When The Lala Meets The Pro
The hectic downsizing in multinationals and the restructuring in domestic companies has generated a retro move in the Indian job market. "The present corporate churning has created a vacuum that can only be filled by multinationals professionals moving to homegrown companies," explains Ronald Das, country head, Westminster International, an executive search company.
However, this cross-cultural move is anything but easy, as headhunters are finding out. "There is a substantial difference in the work environment and pay packages in the two cases," says Ronesh Puri, director, Executive Access. "Increasingly, however, Indian family-run businesses trying to turn professional are willing to offer a competitive salary environment now."
But a competitive work environment is a different issue. The business family patriarch is autocratic; employees have traditionally been submissive. How does a multinational professional, bristling with degrees, gel with this lala - who often sends his managing director to fetch his post-prandial paan?
That is today's headhunters' dilemma, but they have little choice. While multinational accounts look good on the client list, there's not much money for the headhunters as multinationals' brand equity is often strong enough to attract the best talent without a helping hand. "So we simply put the horror stories about the lala behind us, and get to work," adds a headhunter.
The high point of this exercise is the actual meeting between client and candidate which can be a culture shock of sorts. In one instance, a candidate was introduced to his prospective employer's entire family including his senile father, made to gobble four extra rotis over lunch to see if he had the appetite for the job, and then asked if he knew what had appeared on page 42 of latest issue of Business Week!
When such candidates join the company, most headhunters expect the initial period to be stormy. The employer wants to sack the new man several times a week and the employee is just as keen to oblige. "However, he soon realises that his latest find is not part of the problem but part of the solution. Then, it's a learning curve for both of them."says an executive searcher on condition of anonymity.
The compromise situation is that the lala accepts such "empowered" professionals at the top levels but retains his chamchas at the lower rungs. But sparks continue to fly. "It's usually other family members and cronies who cause more problems than the emperor-incarnate himself," says another headhunter. "The new manager obviously interferes with the little fiefdoms they have carved out for themselves."
No wonder post-placement mediation and conciliatory proceedings by executive search outfits are the norm. More so, because it is common for these kind of clients to renege on commitments. "Expect our owner-dictator to lop off a few lakhs from the recruit's package overnight and alter the agreed-upon job profile," says a headhunter who has just dropped two clients after a year of frustration.
Says Puri: "In this game, it takes dollops of forbearance to bring the two mindsets to a meeting point." Often headhunters emerge with reputations besmirched and nerves in tatters. But they're still taking the plunge. After all, we're talking all-pervasive recession, right?