Calling All Head Hunters ; Having Just Emerged From Its Worst, Four-Year Slump, the Global Executive Search Industry Is Increasingly Looking at the Booming Indian Economy for Growth.

Summary

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Come placement season early next year, and the top business schools in India will play host to at least one unlikely recruiter: Korn Ferry, a global headhunting firm. Traditionally seen as an industry that could make do with accidental talent, headhunting, or executive search as it is more formally known, is getting serious about recruiting early on and nurturing top-class talent. It's easy to see why. As Indian companies go global, learning to play by global rules of not just marketing but corporate governance, executive search is no more about simply finding a willing candidate. The headhunter of today must consider a variety of factors ranging from the company's values and culture to ownership dynamics to future goals in order to draw up a list of attributes the candidate must have and then go out find one and, invariably, sell him the job. The other reason why the top search firms are getting their act together is the sheer growth in the Indian market. Says Sanjiv Sachar, Managing Partner: "When India talks, Egon Zehnder International listens."

He isn't exaggerating. While the Indian search market (for top management jobs) is a minuscule Rs 150 crore a year compared to America's $4 billion (17,600 crore), it offers tremendous growth potential. For instance, over the last two years, the industry has been clipping at 48 per cent a year. Compare that with what's happened globally in the search business. Between 2000 and 2003, it witnessed possibly its worst slump, brought on by a slowdown in the US economy. Revenues of top search firms shrank in double digits, average fee on mandates also dropped, and hundreds of consultants lost jobs. Things improved worldwide last year when revenue grew almost 20 per cent, with all the major regions (North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific) posting consistent growth. But the search firms seem to have learnt an important lesson during the slump, and which is to focus on booming economies like India and China.

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Calling All Head Hunters ; Having Just Emerged From Its Worst, Four-Year Slump, the Global Executive Search Industry Is Increasingly Looking at the Booming Indian Economy for Growth.

To be sure, some of the big global players like Egon and Korn Ferry (See The Executive Search Bandwagon) have been around in India for a decade now. But it's only now that the industry is witnessing a burst of activity. For one, firms like Spencer Stuart and Russell Reynolds are getting interested in India. For another, big companies seeking world-class managerial talent are also willing to pay world- class salaries. Therefore, with search f...

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