IIM-A sets ‘placement reporting standards’

The Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad on Saturday hosted representatives of several B-schools, companies that recruit from these B-schools and select journalists to draft a "placement reporting standard" that would guide how placement details are reported, which in turn affect a student's choice of institutes to a large extent.

The entire effort is to emulate the Florida-based MBA Career Services Council's "employment reporting standards" that seeks to standardise the way these details are disseminated for mass consumption.

Some of the top global B-schools such as those at universities in Harvard, Stanford, Pennsylvania and MIT follow these standards, IIM-A said.

Saturday's consultation resulted in a draft that would be circulated among various B-schools, and is expected to be formalised and implemented beginning July 31, 2011. It is also to be uploaded on the IIM-A website.

According to the chairperson of placement committee at IIM-A, Professor Saral Mukherjee, two main areas to be looked into include the total guaranteed cash components (because a cost-to-company does not always specify this) and the maximum earning potential a student is offered by the company that recruits him or her.

However, individual details would not be divulged and confidentiality would be maintained. Only details like the maximum, minimum and mean salaries and averages would be made public, and not what a particular company offers or a particular student is offered, said Professor T V Rao, who led the consultations.

These standards would be open to audit, but whether that audit is to be done by a an external agency or by the B-schools among themselves has not been decided yet, said Prof Rao.

If these standards are adopted, it would mean that B-schools will release their respective placement reports three months after the final graduation, Prof Mukherjee said, adding that this time period is necessary to gauge the changes that may have taken place during the interval. She said reporting placements too early would not include factors like a company having crashed in that period or a student having changed jobs.

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