L G Electronics has signed a memorandum of understanding with 23 Industrial Training Institutes to strengthen its after sales service in India.
The company aims to recruit 10,000 people by the end of this year as a part of its branding strategy to focus on service and move away from discounting.
L G Electronics has identified eight states with high after sales service call rates to ink the deals with the ITI. Y V Verma, director HR and management system, LG Electronics said, "The company was trying to find a solution for effective after sales service since last two years. There is a huge need of trained manpower for the after sales service to align with the company's expansion and focus on the GSM mobiles and the personal computer segments."
In the initial phase the company has entered into agreements with ITIs in the states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Punjab, Assam, Karnataka and is in the last leg of signing with Uttar Pradesh.
The company has developed training modules for the ITI instructors who in turn will train the new recruits. It intends to expand the programme in a phased manner to other states as well.
L G Electronics, with 1200 service centres, has already recruited 300 students and plans to beef up the number to 10,000 by the year-end.
"The company has offered a scholarship to the selected students for the last six months of their training programme," said Verma.
The company will invest Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) in employee development programme this year with an aim to attain a 8 per cent attrition rate.
According to the executives, last year it was successful in reducing the attrition rate to 9 per cent from 18 per cent two years ago.
With a turnover of Rs 9,500 crore (Rs 95 billion) in 2007, L G Electronics is targeting a 15 per cent growth this year. It has identified GSM mobiles, flat panel display televisions and personal computers as the growth drivers.
The company moved away from the discounting strategy since last year and is putting thrust on the quality and service in its brand communication to position LG as a premium consumer electronics brand.
