In connection with the personnel issue in India, the high fluctuation in the teams is repeatedly cited as one of the biggest problems. You hear and read again and again that there are fluctuation rates of 10 to 20 percent per year (!) and there are often even higher numbers in circulation. The very noticeable fact that Indian employees change employers at the slightest opportunity or even for minimal salary increases seems to have now become common knowledge among us too.
But: Indians are generally not job hoppers!
The phenomenon described may often apply to certain industries - especially in call centers and also in the IT sector. But under no circumstances should this view be generalized for India.
Employee fluctuation in mechanical and plant engineering is actually not a big issue. Loyalty to the company is determined by completely different factors than salary. Nevertheless, one hears more often than average that German companies in India “use up” several managing directors within a short period of time or that they have moved on “for financial reasons”.
The real reasons why Indian managers leave the company…
... you usually don't find out. In any case, the motives for this are usually NOT financial in origin. This argument is almost always used as a popular excuse with which employers and employees want to protect themselves from losing face.
We therefore carried out structured research for several customers to find out the real reasons for the departure of their respective manager in India (lost employee analysis). We found that salary did not really play a role in any of the cases examined. Quite the opposite: some managers had even switched to employers who paid them less! We therefore definitely cannot confirm the prejudice that money is the primary motivating factor in India.
The “expiry date” of an Indian managing director is defined when he is appointed
In our opinion, the biggest problem in practice is that when looking for personnel, European companies primarily think about the factual description of the future tasks of the designated manager, i.e. the job description and of course, above all, what is possible Salary package. Unfortunately, they are usually less concerned with the question of whether the candidate is actually a good fit for a German medium-sized(!) company.
So it happens that even experienced Indian managers who have already worked successfully for foreign companies are broken by the corporate culture of a German medium-sized company. A listed Anglo-American company naturally operates significantly differently in India than a Swabian family business. Other personalities would then be required. What sounds so simple and logical is often ignored.
The crucial mistake when recruiting in India
Trust, loyalty, integrity and a common understanding of values are prerequisites
The position of Indian managing director or other manager is ultimately filled exclusively based on factual and therefore seemingly objective criteria. The personality, worldview and value system of the Indian manager apparently play no role in the choice and are therefore not taken into account. The Indian personnel service providers that are usually used also ignore these aspects and, due to a lack of concrete experience of their own, they are not in a position to assess this accordingly.
From our point of view, it is precisely these subjective “cultural” criteria that should not be ignored in India. Because only if the Indian managing director with his entire If your personality also matches the corporate culture of the future employer and the personality of the owner, long-term cooperation in India is possible. Otherwise it often breaks very quickly. In companies that are run by their owner, the “cultural” aspect is essential when filling strategically important positions.
Checklist for the “cultural” aspects of an applicant
What should an Indian manager be like so that he/she also fits in with a German medium-sized company? We have created a checklist for you that can serve as a guide when searching for personnel. Only if you can answer all of these questions with a clear conscience is it advisable to work with the candidate:
- Can he/she fully identify with the product?
- Can he/she also implement your (sales) strategy? Is he/she goal-oriented, proactive and has a structured approach to sales (and does not just concentrate on... “low-hanging fruit”)?
- Can he/she internalize the corporate culture of the parent company, live it himself and reinterpret it for India?
- Does he/she have the openness to accept European standards and follow your guidelines unconditionally?
- Does he/she see himself/herself as part of your company and can integrate accordingly while still bringing in new, locally-specific impulses? Or does he/she act more self-sufficiently in India, without involving you and the parent company?
- Is he/she willing to discuss difficulties and problems with you and not ignore, delay or conceal them?
- Can you validate the candidate's integrity through references?
- The candidate recognizes your offer as a long-term opportunity and agrees to a performance-related salary package
This checklist will give you a guideline in selecting your future Indian CEO. But of course it can also serve you well when looking for other employees in India - regardless of the hierarchy level at which the appointment is to be made.
Our WB Human Resources department supports companies in correctly answering the above questions in detail. This requires not only methodology and plenty of experience in recruiting personnel, but - as always in India - informal networks as a source of information and a keen sense of the right “melange” for the corresponding (corporate) culture.
