Foreign interns build Indian brands

NEW DELHI: Home-grown companies seem to have taken the baton as far as selling brand India goes. Increased hiring of foreign interns to build their own brands, along with strengthening their exchange programmes, and global lobbying are among the steps currently taken to create top of the mind recall internationally.

Besides working as a feeder system to attract good word of mouth for the company’s own brand, this HR practice is doing wonders for brand India, too.

A trend kickstarted by Infosys is now picking up pace, as bigwigs such as ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tisco, Patni and Biocon are all gearing up to make their presence felt internationally like never before. Despite higher costs involved in hiring these foreign interns, India Inc is lapping up the whole idea. These interns become their brand ambassadors once they return.

Patni Computer Systems has started the initiative this year by recruiting five summer interns from the Yale and New York University. “The students who intern here go back and act as brand ambassadors.

It makes a big difference during recruitment season when students are aware of our company,” says Kalpana Jaishankar, vice-president, HR and people development, Patni. Patni Connect held every year in the US is another effort towards brand building — a platform for senior management and clients to interact and network.

As Indian firms globalise, they require global talent. This is yet another reason why home-grown firms are hiring foreign talent. For M&M, having facilities in the US, China, Australia and Europe, with intentions to diversify, a cadre of global managers is the need of the hour.

They could be used in different geographies. “We want to create a global cadre of young managers who have lateral and out-of-the-box thinking,” says Rajeev Dubey, president HR & corporate services, M&M. It had appointed 10 summer interns and permanent recruits from universities such as Yale, Columbia and Harvard.

Besides, it awards scholarships for students in US universities. In ’07, ICICI Bank plans to recruit about 10 foreign interns. It is gearing up to provide right working and living conditions to them.

“The ambition to become a global brand is driving companies to target these interns and spruce up networking & lobbying efforts in foreign countries,” says K Ramkumar, senior general manager, human resources, ICICI Bank.

“Indian firms should become ambassadors of India and the brand rub off will automatically take place and benefit these firms,” he adds. ICICI plays hosts to professors and students from Wharton, INSEAD, Michigan University, who come to their facilities in India to understand the Indian economy. “They act as referrals and more people get to know about us in these countries,” he adds.