Published: Recruitment International, February 2011
Joseph Devasia, Managing Partner of Antal International Network added his thoughts on running a recruitment business in India:
How long have you been in the market?
I have been operating in the Indian market since Jan 2007 – four and a half years.
What obstacles did you face in the transition to working there?
When I returned to work in India, I had no existing relations or networks to draw support from, neither did I have any idea of how people in India behave in the business world. One thing that quickly became evident was time keeping, often a meeting would be arranged for a particular time, but was often not stuck to! However, once you get used to this it soon becomes quite normal, and something you factor in to your day to day activity. Recruitment fees in India are very low, and trying to increase fees is difficult.
What is the recruitment market like there at the moment?
Very buoyant, most companies in India are hiring at all levels.
Despite its population are there skills shortages and if so in which areas?
Yes there are severe skill shortages, particularly at management levels. India is short of skilled managers, there is a lack of leadership, ownership of tasks in particular.
What are the trends in the market?
The recruitment market in India is certainly gearing up for the next phase of growth, there is a lot of innovation being seen, and several new international players coming into India. Contract staffing is growing in significance across industry and not just IT. Pharma, FMCG, Consumer Durables, IT, Manufacturing are recruiting extensively.
Are travel and language barriers a difficulty?
Language is not a barrier at all, however travel can be difficult in certain cities. This does not prevent individuals or businesses who want to succeed.
What is your advice for those looking to establish a business there?
It is necessary to do their homework well, choose a law firm that can give the correct advice. There are lots of good, economical law firms that can help set up a legal entity. Establishing a business per se is similar to the west, data, recruiting the right employees, engaging them.
Was it easy to set up a business in India?
Yes, it was easy I guess due to ‘ignorance is bliss’ aspect. Had I known that there is difficulty in setting up, it would have been tough. However, for me it was first about making money and then managing any difficulties!
How successful has your business been there?
Fairly successful for a new business compared to what we see around in the recruitment market in India. In our 4th year of operation, we have crossed $0.5m in sales.
How many staff do you have based there and are you looking to increase your headcount?
We are now 15 fee earners and are looking to add more. The plan is to get to 24 by Aug 2011, and wait for them to start generating revenues. By 2015, I intend to get to 100 fee earners.
Doug Bugie, CEO of Antal International Network has been working internationally in recruitment for 28 years, in 50 different countries; and operating in India since 2007 along with Managing Partner Joseph Devasia. Doug has been going to India regularly over the past 36 years, with his most recent visit being the seventh in the past 18 months. During the trip, he visited five cities over ten days, for meetings with around 70 prospective franchisees, mostly senior executives looking to enter the recruitment market. This trip encompassed 33,000 miles. Antal franchisees sell and deliver recruitment services to a broad middle market, those companies with revenue of $1million up to many billions.
Doug commented: “Franchising is big in India, with around 60 franchise shows a year being held there. Entrepreneurship in India is booming; and Antal are amongst the best innovators, combining a powerful international recruitment business with the offer of a tremendous training program.”
Antal’s franchisees are primarily trained in India, and receive visits from the company at their offices in India. Antal is keen to train and support their people in India, and is focused on being regarded as an Indian company.
Doug remarked: “We are particularly pleased to have a partner such as Joe Devasia whose business has led the way, with several hundreds of placements and now over 20 recruiters to help us establish the right and proper way forward”.
On starting up the franchise, they are given a full blown training program to help with its establishment. Doug has noticed a rise in the number of expatriates coming back to India and looking for a franchise. Last year, 50,000 Indians from the US moved back there, most of them from California.
Many of the 3rd level cities in India now do business globally, regularly with national and international businesses. Antal trains the leaders of its Indian franchises in how to become effective and professional in recruitment. This involves sales training on how to get and sell challenging assignments domestically and internationally, as well as management training on how to attract, hire and train recruiters throughout its 33 nation; 100 office network.
Virtually all recruiters there are in their twenties, with the average age of a recruitment consultant in India being 26. Antal has further enhanced its reputation, in India and globally, through the very effective ‘Global Snapshot’ survey it conducts with 14,000 business leaders. The most recent report showed that every sector in India has grown by at least 10%, and some by as much as 20%, over the past year.
Doug said: “One difficulty in setting up in India is that banks will not provide small business loans, so those looking to establish there either have to be very good savers or have a lot of family money. This explains why some of the most prominent families in India now have children who own recruitment businesses.
Executive recruitment is evolving rapidly, despite the pool of talent in this area being much smaller. The number of applicants able to work in a multi-national environment, effectively the educated middle class, is around the top 10% out of over 200m.”
Antal is constantly looking for the Rising Stars as candidates, those who may be two-three years out of school and are clearly future leaders. The way they approach this task is by conducting careful research into a candidate’s reputation in the market at all levels. In this case, they are looking for the young people who will make a marked difference.
In the past two years Antal has opened 20 offices and are looking to open another 10-15 offices by the end of the year.
