PSU's picking up executives from Private companies

IOC poaches pvt sector executives
S. P. S. Pannu / Mail Today….newspaper..

RIL and Haldia Petro staff join govt- run oil co for job security. PUBLIC sector giant Indian Oil Corporation ( IOC) has succeeded in turning the tables on the private sector by picking up executives from Reliance Industries Ltd ( RIL) and Haldia Petrochemicals for executing its ambitious expansion plans in the downstream petrochemicals business. The normal trend has been for private companies like RIL to build its business in the oil and gas sector by poaching on the huge talent pool of the public sector. This has been true both for the upstream oil and gas exploration segment where RIL is known to have lured executives from ONGC with the offer of higher salaries as well as the downstream refining sector for which talented executives were picked up from companies like Indian Oil Corp ( IOC).

Similarly, Essar Oil had also succeeded in hiring senior executives from public sector companies like Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd ( BPCL) for its downstream business.IOC director ( human resources) V. C. Aggarwal told MAIL TODAY that the public sector company had managed to wean away 60 to 70 experienced engineers from private sector RIL and Haldia Petrochemicals.

He said the complete team is in place at Panipat and apart from these experienced engineers some youngsters had also been recruited. Senior officials are of the view that the new pay scales of the blue- chip public sector companies compare well with that of the private sector in real terms along with the various facilities that are thrown in. According to SAIL director ( personnel) B. B. Singh, the greater job security in the public sector is a major attraction for those wanting to switch jobs from the private sector. “ Another reason could be the desire to relocate to a geographical place of one’s choice,” he added. A senior ONGC official said job satisfaction in the public sector in a comparable position vis- à- vies the private sector is much higher. He pointed out that several officials who had left ONGC to join RIL have come back to their old jobs in the public sector upstream oil giant.

There are others who wanted to come back but only a select few with the requisite skills have been hired, he added.Aggarwal said IOC hires around 600 executives every year out of which 450 to 500 are engineers across various disciplines such as chemical, mechanical and electrical engineering streams. Apart from direct campus recruitment from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), the company is also hiring from other leading engineering colleges. Another 200 engineers will be recruited through the GATE test put in place by the human resources ministry.“ Some executives for the finance and marketing will also be selected but IOC is not keen on IIM graduates who come with an attitude,” a senior IOC official said.

IOC has made its largest investment in the petrochemicals business by pumping in Rs 14,400 crore for setting up a naphtha cracker and downstream polymer units at its Panipat refinery which went onstream last month. It is also planning a huge petrochemicals unit at its Paradip refinery complex on the Orissa coast.IOC had lost out to RIL in the takeover of Baroda- based public sector petrochemicals company IPCL. This had resulted in the Ambani- run company further consolidating its position as the dominant player in the business, which makes products such as polyester fiber and plastics. The petrochemicals industry entails the further processing of products such as naphtha, olefins, benzene and xylene that are produced in a refinery after processing crude oil. This value addition enables an oil company to increase its profits from the same barrel of crude oil that it has purchased for producing petrol, diesel and LPG.

EARLIER TREND :::: RIL is known to have lured ONGC executives with higher pay packages in the upstream sector whereas for the downstream refining sector, talented staff were picked up from state- run oil companies.Essar Oil had succeeded in hiring top brass from PSUs such as Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd.

NEW TREND:::::For expansion plans in both upstream and downstream biz, IOC managed to wean away 60 to 70 experienced engineers from pvt sector giants RIL and Haldia Petrochem. The new pay scales of the blue- chip govt cos compare well with that of the pvt sector in real terms along with the various facilities. The greater job security in the public sector is a major attraction. Another reason could be the desire to relocate to a geographical place of one’s choice. ‘ — B. B. Singh, Director ( personnel), SAIL ‘
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