Factors Influencing Corporate Selection of Higher Education Institutions for Campus Placement Drives: An Empirical Study of HR Professionals Across Indian Industries

Campus placement drives have become one of the most vital and effective channels for talent acquisition among Indian businesses. However, the conditions that enable a company to select a particular institution rather than another one are not sufficiently studied in the academic literature. This empirical research aims to explore the critical factors that affect the decision-making process of companies while identifying the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for campus recruitment. 73 HR professionals across 11 industries, including Information Technology, Manufacturing, BFSI, FMCG, Retail, Consulting, Healthcare, Logistics and others, were surveyed using a structured survey instrument. Respondents answered a series of questions on a five-point rating scale and identified their most important selection parameters, their preferred levels of institute, areas of focus when hiring, campus strategies they prefer, and the most challenging aspects of their operations. It is found that consistently the most important factors are Student Quality (M = 4.64), Placement Cell Coordination (M = 4.47), Student Employability (M = 4.52) and Past Hiring Experience (M = 4.40). Most respondents (68.5%) describe campus hiring as "High" or "Very High" in its strategic importance, and 68% believe that a long-term partnership or a mix of partnership and transactional engagement is a better form of campus engagement than just transactions. Dropouts, high salary demands and deficiencies in candidate quality continue to be the biggest problems. The study also indicates that the hiring of virtual campus students is split almost evenly, indicating an emerging hybrid hiring pattern. Implications for institutional leaders, HR practitioners and policymakers are explored, as well as directions for future longitudinal and sector-specific research.