The chanderi fabric is a type of loom that is produced in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It well known among the handloom cluster of India and occupies a special place. The weaving of Chanderi goes centuries back when it was highly patronized by the Bundela kingdom and other royal families of central India. Sarees and dresses made from chanderi fabrics are very popular not only in central India, but also across the country.

Chanderi fabric is produced by weaving silk and zari over simple cotton yarn that adds on to a shimmering texture to the loom.

Origin and History of Chanderi Fabric

As mentioned earlier, the origins of the chanderi fabric can be traced back to Madhya Pradesh. Weaving of the fabric originated in a small town by the same name (Chanderi) located very close to the Vindhyachal mountain ranges.

However, mythological references also exist regarding the origin of the chanderi fabric. It is said that this fabric was first introduced by Lord Krishna’s cousin Shishupala.

On the other hand, ancient texts speak of Madya Pradesh as a centre for textile weaving during the 5th and the 7th century, it was not until the 11th century that the chanderi fabric made its appearance in the region. Records show that craftsman and artisans wove chanderi fabric for the royals during the 12th and the 13th centuries.

Later on, during the 17th century, one can find references to woven chanderi fabric in Masir-i-Alamgiri, wherein it is stated that Aurangzeb ordered the use of a cloth embroidered with gold and silver for making khilat (a ceremonial robe or other gift given to someone by a superior as a mark of honour). Needless to say, the material was very expensive. The beauty of its fabric lied in the softness of the fabric along with the transparency factor and the golden embellishments. The fabric was definitely an instant hit among the royals of the Mughal court.

According to the records of a certain Jesuit priest, who visited Marwar between 1740 and 1761, Chanderi fabric enjoyed royal patronage and was also exported overseas. A British visitor, RC Sterndal noted that Chanderi was the favoured fabric of Indian royal women because of its soft, light texture and transparency.

While these historical accounts might make it a little difficult to put an exact date to the evolution of the Chanderi fabric, its clear that the fabric was a favourite among the ruling class of the Bundelkhand and its neighbouring regions.

Types and Weaving Technique

Chanderi fabric is of three major types — pure cotton chanderi, silk chanderi and silk-cotton chanderi. Most of these fabrics have unique motif on them — such as floral patterns, animals and geometric designs. Earlier pure gold and silver threads were used to weave chanderi sarees made from the fabric. However, with the gradual extinction of the royal age, the use of pure gold and silver thread gave way to copper ones polished with golden colours. Despite that, what sets apart these chanderi fabric sarees are the fact that the motifs are still woven in hand thus lending it a completely different level of sophistication to the sarees.

Originally chanderu fabric sarees were woven with handspun cotton yarn which was as fine as 300 counts which made it as fine as Muslins of Dhaka. The fine count cotton for Chanderi was extracted from a special root called the Kolikanda. Light yet strong, it gave the fabric a glossy finish. Fine cotton from Chanderi had long been patronized by Mughals and Rajputs. The fabric is woven with warp (tana), stretched out set of threads, through which the weft (bana) is passed through in regular motion.

Exquisite Features of Chanderi Fabric

Often referred to as ‘woven air’ owing to its lightness and finesse, sarees made from chanderi fabric are set apart by their light weight and glossy texture which is starkly different from other woven fabrics of the country. The sarees owe this quality to the high-quality and extra fine yarns that are used in weaving the Chanderi fabric. Also, the yarn used to weave sarees from Chanderi fabric is not made to go through the degumming process. Another distinguishing factor of chanderi fabric sarees happen to be its beautiful motifs. The motifs in chanderi sarees include flowers, animals, peacocks, lotus, coins, celestial figures and many others.

Chanderi Fabric and Geographical Indication

Chanderi fabric and chanderi sarees are protected under the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, and they cannot be copied because of their exclusive design and the special silk yarn that goes into their making. There are nearly 3500 active looms that are practising Chanderi weaving constantly. Thousands of artisans and craftsmen are still dependant on this art for their livelihood. The Government of India has also petitioned to the World Trade Organization for the recognition of this textile on an international level.

Modern Day Usage of Chanderi Fabric

Owing to its finesse, the chanderi fabric has become quite popular among fashion designers and even Bollywood divas. Fashion designers like Rohit Bal and Anju Modi have often resorted to this fabric to weave beautiful dresses. On one occasion Kareena Kapoor was spotted wearing a black chanderi saree, which was brought directly from the weavers at Chanderi.

Some fashion houses and young fashion designers have reintroduced the chanderi fabric in various different forms apart from sarees such as dupattas, salwar suits, skirts, scarves and even pants.

Price Range and Maintenance

While it comes to the pricing of a chanderi fabric saree, it can start from anywhere between INR 3000 to INR 5000. While on the other hand, original hand-spun cotton chanderi fabric sarees can go up to INR 12000 as well.

It requires a some effort to maintain a saree made from chanderi fabric. It is advisable that a good quality mild detergent is used to wash it and that too in cold water. Do not expose chanderi to the sun; always dry in shade. Also avoid spraying perfume directly on the fabric.

Be it the royal propaganda of this fabric from the ancient times or be it its exclusive comforting rich texture, chanderi fabric one way or the other is royalty personified and has maintained its charm till date. In fact, it is almost enthralling to witness how the Indian textile industry has come a long way from relegating the utilization of this fabric for only making traditional sarees and salwar kameez. The Indian fashion cosmos has redefined the value of this fabric by using the chanderi into making fusion attires like indo western chanderi dresses, skirts, etc, albeit, maintaining the ethnic authenticity of the fabric.

So, are you tempted to buy a saree made from Chanderi fabric? Well, its just a click away!

Made in Bharat has some authentic sarees in store for you.

Made in Bharat is a unique e-commerce initiative of MGINNE Private Limited that provides a digital platform for the non-agricultural, rural enterprises, especially the rural artisans and craftsmen to showcase their products and skills as well as expand their business using e-commerce. In Made in Bharat store, one can find all kinds of unique handloom and handicrafts products that are certified by the GI mark and other similar certifications such as handloom mark.

Made in Bharat Store is different from other e-commerce store in a way that here consumers not only get authentic products but are also able to see the makers of these products and touch base with them at the sellers’ Microsite.

So, when a customer buys from Made in Bharat store, they receive double benefit — firstly they get authentic products will certifications and secondly, they get a satisfaction that owing to their purchase a genuine artisan’s family got substantial earning opportunity which might enable them to send their children to school or avail better medical facility — which is a priceless experience.

The article was first published here

Charm of Chanderi Fabric - A Tale from Central India's Looms

Why candidate experience matters?

If we get to see then, many of the interactions involving a job candidate and employer happens to be technology-driven — right from job site to ATSs and other stuff. This is why it is highly essential to ensure that the organization offers a good candidate experience. This is said because, while most of the interactions happen to be online and technology based — interviews are more personal and leave behind stronger impression on the job candidates.

Regardless of any kind of formats, the major key that lies behind everything else is communication. Communication is the key to offering a great candidate experience. Some of the best employers have one thing in common — that is communicating with candidates — whether it is good, bad or ugly.

Given the scope of these activities, you must understand that nearly half of the candidates that you worked with remained interested in future opportunities within your organization. If that was the case, do you think you would have had any issue in finding top talent? There lies the power of delivering a good candidate experience.

So, as an organization how do you end up offering a good candidate experience?

#1. Engagement is the key

Offering a good candidate experience involves proper engagement. Engaging candidates help in building company culture and definitely boost candidate experience. It also gives you a chance to realize the importance of grooming candidates and onboarding them as well.

#2. Rejected but still interested — Candidates with a good experience and of course those who are interested, will more likely keep their profile updated and even look for new positions within the organization.

#3. Brand reputation

Offering a good candidate experience also ensures that your organization is also boosting its brand reputation. Branding goes a long way in the process of talent acquisition and candidate selection. These days’ just like customers, candidates are also aware about the organization’s reputation as a good place to work with. This is absolutely the reason why its important to offer a good candidate experience for all job candidates.

Selecting the best

Well, selecting the best possible job candidate is definitely a difficult task and one has to have all the things in place to be able to hire the best. And of course offering a good candidate experience is a must and companies must ensure that they do so.

These days’ most companies are leveraging the power of recruitment software and making things much easier for themselves. Needless to say that, leveraging the power of recruitment these days have become a necessity and not an option.

There are ample benefits of having a recruitment software and some of the benefits of using a recruitment software are explained in the paragraphs below:

#1. Substantially reduced recruitment costs

The first biggest benefit of using a good recruitment software is the cost reduction aspect. Opting for a good recruitment software would always ensure that you end up reducing costs to a considerable amount. With the use of a proper recruitment software, the recruitment process gets streamlined, thereby helping find the best job candidates.

#2. Substantially reduced time to hire

The next biggest benefit in terms of opting for a recruitment software would be the substantially reduced time to hire. Yes. Owing to software like ATS and others, much of the taken to hire a candidate gets reduced considerably — saving both time and money.

#3. Curtailed administrative costs

Recruitment software goes a long way in curtailing administrative costs for an organization. If implemented and used properly, recruitment software can help organizations curtail costs to a substantial rate as most of the work would get done in an automated process. This will help the organization in getting their administrative costs curtailed. The more you end up curtailing your expenses the better it is for the organization.

#4. Increased quality per hire

Quality hires are but a big concern for all organizations. Most hiring managers are often worried about to be able to hire the right person. However, if you resort to implementing a recruitment software in your hiring process you would be able to ensure some quality per hires. We all know that hiring is a tedious process and thus anything that helps you hire a good employee must be taken care of.

if an organization chooses to implement a good recruitment software, chances are that, they will end up hiring some great job candidates. And when they do it, the workplace tends to become much better and happier.

With the passage of time, recruitment process has changed and the introduction of recruitment software is further reshaping the process. In present times when automation and robotics are all set to replace human resources functions, the implementation of recruitment software for all corporate organizations are a must.

So, as an employer, you must not consider online job postings as something which is a passé and let it go. Instead you should try and make the most out of an online job posting. And how to do that? How do you go about making the most of an online job posting?

Here’s a look:

Plan ahead

Before making an online job posting go live on any platforms, it is essential to plan properly your requirements. What exactly does the job description comprise and what exactly are you looking for in the candidates. Note them down in a piece of paper and then make the progress required.

Use proper keywords

In an era of applicant tracking systems, the concept of job searches and even online job postings have undergone several changes. Even if you are the recruiters and simply considering an online job posting in order to find a candidate, you have to use certain keywords. Understand that, often the use of intelligent keywords make it easier to tap candidates

Keep the language simple

Understand that online job postings are usually short and to-the-point. Therefore, make sure that the language you use to describe the job is short and simple. Your perfect job candidate might not know what the abbreviation means for your internal stuff. Therefore, it is advisable not to use jargons. Avoid any complicated use of words and keep the online job posting as simple as possible.

Understand that looking to hire the best possible job candidate is not an easy task. A candidate search begins right from the job posting itself. Therefore, make sure that you pay attention to your online job posting, so that you can make the most out it.

Avoid going overboard with clichés and too much creativity

It is said that creativity often goes a long way with the process of online job posting that would give you an edge over a lot of other things. Recruiters should avoid going overboard with lot of creativity and clichés. Too much creativity weighs down the importance of the online job posting.

So make sure that you end you writing the right kind of online job posting. Only when you use the best of the lot and you write the right kind job description that you can end up tapping the best possible candidate.

Most of the HR at least in India are struggling to overcome a lot of challenges that are reeling now. Some of the major challenges faced by HR managers in present times are explained in the paragraphs below:

#1. Retaining talent, especially millennials

Retaining talent is one of the most difficult of all challenges faced by HR managers. The growth of millennials at workplaces have also given rise to a new trend — that of switching jobs more frequently than before. This has become a major challenge for HR managers. Since in most cases millennials switch jobs almost every two years, acquiring and retaining talent has become a genuine problem for HR managers.

#2. Managing globalization

Managing globalization is yet another challenge faced by HR managers in modern time. It is of significance that HR personnel end up learning proper people management practices before they implement them, especially the one that are global in nature. These days it has become a genuine challenge for a lot of HR managers to educate the existing workforce in terms of how globalization can be leveraged. Instead of imposing new practices upon the workforce, it is advisable to study the prevailing practices that are already in place.

#3. Managing organizational change

Change management is yet another challenge faced by HR managers and they are definitely trying their best to make the most of it. But, managing organizational change is definitely a difficult task. With big organizations integrating and combining Six Sigma practices in their businesses, dealing with change management is becoming even more difficult these days. On the other hand, the industrial growth scenario has also undergone tremendous changes and thus there is a huge demand for “change” that has to be brought about within certain fragments of the society. However, there’s resistance from various sides and it is a huge challenge for the HR to curtail down all those resisting forces and finally end up implementing unique organizational changes.

#4. Developing leadership skills for the future

Developing leadership skills for the future is yet another challenge faced by HR managers in present times. Not just about developing the right soft skills for the future leaders, but fostering great and capable leaders who can take care of the organizations and lead people to better places.

The above-mentioned HR challenges are something that the HR community in India really needs to address and sort them out. Sooner the better it is for the fraternity.

However, how do you go about doing that? What are the best ways of doing so? Well there are numerous ways. And one of them could be candidate search through the ones that have been fired. So, what are your thoughts pertaining to the same? Should you hire a candidate who has been fired? Is that a good idea or is it not?

Needless to say that the process of candidate search is a big thing and one has do a lot of sincere activities in terms of choosing the right candidate. So, what if you have got a chance to hire a candidate who has been fired? Let’s take a look at the same:

Many hiring managers tend to reject candidates who are currently unemployed or who have been fired. While it’s true that bad employees are more likely to be unemployed than good employees, it’s absolutely not true that all unemployed people are lousy. In fact, some of them are fabulous.

True. Even if an employee has been fired from a company that does not mean that he or she lacks the required skills and cannot work in any other organization. In most cases employers tend to view an already fired employee with a jaundiced eye, but it’s time that recruiters and employers try and look beyond the traditional customs and began embracing new changes.

There are few powerful reasons as to why candidate search should involve even opting for an employee who has been fired.

#1. Sometimes the job is not a great fit

What if you would have hired Sachin Tendulkar to make potteries — do you think he would have been good fit? Well — not really. He wouldn’t have been able to perform to the very best. The same is the case with the corporate sector. Sometimes, the job doesn’t fit well and employees are unable to give their very best in terms of work and thus end up underperforming.

#2. Work culture matters

Lets face it. Work culture also matters to a great extent. Sometimes the work culture of an organization really stinks and people are forced to change or leave jobs even without taking up another one. This often renders individuals unemployed. Therefore, recruiters should consider moving from their comfort zone and look towards embracing new attitude and give such employees a fair enough chance.

Attracting candidates’ attention requires a lot of hard work and the use of exact words that would be able to do the wonders. So, how do you write the best job advertisement? What all do you include in the description part?

Let’s take a look:

There isn’t any a one-size-fits-all job ad or template that works for every job, industry or company, but there are strategies and tips to follow that can help you attract the best candidates through writing a job ad. Explained below are a few tips as to how to write a near perfect job advertisement.

1. Begin with the job title

The first step towards writing a great job advertisement is to begin with the proper job title. A proper job title is a must — so create a job title that portrays a lot of it to the job candidates. Try to keep it short and concise and make sure that people are able to relate to it. Once you have succeeded in this — you will be able to attract a lot of good job candidates.

2. Explain the job role very clearly

The next important thing in line is the fact that, the job advertisement should explain the job role very clearly. Make sure that you include all the primary tasks that are required for the job role and they can easily relate to and decide upon if it is the job vacancy for them to apply for. As an employer, be very specific about the relevant skill sets, qualification and experience that are required in order to perform the job role.

3. List the salary/compensation range

While penning down a job advertisement, it is essential for the employer to put down the details of the compensation package that you are going to offer. If the details of the compensation package is offered, it will become much easier for the recruiter to be able to tap talent. More specifically, attract the right kind of talent. Which is why it is advisable for an employer to list down the compensation package. In case you are not comfortable sharing the number, at least state phrases like ‘best in the industry’. Such moves will ensure that you are able to tap potential candidates.

4. List all other required stuff

Apart from the above-mentioned requirements, do remember to put in other details such as location, facilities provided by the organization such cab facilities or any other form of employee benefits and others. All these will make sure that you are not only able to write the best possible job advertisement, but also attract the best talent.

Writing a winning job advertisement is the first step towards the process of recruitment and selection. Do remember to put in some extra efforts while you invest your time in it.

Coming from a different background and then gradually getting accustomed to a new organization of course takes time and it’s not an easy task. While the new hire will definitely make an effort to gel with the new environment, the employer must also try to embrace the him or her — and this can be best done through the process of onboarding.

Experts are of the opinion that companies must know what employees expect from a new organization and must try to meet their expectations. And as everything goes digital so should employee onboarding processes. Therefore, if onboarding processes are not modernized, chances are that your candidate experience will not be as good and probably you might not be able to retain employees for a longer period of time.

Some of the tips for best onboarding activities are explained below. Here’s a look:

#1. Begin even before they are hired

Employers must understand that onboarding activities begin as soon as a candidate selection has been finalized. Therefore, onboarding practices must be appealing to new hires. First impressions matter a lot; you influence someone’s impression of your organization and culture from your first interaction with the candidate. Try and make those first moments as memorable as possible, so that it has a good long lasting impression on the candidate.

#2. Make them feel that they belong

The sense of belongingness actually works wonders of new hires. And, it is the duty of the organization to make new hires feel special. Introduce them to the organizational values and also ensure that you introduce them to older employees. Get existing employees to speak to them and if possible help them strike up a conversation with them. This will help the new hires to connect faster with the employees as well as the organization. The faster new hires get used to the feel of the place — it is easier for the new employees as well as the organization.

#3. Send out useful information

Sending out proper and useful information to the new hires is an essential aspect of onboarding activities. Among all major onboarding activities, sending out information that is helpful to individuals who are newly hired. This is said because, it goes without saying, adjusting and adapting to a new environment takes some time. The organization has a major role to play in helping new hires do the same. Especially in terms of unlearning and re-learning things.

Apart from the above-mentioned deeds, other onboarding activities that can be included may include organizing a managers’ meeting with the new hires, conduct a business lunch within a week of the new hires’ joining.

Understand that proper onboarding activities go a long way in engaging and in the process retaining new employees. Therefore, always remember to invest substantially in your onboarding process for better returns.

Now, if you are hiring in the US, what do you think should be the best way to hire great candidates? Have you heard of the US Resume Database by CareerBuilder? Well, these, great software can enable you to probably hire the very best candidates if used in the perfect possible way.

However, in order to manipulate these records, as a recruiter you need to buy some resume database applications that happens to be a good one. Therefore, the US resume database applications is not only about storing data but also developed to offer a number of other services.

If you happen to use some resume database — whether it is US resume database or not, there is a checklist that helps in assessing whether the applications are perfect or not. First is, whether it allows you to save all the resumes that you get from various sources — job boards, referrals, emails and others. Then, whether it gives you some appropriate profiles from thousands of resumes and enables you in searching the database very fast. Next step involves saving these all round searches and see to it that if they help. For this, you can resort to US resume database, if you are not getting among the preceding facilities from your own software and others.

Some of the top characteristics of a great US resume database that can help you the process of selecting new job candidates. Some of the features of a resume database are explained in the paragraphs below:

#1. The resume database software, should have automatic capture supported by it. It should have a strong search engine as well. Next, it should be enabled to be able to detect duplication and other related stuff, and also prevent some time along with wastage of the actual storage space.

Understand that this characteristic feature is one of the most important of sorts and is pretty much required for the software to excel in whatever it does. There are ample recruitment or recruiting software available all over the web — or even resume parsing software. Some tend to be open source, while for others, you might need some license; as a recruiter you might choose to purchase it online.

As a software, US resume database can be one of the most helpful one for recruiters. Do remember to make the best use of the same while, you are looking out for candidate sourcing and tapping talent.

A well-designed background-screening program will almost ensure that you end up reducing your cost-per-hire by providing proper visible measureable ROI from the very beginning.

With the present global job market being a little tumultuous, greater percentage of applicants might not be truthful and might end faking it up on their resumes, even if to a certain extent. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a proper background check. And as an employer you can do it yourself or approach background screening companies in order to fulfill your task.

The process of background screening will help your company identify candidates who are being truthful and who are not being truthful. You will be able to identify candidates with troubling flags in their past and sift through a large number of candidates and choose the best of the lot. Recent studies have shown that up to 60% of candidates have faked it up on their resumes in an effort to make themselves more appealing to their future employers.

Often a third party third party background screening company can help you perform the task in a much better fashion than the employers itself. Some of the benefits of conducting a background screening check on your future employees are explained in the paragraphs below:

#1. Improved safety and security

Opting for a proper background screening would enable you to have an improved safety and security for your organization to a considerable extent. Employment background checks helps in reducing the chances of future workplaces violence by sifting out candidates that could pose as a sound threat to the workplace environment.

Comprehensive screening will help in detailing past incidents of candidates that mat provide critical insight into behavioral habits that could pose as a future threat. Statistics reveal that a large percentage of managers have hand to deal with some kind of abuses or violence at workplace.

#2. Improved quality of hire

The next big benefit of assigning the task to background screening companies is the fact that it can ensure you a substantially improved quality of hire. Talent acquisition is somewhat troublesome and once you have succeeded in background screening of candidates, prior to getting them onboard, you ensure a good and improved quality of hire. Needless to say that, once you have successfully conducted a background process check, you are bound to get a better quality of hire.

#3. Improved regulatory compliance

A third-party background screening company or provider with an in-house compliance and expertise can help your organization properly create a great screening solution that will not only satisfy your industry standards but also state and national laws and other kinds of legal requirements.

In times such as these, it is very essential for organizations to conduct a proper background check pf candidates, so that you can not only hire the best possible candidates but also have safety and security in place.