Hiring of top-level professionals slowing down in Indian startups: Report

Startups in India are finding it difficult to hire senior-level professionals amid cost-cutting and layoffs across the sector. According to experts, as reported by Economic Times (ET), the senior professionals have been pulling out during the final stages of hiring saying "it is too risky a time to move". 

"We find that senior professionals are now more wary, more so, when we go outside the industry to hire," Anuj Roy, managing partner at executive search firm Fidius Advisory told ET. 

"So, in some cases, the founders themselves are investing more time in the initial conversation, selling the opportunity, convincing the candidate, (and) giving them comfort," Roy added. 

In most startups, the CEOs are now participating in the hiring process for senior-level professionals. 

"I spend time directly with potential hires to build confidence and trust about the size of the opportunity and give them greater clarity about the business, unit economics, the chance to make an impact in the India growth story," Satish Kannan, CEO of MediBuddy told ET. 

In the last few quarters, the funding activity in India has also slowed down. According to a report by Tracxn, funding in startups has fallen by 80 per cent in the last quarter on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. This has put a limit on the spending power of these startups. 

Several startups have been laying off scores of people Chargebee, Byju's and Udaan. 

"It’s a tough market; I want to wait it out," a senior FMCG professional who recently decided not to join an e-commerce firm despite being offered a sizeable jump in compensation told ET.