Sunday, June 29, 2008

Hiring in India-Perspective of a HR leader in Asia

Dave Mendoza almost always conjures up a very innovative post! Here is an interesting interview -in 2 instalments-where he has engaged Mr Sanjay Singh, the Head HR for Whirlpool- Asia Region – which includes - India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and SEA ( Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand) .

In a very elaborate discussion -spanning from his thrill of the first hire -as a recruiter ('achievement and satisfaction of getting some one a job'), his preferred choices of media tools, websites, et al- it gives a very good insight into the uniqueness of hiring in India!!

Let me present you a few teasers..so that you can see the benefit of his wealth of experience!
-People, irrespective of the region they belong to, look for factors like job security and job satisfaction depending on the career stage they are in.

-Asia is different from USA in recruitment tactics. For eg, the job market in India is in a boost phase and job creation is happening in large numbers. What needs to be pointed out here though is that a large number of new jobs being created are executionary in nature and not managerial.
-As a consequence of the phased emergence of industry, candidates with relevant experience are often not available . In such a scenario experience and capability needs to be developed rapidly.

-Employment laws are beginning to become factors! The private sector as such does not fall under the purview of the employment laws laid down by the government. But recently some legislations have been passed which require the private sector to maintain a certain proportion of people from certain sections of the society. .

-While in the US there is a high degree of reliance on the company recruiters; head hunting firms are preferred, particularly for senior positions.In US it is easier to source candidates digitally, but Asians are still not very comfortable with the idea of their profiles being online for others to view.

-Indians are shy and value privacy. Calling a candidate either at her/his workplace or on the mobile phone is more often than not bound to invoke a suspicious reaction. The first thing that the prospective candidate will invariably say is ‘where did u get my number?’ People are not very comfortable with the idea that someone sourced their phone number for this purpose and is calling them with a very direct offer. I guess it has something to do with the circumventive fashion in which most Indians start a conversation, introduce themselves and then get to business. It is changing for sure but will take some time before people start accepting purely business motivated communication.
Well-he also lists his favourite third party recruitment consultancies in India!! Happy reading!

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