COMPASS – An Association Par Excellence

Rajiv K. Poddar
Honorary Secretary, COMPASS 

It was on 26th September, 2004 when COMPASS stepped into a new horizon for its social commitment. COMPASS works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the growth of the IT industry. The Association is headquartered in Kolkata and its members are spread all over eastern India. Members of COMPASS and partner associations represent over 80% of channel sales in the region.

Grievance Cell…

The year 2010-11 has been very eventful in terms of handling disputed cases between members and other members. "COMPASS as an association always aims to provide an excellent and healthy trade environment to the members and external vendors. In today's industry where transactional conflicts and non-adherence to business commitment have become a regular phenomenon, COMPASS facilitates and creates a platform where such disputes may be handled with care, keeping trade interest in place," asserts Rajiv K. Poddar, Honorary Secretary, COMPASS.

Business and Trade Practices Cell…

One of the major problems faced by the members was poaching of employees by fellow members and vendors. In the absence of any concrete HR policies and guidelines, members were suffering due to high attrition rate and rising salary for less competent employees. To solve this problem, HR policies were framed and implemented step by step under the guidance of Chairman K. L. Lalani. This solved the problem to some extent and COMPASS aims that more work will be done in this area in the near future.

Election Process…

"The strength of the Executive Committee is 21. Every year, members elect the President and 14 Executive Members, IMM. Past President and IMM, Past Secretary are the ex-officio executive members. The remaining four are nominated by the new Committee," says Rajiv.

Focus For 2012…

COMPASS focus for the year 2012 is to overcome challenges faced by the IT industry like declining profitability, fighting piracy, formulating a level-playing distribution policy for all (to start with National Distribution Policy), etc.

Finally…

This entire effort of COMPASS has resulted in providing a fearless and comfortable trade environment. They are confident of receiving the necessary support as and when required. The most important point to be noted is that COMPASS secures the interest not only of its members, but if the situation demands, they do not hesitate to go against its members to resolve any dispute.