Corporations are using slump to upskill talent: Korn Ferry's Monica Agrawal

The slowdown hasn't hit the job search market too hard as a lot of replacement positions are opening up, says Agrawal

From a skill point of view, how have the global and the Indian job market synergised in the past decade?

Increasingly, the boundaries have been diminishing. In the last seven years, I have seen two major changes — one is that India used to be a net importer of searches. Say, if an international bank was to set up an office in India, they would contact us through our global offices. Now, India is exporting a lot of roles because many of the Indian companies have also become truly multinational. The other is that I am actually seeing a reverse of the brain drain that India witnessed in the 80s and the 90s.

Are you sure? Many studies show India is the largest source country for international migrants globally...

That’s true but there is another side to it: The trend of what we call global Indians or returning Indians in our parlance. One is that the people who got exported in the 90s, they have hit some kind of a glass ceiling in the international markets and increasingly, with the likes of Donald Trump assuming power or with policy decisions such as Brexit being taken, protectionism is on the rise. This is true for not just the US and Europe but also in places like Singapore. Being ambitious as they are, if Indian professionals see enough and better opportunity back home, they return. The second reason is ageing parents. Most of them left when their parents were still youngish but now they are older and dependent and in India, there is no managed healthcare for older people. The third factor is, if I am to take purchasing power parity from a compensation perspective and link it to the kind of lifestyle you get here, India is fairly competitive compared to the rest of the world.

But are there enough roles for them commensurate with their skills and remuneration expected? Is the start-up culture also giving it a bit of a push?

I’d say both. One clear trend is financial services increasingly becoming fintech. I have lost count of the number of clients who tell us that we also want to be a technology company that also does banking, insurance or payments. Clearly, some of the well established markets are ahead of the curve with fintech technology adoption. So those who have served in those markets are big in demand back home. But while fintech is the biggest talent magnet, I can’t say the same about industry or core technology. Again, consumer sectors like FMCG are among those where you have people coming back from global stints to lead India operations. 

How big a concern is the current economic slowdown?

I still believe it is not so bad for us because our industry, the job search market, is seen as the lead indicator. We see enough movement there and companies are using this time to upskill the talent. So a lot of replacement positions — “get us a better CRO or CTO” — are opening up. One sector that has really been affected adversely in the last two months is the NBFC sector but the private sector banks have realised that this is the time for them to regain what they had lost to the NBFCs. The same goes for fintech companies that feel they can directly enter the customer’s wallet. Insurance and asset management are seeing some of their best years.

Many Asian economies are training the next generation in English and other skills with an eye to wrest the advantage our services sector has had in the past. How do you see the future shaping up against this backdrop?

I feel our command over the English language is still the best but that’s not it. I feel Indians have this reputation of working very hard. During my visits abroad, this is the general feedback I get. One specific example that I can tell you was a presentation from a NATO commander who said they had done some analysis which established Indians as the most trustworthy talent pool for the Americans. That will see us through for the next many years plus the global headwinds, mainly the lack of trust between the US and China, will also impact talent management. Everything impacts talent.