Emerging cos knock at headhunters for top talent

NEW DELHI: Emerging companies that were never on the radar of executive search firms, are now retaining them to find top-drawer talent that can help manage their furious pace of growth. Strides Arcolab, VLCC, Triveni Engineering and Rishabh Instruments are among a growing tribe of such companies taking the executive search route.

And global executive search firms such as Korn Ferry, Transearch and Executive Access, which almost completely depended on their multinational clients, are now seeing business from smaller companies in India grow.

���Emerging companies are 15% of our client base and growing. These companies are high on capital and ideas, the only constraint on their growth is availability of human capital,��� says Transearch (an executive search firm) managing partner Atul Vohra. Echoes Korn Ferry���s New Delhi office client partner Ashutosh Khanna, ���We have been receiving a lot of small company mandates for their entire management teams. Over the past year, there has been a lot of interest from such firms, and we have done over 40 positions for them.���



Another search firm, Executive Access, has worked on senior-level positions for clients like Dr Lal���s Path Labs and Rishabh Instruments, a Pune-based manufacturer of test instruments and industrial control products. Executive Access India MD Ronesh Puri says his firm is currently working on eight mandates from small- and mid-size companies.
���Over the past 12 months, this segment, as a percentage of our total business, has more than doubled,��� he says.

Companies in upcoming sectors such as infrastructure, telecom, pharma and IT, among others, offer faster-track growth and the excitement of working in an entrepreneurial and dynamic culture. ���They are on a high-growth trajectory, and want someone who can manage the complexities of growth, who have been there and done that,��� says Mr Vohra.

While large multinational and Indian companies are preferred hunting ground for well-rounded talent, few actually make the cut, says Mr Khanna: ���Typically, we look for somebody who can handle ambiguity well, and also is able to bring in some degree of entrepreneurship to the role; not someone who waits for the Asia Pacific head for guidance.��� Prospective candidates, too, aren���t easily convinced about making a switch to a lesser-known corporate brand.

Says Mr Vohra, ���Getting the candidate to listen is important. Hence, professionals like us can be brand ambassadors for smaller firms since we have access and influence within that candidate.���

Agrees Mr Puri: ���We educate these firms on dealing with high quality, professional talent and help them build an environment to deliver on expectations,��� he says.

But the big question is���are small business owners equipped to handle the aspirations of these high-performers? More often, the answer is no. ���Because they have dealt with sub-optimal talent in the past, trust doesn���t come easily to (small business) promoters. So we advise them to give space and establish trust with good quality people,��� says Puri, adding, ���And they are quick to learn.���