NEW DELHI: The wait just got longer. In a slowing economy, no one wants
to burn their fingers - neither the hirers, nor the prospective
employees. Companies are taking up to four months longer than they
normally would, to close positions at senior levels. And candidates, on
their part, are making doubly sure not to leave their safe nests if
there's the slightest hint of a mismatch in the new position.
Search firm EMA Partners International, India, knows what this is like. It has been looking for an executive who can help a domestic power company raise capital for expansion. Ten weeks down the line, no shortlist has been arrived at. The process normally takes three to four weeks. "Companies want people who have been performing well consistently and eligible candidates are wary of switching jobs from an established position to a situation of uncertainty," says K Sudarshan, managing partner.
Bacardi India took 10 months to hire its head of sales for India. Even at the middle level, where it is searching for candidates with 10 to 15 years' experience for roles such as head of regional sales and marketing, hiring time has gone up from three to five months. At another Indian conglomerate and financial services MNC, the time frame to hire a CXO went up to six months from an average of four months. "They sat on positions as they were not completely satisfied, weighing their options in a dim market. We have seen at least three to four such cases," says Anita Belani, country manager at executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates, India.
In a market like this, companies are tightening the filtering process, especially where they have to shell out over Rs 50 lakh as salary. "You don't want to go wrong on operating metrics such as getting the right hire, as people decide the success of an organisation in terms of deals and project success. Options are fewer in this kind of market when people movements across companies are not that frequent, unlike in abooming economy. It's an important decision. Undoing a mistake takes long and crucial time is lost rectifying damaged business prospects," says Girish Batra, chairman and MD of NetAmbit, a financial services distribution company.
NetAmbit took eight months to hire its chief human resource officer, a process that should ideally have taken four to five months. No senior candidate has been hired since. "Over the past year-and-ahalf, the rush to fill up positions in a hurry where salaries range from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 75 lakh, has come down. Firms can't take chances in this market," he adds.
Right Management India, which helps companies in external assessment of recruitment decisions, itself took nine months to close a position of practice head for leadership development. The process normally takes three to four months. For such roles, pay packages could be between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 60 lakh. "Our clients too have been going through a similar experience," says Chaitali Mukherjee, country manager.
Search firm EMA Partners International, India, knows what this is like. It has been looking for an executive who can help a domestic power company raise capital for expansion. Ten weeks down the line, no shortlist has been arrived at. The process normally takes three to four weeks. "Companies want people who have been performing well consistently and eligible candidates are wary of switching jobs from an established position to a situation of uncertainty," says K Sudarshan, managing partner.
Bacardi India took 10 months to hire its head of sales for India. Even at the middle level, where it is searching for candidates with 10 to 15 years' experience for roles such as head of regional sales and marketing, hiring time has gone up from three to five months. At another Indian conglomerate and financial services MNC, the time frame to hire a CXO went up to six months from an average of four months. "They sat on positions as they were not completely satisfied, weighing their options in a dim market. We have seen at least three to four such cases," says Anita Belani, country manager at executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates, India.
In a market like this, companies are tightening the filtering process, especially where they have to shell out over Rs 50 lakh as salary. "You don't want to go wrong on operating metrics such as getting the right hire, as people decide the success of an organisation in terms of deals and project success. Options are fewer in this kind of market when people movements across companies are not that frequent, unlike in abooming economy. It's an important decision. Undoing a mistake takes long and crucial time is lost rectifying damaged business prospects," says Girish Batra, chairman and MD of NetAmbit, a financial services distribution company.
NetAmbit took eight months to hire its chief human resource officer, a process that should ideally have taken four to five months. No senior candidate has been hired since. "Over the past year-and-ahalf, the rush to fill up positions in a hurry where salaries range from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 75 lakh, has come down. Firms can't take chances in this market," he adds.
Right Management India, which helps companies in external assessment of recruitment decisions, itself took nine months to close a position of practice head for leadership development. The process normally takes three to four months. For such roles, pay packages could be between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 60 lakh. "Our clients too have been going through a similar experience," says Chaitali Mukherjee, country manager.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment