Head-hunter cos growing post-slump

NEW DELHI: Executive search firms are cranking up the hiring machine as the economy turns the corner and companies give out mandates for senior management roles.

But this time around, the head-hunters are starting from within. International search firms such as Egon Zehnder, Korn/Ferry, Transearch, Russell Reynolds, Hunt Partners and Stanton Chase are adding new partners and consultants to their businesses, post slowdown.

Some of these firms have also spread out to new locations and increased the number of centres over the past few months. “We continue to remain bullish on India and will be expanding the team,” says Egon Zehnder’s Delhi-based consultant Arjun Srivastava. The company has added one partner in Mumbai, taking its total number of consultants to 11.

During the economic slowdown, head-hunting firms had faced a decline in business of up to 50%, and support staff was shown the door. However, in the past few months, the situation appears to be looking up.
Movement within search firms is expected to pick up in the coming days as both remuneration and job profiles become attractive. Executive search firms are offering 30-40% increase in fixed salaries to attract talent, according to a Delhi-based head-hunter.

A senior partner in a leading executive search firm could earn Rs 25-40 lakh as fixed income in a year, while the variable could be as high as Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Delhi-based Transearch International has recently added four new senior partners, taking the total number of senior partners in the firm to 13.
The firm has also opened an office in Bangalore, where it has hired six people, and a senior partner to head the technology practice.

Transearch will add more senior partners over the new few months, with managing partner Atul Vohra saying his firm has the biggest team of senior partners compared to its peers in the country.

Business has picked up in the third quarter of 2009, he says, with the exception of sub-sectors like retail.
Korn/Ferry has recently taken on board two senior partners in Delhi and Bangalore to head its verticals — Dhruv Prakash will lead the firm’s leadership and talent consulting practice in India, while Venkat Shastry will head the firm’s IT practice.

The company plans to add a few more senior partners in the coming months, and has increased head-count in its mid-level recruitment group company, FutureStep.

Mumbai-based Hunt Partners has also hired two senior partners recently. One of these is Yvo Metzelaar, who was earlier managing director and CEO of ING Vysya Life Insurance. Metzelaar is probably the only expat head-hunter working in India. Subir Mitra too joined the firm recently as a principal.

Another Mumbai-based search firm, Stanton Chase, has added four consultants and two partners in its infrastructure and technology practices. The firm has explored new areas of work such as energy, logistics and transportation over the past few months.

While some search firms are pulling in talent from rivals, others dipping into the available pool. “We do senior-level searches for which one needs to have in-depth knowledge of the sectors,” says Egon Zehnder’s Srivastava.