Confused About My Project: Is Recruiting Financial Consultants HR or Marketing?

Is it an HR project or marketing?

Posted Today at 04:39 PM by <link outdated-removed>

Hello seniors,

I am doing an MBA in (HR) Guwahati and have a single specialization. While looking for HR projects in various companies, I have got a project in a renowned Life Insurance Company. Actually, it's a project-job, where I have to recruit a few Financial Consultants to the company (usually called Agents). I (or anyone who would do this project) would be given stipends per F.C. recruited. After the completion of the project (duration 2 months), they will give a certificate. So you understand that it's not like the usual projects that we do. And still, I have to look for getting my project that I can do as part of my university curricula.

But I am confused whether it's an HR project or a marketing project. As such, I am not able to decide whether I should do this project (or not) only for the certificate. If it is a den, I think I should not waste my time on it.

Please tell me, seniors, whether it's an HR or Marketing project.

Please reply soon - it's urgent.

Thank you!

Yes, this is None, not HR at least. This is basically a profile of Unit and Agency Managers of Life Insurance Companies. They have to find agents, make sure they get product training (or get them IRDA certified), and get the sales done through them later on.

So it's just an eyewash, fooling you by saying it's an HR job because you have to do recruitments. But if this project counts academically, then you can do it. However, the fact is that this has nothing to do with HR.

I do agree with Vineeta, it's not treated as an HR project. Many of the guys do get such projects, though it's recruitment, the process is completely different. They have their exams (insurance certification), and you just recruit them.

Learning as HR will not be much in this. So, think before you go for it.

Regards,

Vijeta

Hiring or recruitment is not a type of marketing that you learn in universities. To my understanding, you are asked to hire a few people as an agent, and that is your project. The more people you can hire, the more stipend you will get. Now, you cannot just hire any individual to complete your assignment, and that is why they have kept the time period of two months. You will get your certification based on the attrition rate among the team members hired by you. This is very much an HR project.

Because you will just be doing your project, hence you will be asked to work with 2-3 unit managers, and therefore you will not be required to clear the IRDA exam or any such exam as mentioned by the previous two respondents. Yes, it is difficult... in fact, very difficult, but that is how the market is.

I hope this will help.

Hi pmon,

Yes, this is an HR project. Recruitment and selection are integral parts of HR and are among the toughest tasks. 'Getting the [Bright person] for the position' - is the key. You will gain a lot of practical experience in recruitment and selection through this, and that is valuable.

I understand that this is not your usual university project type. Is there time for you to find another project area? Or with the same firm, you can look at collecting data and analyzing things like:

1. What is the emotional intelligence of certain grades of employees?
2. Is attrition linked to the level of emotional intelligence?
3. Is there a link between higher knowledge of financial products and higher attrition in this company, etc.?

The possibilities are endless.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!!
Geetha

I'm confused whether to go for this (above-mentioned) project or not because some people here have made me afraid that this project will be a waste of time - as I wouldn't be able to add it to my HR curriculum vitae. Also, my classes for the next semester are going to start on the 25th of August.

It certainly is not a marketing project as you are not marketing anything. You need to ask the question: what is your role in recruiting? Are you involved in advertising for the job - that is, preparing a job spec and a personal spec for the agents? Once the would-be agents respond to the advert, is it your task to shortlist the candidates for interviewing, selecting, giving induction, etc.? If you are going to be involved in any of these activities, then one could consider that as an HR project.

I would suggest that you do some literature search on this topic and find out how important it is. However, having said that, I could not find any scholarly articles dealing with the recruitment of agents.

Have a nice day.

Narasimhan

Thanks Narasimhan for your suggestion. It's true that I have to attract potential candidates and explain their roles, as well as provide induction (introduction of the organization, various aspects of their job, details about the training they would receive under IRDA, benefits, etc.). My goal is to motivate them to join and work with the organization. After identifying a potential candidate (or someone showing interest), I follow up with him/her to further influence their decision to join.

Now I have started this project. Can anyone guide me on how to incorporate this experience into my CV, highlighting it from an HR perspective?

To my understanding, looking at the role of HR today, HR cannot be defined. It means you should be ready to take up any assignment anywhere. Today, we talk of alignment of HR strategies with the business, and you are given a task of aligning your recruitment strategy with the business goals and objectives, which is a very integral function of HR. You should take up this role seriously and keep reading so that you are clearer about the role.

It is just how you look at things and how you perceive the role of HR to be. This is very much a valid project provided you perform it in the MBA way and not as any other individual. All the best for your project and waiting to hear from you regarding the project. :-P

With Best Regards,
:icon1:
Kumar Manoj

That's not an HR project. Normally, companies offer $3000-$4000 per consultant selection when searching for a project in some manufacturing companies.

Hi,

This is Prabhakar Reddy from Hyderabad, specializing in HR. I believe it is better to work on an HR project than to pursue marketing.

Dear Friend,

Certainly not a marketing project. In fact, I feel you can do a really good job if you plan and create Excel sheets of all that you do, and then study the actual recruitment process. The fact that you have deadlines is really good because in the real-world scenario, you will have deadlines regardless of the profile. So, it's truly in your hands to make this job a summer project and actually learn from your own experience.

Regards, Dr. Swati

Hi,

See, this project involves HR and marketing. Also, I have done this, but this will not be calculated in core HR.

Hi Vineeta/Vijeta/Anoop/Sonia,

I would like to know why it is not an HR project. I do agree it is not the typical kind of data collection and analysis project. At the end of this 'exercise' from a learning point of view, don't you think the individual will know what recruitment is all about and what are the pluses and minuses in it? Isn't that a great value-add on a CV? Is there any specific issue that I am missing out on here - which is linked to the recruitment of agents? Please correct me if I am wrong - Recruitment & Selection is an integral part of HR.

Warm Regards,
Geetha

You can go with this project because it will give you practical experience of the market. However, you should not dedicate too much time to it. Simultaneously, you can take on a good HR project for the same company. For example, if you are recruiting agents, you can also conduct a study on employee satisfaction levels or the performance of insurance advisors, or any other related project. This way, you can gain practical market experience as well as HR learning, and you will also receive a stipend.

Hi Dear,

I faced a similar situation 2 years back. I underwent such training for 1 day but then opted out. Actually, it's more focused on sales. If you compare it to the employees' Key Result Areas (KRAs), it is part of the sales force (unit managers) and not the HR department, which hires the UMs. These advisors are part-timers, not on the company payroll but on commission.

This training is one of the strategies to increase their advisors.

Since this is not a full-time training and you can work at flexible timings, you can undergo this training along with some other core HR training. It would be beneficial for you to be associated with a company where HR practices can be observed, such as a corporate office, manufacturing unit, or HR outsourced firm.

Wishing you all the best for your future,

Pallavi

Thank you all for sharing your opinions. I think it's a combination of HR and Marketing for this project. So, here we will have an endless discussion/debate on it. I believe it's more of an HR part for the project trainee but a marketing part for the agents.

Actually, I would like to share about how I am proceeding in this project, as many people like Kumar Manoj wanted to hear it from me. Since the day I joined, I have been working on it diligently. I am visiting various small institutes to motivate the students by giving simple presentations on the matter, and then following up with the interested candidates. Sometimes, one or two seniors from the organization are accompanying me on such visits. I am also contacting all possible persons who can contribute or provide references.

Thank you all for wishing me good luck.

I would also like to inform you that I am doing this project because I am free now as our college is closed (will open on 1st September). Our college is not organizing any summer internship program. So, I thought to do the above-mentioned project.

I am also looking for an HR project in other companies like Airtel and Star Cement, as according to our curriculum. The project that I will be doing in this company will have a duration of 1 year.

I would also like to inform you that I am doing this project because I am free now as our college is closed (will open on 1st September). Our college is not organizing any summer internship program. So, I thought to do the above-mentioned project.

I am also looking for an HR project in other companies like Airtel and Star Cement, as according to our curriculum. The project that I will be doing in this company will have a period of 1 year.

So, what would you like to say now? Reply