Things that every foreign hiring manager should consider while recruiting Talent in India.

“People are not a Company’s most important assets. The right people are.”

These lines by the famous author Jim Collins strongly support the fact that it is not the people but the right people who define a company's journey to greatness and to pick out these right people there are a lot of challenges faced by a company, and specially by a company which is new to the culture, values, established practices and economy of the nation.

For companies looking to expand internationally, India has become an attractive destination due to its vast talent pool and rapidly growing economy. However, hiring in India comes with a set of surprises and even challenges. If you are looking to recruit teams for your office for the first time in India then the pointers below in this article might be of help!

1. Expectations of Employees:

If you represent a foreign organization and if you are hiring Talent for the first time in India, then it is important to be aware of certain expectations those employees put forth during their interviews. Some of these are:

• Salary expectations:

• Negotiation on Job Titles:

• Benefits and Perks:

• Candidates generally have higher salary expectations than what the company is willing to offer, concerning the cost of living and economic conditions. Usually, it is noticed from a cultural point of view that candidates have peer pressure and therefore at times their expectations regarding compensation may be unreasonable!
• It is a widely known fact that the perspective of working Indians is generally inclined towards having a sense of hierarchical supremacy and status in the society. Given this background, during your recruitment process, you may notice that candidates in India will tend to have some preference for ‘specific’ job titles! Occasionally, they would want to negotiate for better designations and job titles to gain a better positioning in the society and in their peer circles!
• Gone are those days when employees considered Salary as the most important aspect of their job.

Compensation or Salary is not anymore on the top of the list of the factors those are instrumental in the retention or recruitment of Talent. Therefore, the success of newly set up international companies in India in delivering their talent attraction and retention strategies depends on the lucrativeness of the ‘Benefit Schemes’ offered by them. In addition to salary and statutory benefits such as Provident Fund, Gratuity, Maternity Benefits etc., benefits such as Health insurance, Life Insurance, Accident Insurance, Paternity Benefits, Bonus, Incentives, Regular Rewards, Food vouchers, Club memberships, Car on Lease, Flexible working hours, Work from Home, in India, are offered by progressive companies in India to improve their employee engagement and retention. These factors also have a direct bearing on their Job security, Social Security and Financial Stability! In the Recruitment process, candidates ask about these benefits and prefer their offer letters to include all the benefits.

2. Interview no-show & Dropouts.:

• As a hiring manager of an international company recruiting in India, one of the things you should expect often is an ‘Interview No-show’. This refers to a typical situation where a candidate who has been scheduled for an interview upon his/her consent, does not show up without providing prior notice or a valid reason, whatsoever!

• During such situations, many a times, the candidate’s phone is not reachable around the scheduled interview hours. Further, it is also common for candidates to attend all interview rounds successfully with full zeal, accept the employment offer but not join the Company. As per a recent survey, in India, approximately 37 percent of the total candidates who received an employment offer, drop the offer (candidate drop-out) and 2/3rd of them do that just before or on the Date of Joining.

• Indian Economy is growing at an unprecedented rate currently, and therefore organizations on a hiring spree in most sectors. This has infused more jobs in the market and given this abundant availability of employment opportunities, these days it is common to see employees attending various interviews and sitting on multiple job offers. This, unfortunately, impacts the commitment standards and therefore it is increasingly being observed in the Indian corporate sectors that despite giving written commitments and assuring prospective employers about their joining, candidates just do not show up! This is a part of the game now and hiring managers should embrace this and make business plans accordingly.

3. Differences to be observed & considered:

In the context of foreign companies interviewing Indian candidates, there are certain ‘Differences’ as outlined below, those have a bearing on the entire recruitment process, starting from the stage of recruitment itself:

• Time Zone Difference-

• Cross Cultural Differences-

• Communication Differences-

• Resume v/s Actual interview assessment

• If the hiring manager is running the interview process sitting in his/her home country, then there could be time zone differences. Agreeing on the time of interview with the candidate in an explicit manner and respecting their comfort is paramount. It is not necessary always to conduct the interview in the ‘daylight time’ of the hiring manager but occasionally it could be also in the daytime of the candidate. If any action item has to be agreed with a specific timeline, then the time difference must be considered.
   
• Each country has its unique Culture. There is nothing ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ about any Culture. It is just ‘DIFFERENT’. Cultural Differences can make or break a business as they have an impact at all the times when people from diversified background do business together. Therefore, it is a good practice for the Recruiting Managers to familiarize themselves about the Indian culture overall, particularly the Business Culture. This will help in encountering less surprises while scouting Talent in India.
   
• Constant communication with the potential employees/candidates is the key to successful interviewing and ultimately, recruitment. Keeping in touch with the candidates regularly, understanding their personal career plans, likely joining dates could be very useful. Having a clear concise written and verbal communication will reduce any likely confusion. Indians have a ‘neutral accent’ and therefore simple things such as the ‘Accent’ of a foreign manager could be a source of confusion for the candidates. Given the diversified state cultures, customary practices and the dialect types in India, English communication differs across people. In many states, where the local languages are prominent channels of business communication, people hailing from those areas might have an MTI (Mother Tongue Influence) while speaking English. Essentially, this can be sensed in the pronunciations and therefore sometimes it may be difficult or the interviewer to understand these candidates well. Therefore, it is recommended that in the very first meeting itself the hiring manager should ascertain that the candidate is able to understand everything that the foreign manager is talking about and therefore the decision is made by the candidate based on clear communication.
   
• Resume is the first point of communication between the Interviewer and Interviewee. It is generally seen that candidates often mention things on their resumes which in reality haven’t been done or experienced by them. This is mostly in areas such as work experience, areas of expertise and skills. This is primarily done by the candidates to increase the possibility of getting their CVs shortlisted or catch the eye of the recruiters. Obviously, this is not a correct practice as it leads to a void between the resume and the actual interview process. But this is something, as a recruitment manager should be aware of!

A quick example of this could be:

A candidate might list specific skillsets on his/her resume, say, a specific computer proficiency or Advanced MS Excel, but during the interview, it may become apparent that the candidate lacks the necessary expertise or experience in that area.

CONCLUSION

The above is not an ‘all inclusive’ list of all the possibilities the foreign manager may experience while recruiting in India but just a ‘ready reckoner’ that can be kept handy and referred to during the interview process in India. Fostering open, unbiased conversations and respecting all the aspects including the cultural aspects might help hiring managers to navigate through the recruitment journey successfully. Further, by understanding these realities and acknowledging them, international companies can successfully establish and run their business in Indian market.

To help foreign companies overcome some of the recruitment related challenges in a hassle-free way, Vyuh Global efficiently offers its expertise!

Vyuh Global helps companies to make a squabble free entry into the Indian market, by providing them services such as Talent Acquisition, Cross- cultural training and development, HR Advisory, Payroll, Compliances, Accounting and Legal support.