About the difficulty of finding the “right” Indian manager (topic: India personnel search).
It is a bitter irony, but despite its 1,25 billion inhabitants, India has too few qualified personnel. This is particularly true for management positions and gives companies a lot of headaches when it comes to finding suitable candidates. Since supply in India's human resources market lags far behind demand, salaries, especially for managers, are rising sharply. Salary increases of 10 to 15 percent per year are already the norm for Indian skilled workers - even in economically weaker times. Anyone who hires an Indian managing director in India can expect a gross salary of between 50 and 100.000 euros. Candidates who are below this often do not provide the quality. There is then a lack of specialist knowledge, personality or experience. Especially in India, for “cheap” there is only “cheap”.
Good staff is expensive
And if you are looking for an internationally experienced top manager, you should not be surprised if you are confronted with salary demands of 200 or 300.000 euros. India a cheap country? At least not for managers!
Even though identification with the employer is traditionally above average in India, the fluctuation rate in India is one of the highest in the world. This is less true for managers, but the range of job alternatives still increases competition and means that companies have to think of a lot to keep their top performers.
“Highly qualified staff with international experience is hardly available anyway,” says Werner Heesen, Head of “Human Resources & Organization” at Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH. This is even more of a problem for German medium-sized companies in India, as the name and reputation of an employer play an important role for potential employees when choosing a job; Large companies are considered more attractive than small or medium-sized employers. Therefore, most German companies ultimately rely on professional support in the form of an experienced HR consultant when selecting personnel on site.
Looking for the needle in the haystack
Werner Heesen, Head of Human Resources
The pitfalls when searching for personnel in India are manifold and start with collecting candidate profiles. If you search by advertisement, you will be inundated with an incredible number of applications. However, very few of them will even come close to meeting your requirements. Interpreting an Indian CV is a science in itself: paper is particularly patient in India and there are often no limits to creativity. “Pimp up my CV” is not an exception, but the rule: universities and degrees that don't even exist, references that were bought, certified industry knowledge that is faked. The recruiting process in India is much more complex and lengthy than in Europe. On the one hand, you have to manage the quantity, on the other hand, you have to look for quality like a needle in a haystack. Experience definitely pays off.
Obtaining references and thoroughly checking the candidates' personal background through third parties is essential. “However, this is only possible if you have the appropriate local networks,” says Heesen, who worked locally as Managing Director of Lufthansa India for 13 years. One of the most common mistakes due to a lack of experience in India: overestimation. It is not uncommon for German managers and entrepreneurs to meet an Indian manager at an international trade fair and are impressed by his eloquence and charm. This “super Indian” presents himself and his network excellently and the first business contact has already been made. In retrospect, the first-best candidate usually turns out not to be the right one and may even cost the company dearly. The most important characteristics of your potential managers should go far beyond (re-)presentation skills and, in addition to the “classic” professional attributes (industry knowledge, etc.), also the following personal characteristics:
- Long-term commitment and loyalty to your company,
- Openness to get involved in European standards and follow your guidelines unconditionally,
- “Compatibility” with your company philosophy and your company structure,
- Willingness to discuss difficulties and problems with you
- Acceptance of your processes and your leadership behavior.
The candidate will in turn demand an attractive financial offer and development opportunities from you. Money and especially status are important motivating factors in India. However, interesting tasks, attractive areas of responsibility, personal development opportunities and clear career prospects offer you excellent differentiating features and arguments to retain Indian top performers in the long term.
India personnel search by Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH
Dr. Wamser + Batra has specialized in recruiting top Indian managers across all industries for many years. Our HR experts have the necessary methodological knowledge and practical experience to meet these high requirements. We work closely with you throughout the entire search, taking into account your individual needs and company-specific requirements. If possible, we do not actively recruit and do not maintain “candidate databases”, but rather focus on fully professional and transparent search practices that guarantee quality, sustainability and stability. We do this because our goal is to only find employees who, contrary to the high fluctuation rates typical in India, can be retained by you in the long term and successfully and who fully identify with you, your company and your products. In any case, the effort is worth it.
You can find further information on the topic of personnel search in our blog (Department of WB human resources)
