Rashi Verma (Fictitious Name), a 96 percentile holder who cracked CAT 2020 and converted a number of Top B-Schools is scheduled for a Personal Interview (PI) in front of five bench management gurus. A month before her PI, Rashi has been informed that the entire physical interview process will now be held virtually due to the pandemic outbreak. She is undergoing what is now called as Placement Process in a Virtual Format.
The Covid-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented times which have changed the way organisations and educational institutions function. It has opened new modes and channels of communicating information, managing processes, and doing business – all in a hybrid reality. This blend of mainstream management processes combined with new ways of digital functioning is also gaining traction and shaping how management institutions plan and execute education and other important processes, including placements.
Hybrid Classes & Virtual Placements
Given on-campus restrictions due to Covid protocols, institutions have successfully migrated to the Hybrid mode of teaching using technology that has concurrently evolved. The attempt is to give students, either in class or at home, a common and enhanced virtual classroom experience. This alleviates the problem of some students being on campus and others off-campus not being able to attend the same class.
In the virtual placement process, institutions witness the entire placement process as an evolved, and efficient form of job hiring. From filing applications, sharing role JDs, doing assessments, and even appearing for personal interviews (PI), the whole system has set its base on a dynamic virtual model. A benefit of this model is it lessens operational difficulties. Companies are no longer required to come down to campuses for placement processes. The blended method of combining physical onboarding tasks such as induction and orientation sessions can continue to be held in the company offices and processes that can be executed remotely such as personal interviews, formal presentations, assessing candidates etc., can be held virtually.
Relaxation in CAT
COVID-19 has accelerated transformation in many fields, including in the competitive exams held in virtual mode every year for admissions to higher education institutions. Competitive and entrance exams such as the Common Admission Test (CAT), taken by students aspiring for admissions in top-tier management institutes like IIMs, has also been changed to lessen the pressure on students appearing for the test.
Digital Edge
The hybrid model finds its roots stemming from the vast pool of digital frameworks used by every brand and organisation aiming to be visible in contemporary times. Digital technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are gaining importance in recent years for carrying out tasks and processes other than for recreation purposes. For instance, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) uses VR to test candidates’ decision-making skills. CBA, the largest bank in Australia, announced an unusual way it was bringing VR into its recruiting process with their Virtual Reality Candidate Experience which let the candidates experience the kind of projects employees handle, and tests their ability to make agile, smart decisions. Similar applications are also being used by several Indian companies.
The role of digital is inevitable and aids in several placement processes such as enabling students to research about the recruiters and incoming companies, finding out the status of applications, assessments, and mock interviews, tallying subject answer keys in real-time, mapping results etc.
Change is Inevitable
India’s B-Schools are on a path of modifying and adding new ways of learning. Recently, management institutions such as IIMs have started offering courses revolving around digital technologies. MBA Programs are now offered in courses such as IIM Udaipur’s one-year MBA in Digital Enterprise Management, and so on. These B-Schools are also organising several webinars and global virtual events to emphasise the changing digital landscape.
This chain effect of enabling a digital-friendly ecosystem and providing a platform for the education, placement and other processes of educational institutions is enabling the country’s B-Schools to manage the pandemic waves.
Hence, in a nutshell, it can be said that the hybrid times calls for hybrid processes.