Building external strategic talent edge

Building external = strategic talent=20 edge

All=20 leading corporates are always on the lookout to hire and retain=20 exceptional talent and one of the ways is to engage a reputed = external=20 consultant, says MURTHY B S.

I READ this somewhere a few years back and = these words=20 have become our corporate philosophy over the period of time and = we follow=20 this religiously as we move into the new era of global talent=20 search.

A large global infotech major is setting up base in = India.=20 Their key area of operations is financial services software. The = top CEO=20 and the key management hiring was made within a couple of weeks of = them=20 coming over to India. Within weeks the facility comes up and key = positions=20 are hired and the centre goes live. This key infotech major was = able to=20 get the key talent from the best of the organisations in India, of = course=20 at a cost as they got this assignment done through their known = executive=20 search consultants.

This would have been impossible for = them as=20 they had no absolute knowledge about the local Indian contact,=20 availability of talent, related people working in the similar = space and=20 details of the top management compensation = structures.

Imagine this=20 infotech major trying to do this first critical part of this all = by=20 themselves, this may end up in disaster and things just does not = take off=20 in time. Delayed hiring, wrong polices and they simply do not get = the=20 perception right!

Search = consultants

Association with=20 top search consultants is one of the key competitive strategic = advantages=20 any large and focused organisation can build. Search consultants = are=20 repositories of market information, market intelligence, and give = your=20 organisation the definite edge over the competition. You get the = right=20 perception into the current way of doing things the = right.

One key=20 issue where all of the Fortune 1000 agree will be on the point of = getting=20 the best talent and they are all utilising the services of = executive=20 search organisations.

Every large organisation across the = globe has=20 this partnerships going with on or many depending upon their kind = and need=20 of the business. This is a strategy all the majors have in their = corporate=20 policies.

The issue has been that when an organisation has = a full=20 fledged human resource management department, why cannot they get = the=20 talent, is it not their duty to get the talent? The answer is = always yes.=20 But the advantages are manifold if you go with a seasoned search=20 consultant.

Hiring modes

Lets take this = example, one=20 top end global software product major has two modes of hiring = talent. One=20 is the regular route of print advertisements, employee refferals = and walk=20 ins which was taking care of the 80 per cent of the need. The = issue was=20 with the key strategic people like software architects, = engineering=20 managers, global sales and marketing people.

The other = medium was=20 using executive search consultants which over a period of time has = helped=20 them identify their source and supply chain of top managers and = get the=20 talent in time.

The definite edge in talent identification = and=20 approach will always remain with this organisation as long as the=20 relationship continues and irrespective of the attrition in the = human=20 resources teams over a period of time. You can always know the = status of=20 the sector any point of time.

Key information related to = competitor=20 setting up base, size of the operations, forewarning you about the = danger=20 of loosing talent and insulating yourself on the same, salary = information=20 and other information, time to time can be got on a realtime basis = if you=20 enjoy the search consultants relationship.

The fear of = losing key=20 people and the resource availability knowledge advantage will be = reduced=20 to a greater extent with good relationships with search = consultants.=20
Competencies developed by key HR executives goes away when = they leave=20 the organisation, thereby taking the organisation back to the = learning=20 curve thereby the time and cost advantage is gone. Search = consultant acts=20 as the critical bridge between new HR executives and the = organisations=20 resource needs.

Loyalty building

These = benefits can=20 be enjoyed by any large and small organisation by building a small = number=20 of a committed and loyal select search consultants. The process = has to be=20 definitely viewed in the long-term perspective and no short-term = results=20 should expected out of this process.

The basic exercise of=20 shortlisting these executive search consultants itself is a = painful=20 process. Lot of time has to be devoted for this work of meeting = and=20 knowing the search consultants.

One should see and identify = strengths in these search organisations and record the details.=20 Information sharing about the organisation is another vital = process. That=20 too on a continuous run, this definitely helps the search = organisation=20 keep them self updated regularly. Key information like = organisation=20 structure, key business areas, leadership status in the industry,=20 competitor information and organisation culture and HR policies = helps=20 search consultants during the course of any discussion with his=20 prospect.

Interestingly, globally most of the professional=20 executive search consultants comes from those respective = industries and=20 not from the human resources function.

An executive with = over 20=20 years in retail industry will perhaps be the best person to hire = for a=20 retail client. He will definitely know the industry, perception, = people=20 etc.

A number of CEOs across the globe are turning into top = management search consultants leveraging their vast knowledge and = contacts=20 in the industry.

We also see fierce loyalties among the = recruiter=20 community. One who hires talent for Pepsi, will just not touch = Coke=20 account even in his dreams. This years of loyalty will help Pepsi = or Coke=20 to get the bonus advantage form of search consultants.

A = large=20 organisation with a loyal band of executive search consultants = will never=20 be short of key top talent as they always have a set of recruiters = looking=20 around for talent.

This comes at a very low cost as the = client pays=20 only on a successful hire.

The effort has to be made to = build long=20 lasting relationships as investment. Results will start coming as = the=20 relationship matures and each one know the other=92s strengths and = position=20 better. This is how key global majors like Walmart, Amazon.com, = Google,=20 Yahoo, SAP, Microsoft, Oracle, Citigroup, Berkshire Hathway build = their=20 business much bigger and better than their key competitors in less = time=20 than anybody can imagine.

We people always perceive the = information=20 as news when it comes to us through third parties, this advantage = has to=20 be reaped by organisations.

If HR executive from a company=20 discusses these key points with a prospective employee, the = prospect=20 always feel that he is being =93sold=94, the same information = coming from a=20 third party, viz search consultant is definitely taken in a better = way.=20 Another observation is prospective candidates let out their = opinion openly=20 about the culture and salaries about the prospective client with = the=20 recruiters and not with the prospective employer.

Indian = edge=20

The practice of hiring search consultants is = increasingly=20 popular in India. More so with the technology sector. Most of the = industry=20 segments like engineering, automobile, telecom, infotech, = hospitality,=20 infrastructure, services have adopted this route to get the key=20 talent.

The Indian corporates majors have off late realised = the=20 importance of these services in giving them the insights into = global=20 businesses, we have a number of expatriates who have joined Indian = outfits=20 and helped these organisations in learning and adopting in the new = environment and bringing in the best of the global business = practices to=20 India.

The Tatas, Birlas, Reliance, ICICI, Wipro, HLL, = Mahindras,=20 Hyundai Motor are all currently utilising the services of = executive search=20 consultants not only for hiring top talent but also in assessing=20 themselves against the leading key industry majors across the = globe.=20 Search consultant is the best source for any organisation to know = about=20 the people capabilities of any competing majors.

Global = search=20 majors like Egon Zenhder, Korn Ferry International, Heidrick & = Struggles, Russel Reynolds have already setup practices in India. = Most of=20 the Indian corporate majors have started using their=20 services.

Executive search practice is on the threshold of = key=20 growth in India. Number of local search agencies with specialised=20 practices have started taking up retained mandates from their key=20 clients.

Leadership capital is critical for any company to = take=20 them to the next orbit. More and more leaders in the human = resource domain=20 agree to this point and have started the process. India=92s best = known=20 organisations have started the process global talent acquisition = through=20 executive search consultants to build their edge in the global = business=20 arena.

The author is CEO, Humancapital Consulting Ltd. = E-mail:=20 = murthy@humancapital.co.in


	Deccan Herald, = Wednesday, May=20 26, 2004