"There Is Selective Recruitment In The Manufacturing Sector"

Anil Sachdev, founder and chief executive officer of Gurgaon-based talent management firm, Grow Talent Company Limited, is gung-ho. Grow Talent has recently entered into a strategic alliance with one of the world's leading career transition and organisational consulting firms, the US $ 500 million Right Management Consultants Inc. Having started his career with Telco and with a long stint with the Eicher group, Mr Sachdev has developed expertise in human resources, operations, general management and quality functions. His passion for people-oriented activities made him set up ECS (formerly Eicher Consultancy Services) in 1991. However, his entrepreneurial quest drove him to start his own enterprise. In an exclusive interview with Sangeeta Singh of The Financial Express he talks about the trends in the management industry as also Grow Talent's future plans. Excerpts

Do you see a revival in the job market? By when do you think this trend would pick up?

Yes, I can see good signs. If all goes well the market should really pick up in 6-8 months time.

Which are the sectors where you see revival coming from?

I feel pharmaceutical, IT-enabled services and insurance will revive first. I see a major growth potential in the IT-enabled services as the business process outsourcing market is improving tremendously in favour of call centres and IT services sector.

But do you see a major recruitment drive in the manufacturing industry?

There is selective recruitment in the manufacturing sector as well especially the auto sector. Auto giants like Eicher as well as Telco has done some high level recruitment recently. However, I am afraid there is no across-the-board recruitment happening in the manufacturing industry.

With so many players already there in the HR consulting business, do you think there is a glut in this business?

Is a shakeout imminent?I would not say there is a glut in the HR consulting business, but of course there are a number of players. When I say this, I do not include boutiques or one man recruitment and consulting firms. On the other hand, there are consulting firms like Hewitt with 180 consultants and William Mercer with 60.

Grow Talent is still young with 30 personnel. Besides, top management consultancies like Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and the likes have 50-100 HR consultants. Together this business will have 600-650 professionals and the total size of the HR consulting market excluding recruitment is Rs 250 crore. Of this Rs 150 crore is the organised market.

But I still don't see a glut but competition is high and there is a large pressure on pricing and margins are not very high.

In a situation of high pressure on margins what is the USP of Grow Talent that keeps it going?

Well, our USP lies in our unique model of talent assessment and unconditional moneyback guarantee to companies who take our services but who are not satisfied.

How do you see the HR consulting business growing in India? And how do you see Grow Talent growing in the next five years?

I think HR consulting is a sunrise industry and there is tremendous scope for developing the market. As of now, skill assessment tools and coaching facilities to realise one's potential amongst employees is not popular. Our partnership with Right will give us the advantage of initiating career transition services which is a fast growing field internationally. Going by the future the industry has and with our partnership with Right, I see Grow Talent achieving a turnaround of Rs 30-40 crore in 5-7 years time.

A lot of top slot Indian managers working in the US and UK in top positions are actually returning to India?

What, according to you, is contributing to this trend?There are three major trends that have contributed to this. One, the infrastructure in India has improved substantially specially with the telecom revolution that has happened. Two, technology has taken a big leap forward and thirdly, government interference has come down drastically. Not only are these talents returning to India, but there are also managers of Indian origin who have been born and brought up abroad who are coming back to India.
There is yet the trend of expats who have been in India for long who are not going back. All these suggest that there is a gravitational pull in India. They will not only get in international best practices in India but also pass on expertise to a large number of younger talent that is growing within the country.

How will your recent partnership with Right help Grow Talent add to its existing strengths?

Right has been seeking a partner in India for some time in order to get direct representation. This partnership is likely to enhance Grow Talent's already strong portfolio of services and add a new line of businesses by introducing Right's Career Transition services. Today, 75 per cent of Right's global revenues come from Career Transition services.

This being a relatively new area, Grow Talent will leverage the expertise and methodology provided by Right. The introduction of Career Transition services will benefit employers who understand that providing these services for departing and redeployed employees represents sound business practice and maintains the dignity and well being of the individuals leaving the organisation. Grow Talent will also get the advantage of Right's global presence and brand, innovative technology and expertise in the areas of mergers and acquisitions.