewed as Triple bottom line statement of company where:
1. Here for Good means here to remain as a responsible company towards the planet.
2. Here for People means here to support the community and all the stake holders.
3. Here for Progress means here for sustainability by innovation and profitability.
In other Word all of the phenomenon can be viewed as:

Here for
People
(Social)

Here for
Progress
(Profit)
Here for Good!
(Planet)

In other words Standard chartered Leasing business is based on its belief in working for the
society and environment and achieving better sustainability by all of its stake holders at large.
Main driving forces behind SCLLS Ideology are derived from the single source that is its core
belief and business ideology of the parent organization that is practiced since its inception in
1863.

A 5 - PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Standard Chartered Leasing Limited offers following Products & Services to valued customers.
Finance Lease
At Standard Chartered Leasing Limited, it tailors lease financing facilities to suit customer
needs. Lease periods of up to 5 years are available and rentals can be structured according to
cash flow forecasts of customers. A wide range of assets - Plant, Machinery, Automobiles,
Generators & Equipment-are available under SCLL leasing facilities.
Its dedicated professional executives ensure that we respond quickly to our customers
requirements and provide customized /innovative solutions.

Bemisaal Investment Certificates

Standard Chartered Leasing Limited offers a unique investment opportunity- Bemisaal
Investment Certificates are a perfect choice for investment that offers secure, healthy returns,
to both Individual and Institutional customers.

A 6 - CURRENT CREDIT RATING

Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) has assigned 'AA+' (Double A Plus) long term rating to
Standard Chartered Leasing Limited. The short term rating assigned is 'A1+' (A one Plus).
These ratings denote a low expectation of credit risk emanating from a strong capacity for
timely payment of financial commitments.
The ratings reflect SCLL's strong association with Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited
(SCBPL), the majority shareholder in the company. Over the years the integration between the
parent and the company has further strengthened. On standalone basis, though facing
challenges of a relatively limited asset base and profitability, the company is embarked on a
growth strategy capitalizing on the strong franchise of SCBPL. Also, the high risk absorption
capacity emanating from a sound equity base and low leveraged financial profile provides
comfort to the ratings.

HR DEPARTMENT AT STANDARD CHARTERED

LEASING LTD.
The Human Resource Department at SCLL leads the recruitment process to ensure that the
finest human resource is taken on board at SCLL. Resume of candidates are carefully filed and
documented for current and future reference. The department besides carrying out succession
planning also maintains and implements HR policies pertaining to employment, retention and
superannuation. Assessing training needs of employees and ensuring adequate training is also
carried out by the professional HR team.

B 1 - STRUCTURE OF HR DEPARTMENT
The Structure of Human resource department is presented by a diagram:

B 2 - SCLL HR STRATEGY AND ITS FIT WITH DIFFERENT

ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS
For any organization, regardless of its size, capabilities and finance, the most important
resource and highly valuable asset is Human Resource or the people of that organization. Value
of managing this asset has been recognized by almost all bigger organizations and the result is
the establishment of a department; know as Human Resource (HR) Department. Still this area
needs to be explored further and much work is to be done and so, Human Resource
Management is in its infancy stage.
The drive behind the establishment of HR department in any organization is to make the best
use of the talent and skills of the employees and ultimately to gain a competitive advantage
over the competitors. In order to achieve this objective, the HR department defines its strategy
or the plan of action. Randall Schuler defines HR strategy as:

HR strategies are fundamentally plans and programs to tackle and solve deep-seated strategic
issues related to Human Resource Management

This plan of action should be according to the abilities of the organization, characteristics of the
organization, organizational strategy and the environment as well as what is happening outside
the organization, i.e. external environment which takes into account the competitors of the
organization in the market. If the action plan of HR does not fit the aforementioned factors,
then the organization will fail to gain a competitive advantage as a misfit between them will
result in inadequate performance of the employees and ultimately of the organization.
The following diagram can be used to illustrate the relationship between HR Strategy and
organizations internal and external environment, taking standard chartered leasing as an
example.

B 3 - HR STRATEGY INLINE WITH SCLLS BUSINESS STRATEGY

SCLLs HR strategy shows an alignment with its business strategy of Sustainable Financing. In
the last few years, the organization gained a reasonable share in finance market through
superior customer care and satisfaction. This plan is being worked upon at the moment. HR
department is screening candidates, best in town, aim of which is to beat competitors,
particularly Pak Qatar Leasing and Adamjee group.
A part from this, HR strategy in this regard also includes training of staff which differs in each
department. For instance, Staff in Research and Development Department is trained for latest
technology in finance. Training needs are assessed first and technical trainings are designed
considering what output the organization will receive in terms of new ideas in finance market
the focus again here is to train people to that level which will give the organization, a
competitive advantage.

HR PROBLEM: SLOW PROCESS OF

RECURUITMENT
Recruitment and selection are main HR functions which bring potential candidates to the
organization. The purpose of recruitment is to provide a qualified pool of candidates for ease in
selection process. Objectives of recruitment include determining the present and future
requirements of the organization, meeting the organizations legal and social obligations and
evaluating the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all types of job
applicants. Factors affecting recruitment in any organization include;

Size of the organization

Rate of growth of the organization

Cultural, economic and legal factors

Future expansion etc

C 1 - SCLL RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Recruitment process is initiated after the HR department receives a requisition from the
concerned department where the candidate is required. With requisition, the department
manager also outlines job specification with respect to education, experience, specific skills,
etc. which are necessary to perform the job. This helps in attracting candidates who possess the
required education, experience and skills. For this purpose, the company first looks into its own
database that is internal database. It looks into its skills inventory if there is any already onboard employee who possesses the required education, experience and skills and can be
shifted to the new position. If there is any qualified internal candidate, then the HR department
uses external sources, advertises the vacancy and shortlists candidate, screens them and
chooses the candidate who has the best fit with the job. Mean recruitment time at SCLL is 60
days.
Following are the steps of recruitment process at SCLL:

(Please see next Page)

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11

C 2 - SEQUENCE OF ACTION
IDENTIFICATION OF NEED:
The first step is to identify if there is a requirement for new selection. If there is a new position
to be developed then concern department/SBU checks for that. If an already existing position
has become vacant due to turnover/retirement, then the department notifies the Human
Resource Department to place advertisement in the newspapers.
ADVERTISEMENT:
After the identification of need, the Human Resource department places the advertisement in
the newspaper/web portal/intranet to call for resumes. The advertisement specifies the job
description and the job specification.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
These are the listing of duties as well as desirable qualifications for a particular job e.g. the
advertisement also specifies number of years worth of experience to apply for the job. Its
mostly latest one described by last attending employee on that specific position.
JOB SPECIFICATIONS:
These are the characteristics and the abilities required from a person to work in that position
such as leadership and teamwork qualities or command over English. Line Management
ensures to provide the most relevant specs for candidates.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE \ SUBMISSION OF CV:
Application forms enable the candidates to present a complete picture of their talents, interests
and ambitions. It is the first stage of evaluation and the basic criteria for initial selection. The
candidates must present a resume which makes the person stand out.
EVALUATION OF CV:
After the resumes of hopeful candidates have been received, the HR department checks all the
resumes of the people who have applied. In its evaluation the HR department checks the
experience and the qualities of the individual and matches them to the requirement of the job.

12

PRE SCREENING:
After the evaluation of the resumes the HR shortlists the candidates who have fulfilled the
minimum requirement of the job description and specification.
TESTING /EVALUATION:
The test is conducted by the HR department in collaboration with Gallup international who are
pioneer in test facilitation. In the test the managers check the IQ level, English Composition and
Logic and personality traits of incumbents. The duration of the test is exactly one hour. The test
is checked manually and digitally and is done by the HR department.
INTERVIEW:
The candidates who have successfully cleared the tests and have scored above than relevant
mark are then called for interview. The interview is conducted by four people, one HR executive
and three managers from department. Three interviewers should preferably be from within the
department but often that is not the case. The purpose of the interviews is to check the
persons subjective skills which are difficult to measure such as attitude, communication skills,
abilities and personality. During the interview all four person mark the candidate individually
and then put forward a cumulative mark. These are the marks against which different
candidates are differentiated.
ASSEMENT BY HR:
Following the interview the employee of the particular department goes to the HR and gives
recommendation to the HR manager regarding the interview of the candidate. The HR then
conducts another interview with the candidate where they decide the compensation of the
candidate, the different benefits and the pay scale.
SLOTTING IN:
After all, the candidate is referred back to the relevant departmental approval for cost of
compensation. If the department agrees upon it, then the candidate is hired, as its the
department that contributes to wage bill of company for its employees.

13

C 3 - IMPACT OF SLOW RECRUITMENT PROCESS ON THE COMPANY

The recruitment process is the defining step to bring new people to company. If the process is
slow, there will be delay in all operations. A lot of vacant positions are in sales and operations
department. People with relevant skills who are not recruited on time cause trouble for the
company and this practice is not in-line with the corporate strategy of the company. Not only
this, slow recruitment process is creating an unfavorable image in the market and on
applicants. When applicants apply for vacant positions at SCLL, they actually want to change
their workplace. Many times, it happens that because of slow recruitment process at SCLL,
some applicants do not wait and join somewhere else. This creates a chance for the company to
lose valuable skills and knowledge of the competent candidate. Slow recruitment process is
increasing all costs which incurred because of departed employees. Additionally, this slow
process further adds to grievances of the employees because the workload is not shared which
is another reason that they feel their personal and professional life misbalancing each other
and that has an impact on the total productivity of the organization. This impact can be
summarized in the following diagram:

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ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS OF PROBLEM

D1 - TOOL # 1: ISHIKAWA FISH BONE DIAGRAM

CAUSES

EFFECT

External

Requirement of
qualified applicants

Steep pool of
Incumbents to
review

Judgment on
experience v/s potential
basis

Slow process of
recruitment and
Low Morale

Search for Person

- Position suitability
Recruitment
for distant areas

Time-Taking
process

Internal

15

D 2 - TOOL # 2: RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAM

Lack of
Qualified
Applicants

Causes

Recruitment
for Distant
Areas

Large pool to
review
Slow
Recruitment
Process and
low
Morale(Effect)

Judgment
Issues
(experience
vs. Potential)

Time
Consumption

Person
Position
Suitability

16

From Root cause analysis we have drew a conclusive stance that in Standard Chartered Leasing
Recruitment strategies in not in place for talent acquisition planning. Recruitment is of the most
crucial function of the human resource department and its professionals. The level of
performance in an institution relies on the efficacy of its recruitment function. Organizations
have developed and followed recruitment strategies to appoint the best talent for their
organization and to utilize their resources optimally. A successful recruitment strategy should
be well planned and practical to attract more and high-quality talent to submit an application in
the organization.
The recruitment function of the SCLL is affected and oversees by a blend of an assortment of
internal and external forces. The internal forces or factors are the factors that can be controlled
by the SCLL Management and the external factors are those factors which are beyond control.
The internal and external forces affecting recruitment function of SCLL are:
INTERNAL FACTORS:

Talent Acquisition policy frame works

Process and Checks followed by company

Inadaptability of change in recruitment planning

Size of organization

Lack of Decentralization in recruitment

EXTERNAL FACTORS:

Deficiency of Skilled Human Supply

Geo Political environment

Intense condition of unemployed candidate

Law of the land

Competitive DFI/Banks/Leasing firms

17

Recruitment is a function that requires business perspective, expertise, ability to find and
match the best potential candidate for the organization, diplomacy, marketing skills (as to sell
the position to the candidate) and wisdom to align the recruitment processes for the benefit of
the SCLL. The HR professionals handling the recruitment function of the SCLL - are constantly
facing new challenges. The biggest challenge for such professionals is to source or recruit the
best people or potential candidate for the SCLL.

In the last few years, the job market has undergone some fundamental changes in terms of
technologies, sources of recruitment, competition in the market etc. In an already saturated job
market, where the practices like poaching and raiding are gaining momentum, HR professionals
are constantly facing new challenges in one of their most important function- recruitment. They
have to face and conquer various challenges to find the best candidates for their organization.

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DATA COLLATERAL & COMPILATIONS

E 1 - METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH

VOICE OF EMPLOYEES
The method of research used was Voice of employees Ms. Farhat Ansari (Head of Human
resources) was the interviewed person who shared his immense experience and knowledge
related to the HR linked practices and issues. During the interview questions were posed with
reference to the course guideline and maximum portion had been taken into account.
The interview comprised of few questions which majorly focused on the organizations business
strategies and alliances with the HR department. The interview comprised of structured
questions which were open ended and qualitative analysis of the responses was done.
SURVEY
A Survey was conducted among different line managers of the company. The sample was taken
in line with the convenience sampling technique.
Few of the questions and compiled results are as under:
1) During the time of recruitment, among the given below sources, which one is most
preferable for your company?
a) Internal source b) External source.
Cumulative response:
Internal External
44 %
66 %

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2) Which of the following recruitment procedure is followed by your company?

a) Centralized recruitment b) Decentralized recruitment c) Somewhat Centralized

3) Do you think that academic marks play a vital role in the recruitment procedure?
a) Strongly agree b) Neutral c) Strongly disagree
Strongly Agrees Neutral
41%
22%

Strongly Disagree
37%

20

4) What kind of employee tests is conducted in junior level recruitment?

a) Intelligence test b) Aptitude test c) Graphology test d) Polygraph test
e) Achievement test

5) Do you consider the reference check as an integral part of recruitment?

a) Strongly agree b) Neutral c) Strongly disagree.

21

6) Rank the following according to importance given while recruiting junior level employees?

Leadership qualities
Communication skills
Experience
Qualification

20
18
40
22

7) How many rounds of interviews are conducted before a candidate is offered offer letter?

One

Two

Three

11

55

More than
Three
34

22

8) What are the types of interviews conducted in your company?

A) Panel interview b) Stress interview c) Group interview
d) One-on-one interview e) Telephone interview.

10) During the time of vacancy identification, which of the reasons are taken into
consideration?
a) Posts to be filled b) No. of persons c) Duties to be performed d) Qualifications required.

23

11) As per your company, what are the factors that affect the recruitment policy? [Rank them
as per their importance]

Organizational goals

Personnel policies

Preferred recruitment source

Need of the organization

final implications Recruitment costs

24

12) Does your company follow the induction procedure?

a) Yes b) No.

13) Does your company recruitment seems slow?

a) Yes b) No.

25

RECOMMENDATIONS
F1 - INOVATION FOR RELEVANT APPLICATION COLLECTION
SCLL is renowned because it comes under the umbrella of Standard chartered group. Whenever
any new job opportunity is advertised, a large volume of candidates apply for that post. Now
this problem can be resolved by putting an online application form. Applicants who wish to
apply for any post will fill that form. There will be clear questions about education and
experience in years. For any particular job for example, for the post of Analyst Research and
Development, the form should have a fixed criterion that the candidate should choose M.S or
MBA. If any candidate selects any other education, like M.Sc. Applied Chemistry, M.Sc,
Microbiology, etc., then at the time of form submission, there will be a notice by the website
that your education does not match our criteria for this job. Similarly, for experience, there will
be options in numbers of years like 1-2 years Candidates will have to choose their experience
and the form will be submitted only if their experience matches the criterion of the job. This
way, only those candidates, who have that particular education, will be able to submit forms.
Irrelevant application forms will not be received.

F2 - HEAD HUNTING BY SOCIAL MEDIA

There are certain positions for which it becomes quite difficult to get the right candidate. For
this problem, the recruiter should utilize online websites and approach people. For example, if
SCLL wants to recruit Research and Development Manager who must have a degree in Finance
and cost accountancy and experience of 10 years in leasing industry, then such a person can be
found out on professional communities like LinkedIn. Every professional manages his profile on
such websites. On LinkedIn, there are filters through which we can search people from any
industry. The profile exhibits education and experience with little details as provided by the
professional. There are options to contact such people right there on LinkedIn.

26

F3 - USING REFERAL TO OVERCOME POTENTAIL VS CURRENT DILLEMA

The recruiter sometimes discovers candidates who do not have required experience but they
have to potential to move ahead in career. Now this becomes a difficult situation for recruiters
to judge the candidate. Such candidates should only be interviewed if they have been referred
by a loyal trustworthy employee. But his words should not be solely relied on. They should be
thoroughly reviewed in interview and their diagnostic and employment tests should be little
different. These candidates should be judged for higher potential and if they clear these tests,
then experience should not be considered.

F4 - HIRING FOR REMOTE LOCATIONS

For recruiting employees for distant places like Peshawar, Sawat, AJK, etc. local people should
be chosen and if local candidates are not available or are available but are not suitable for the
job, then candidates from major cities should be recruited but in this case, they should be
offered lucrative compensation than normal.

F5 - RECRUITMENT GUIDE LINES TO REDUCE TAT

There are a lot of steps in recruitment process which is actually not a problem. The problem is
the Takt time (time of cycle) in carrying out all the steps. Usually a managerial post is to be filled
after 30 -60 days of requisition from the department and a non-managerial post is filled within
30-45 days-time after the requisition has been received from the Department Head. In actual,
more than the mentioned take is taken to hire the right candidate. This will help the HR Officer
complete the recruitment and selection process I the given time. Plus, this will also be an
indicator of the performance of the HR Officer because ultimately, recruitment and selection is
the function that he has to perform in his job.
27

ACTION PLAN
All they need is Speed of processing and a bit of decentralization for line manager; else they
have already incorporated everything nice with some sugar and spice.
Things are done fastly when plan is made as per difference between urgent & important task.

By adopting so the TAT will reduced by 200 % Faster (All ought to Division of labor and
Decentralization of command)

28

LAST WORDS
To conclude, SCLL is a growing company with its operations expanding not only in popular
urban centers but in remote areas of Pakistan Though the company has shown tremendous and
remarkable performance in the last few years but there are issues associated with the
employees of the organization and therefore, Human Resource Management is a critical area to
work upon as all excellence that the company can show depends mostly on what employees
will do for SCLL. A chain of problems exists in HR at SCLL which is affecting the daily operations
of the company. All the problems are interconnected and one is paving the way for another and
hence, thorough analysis of each problem can help to initiate resolving these and action plan
executed for one will solve another as well, provided top management support is available. Not
only HR Department, but each and every employee of the company needs to take part in this
exercise of implementing problem-solving techniques to achieve holistic results and along with
this, technical assistance from outside Consultants will be an added advantage for the
company. Concurrent and Feedback control need to be implemented necessarily so as to
closely monitor the progress towards the goals to resolve HR problems and prevent any
divergence.

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