Now, recruitment companies call the shots

A decade ago, recruitment companies in India used to hardsell their services to any company worth its name. Now the things have changed, the market for these companies has rapidly expanded along with the growing technology industry and the booming economy in the country.

"Today, unlike the earlier days, the companies which want personnel are willing to pay money upfront and are even prepared to forfeit the money if they fail to recruit the personnel identified by the placement agencies due to any reason. They are also willing to give us the exclusivity we sought. In fact, with the shortage of talented manpower, we are able to dictate terms to some extent," managing director of The Head Hunters India Private Limited, Kris Lakshmikanth, told Business Standard.

When Head Hunters was established in 1987, headhunting was a new concept in India. At that time, the company pioneered the concept of 'Executive Search' in India, providing senior management professionals for top management positions across industries, and this remained its core service till today.

"Today, our gamut of offerings include permanent recruitment solutions, turnkey recruitment solutions, flexi-staffing apart from our core offering, executive search," Lakshmikanth said.

At present, the Bangalore-based company, which has a branch office in Mumbai, boasts of placing three to four chief executive officers every month in as many companies. Not only the companies, more and more job seekers, who want higher paypackets and desired placements in the city of their choice, were stated to be approaching the recruitment companies.

"Even from abroad, we receive 10 to 12 resumes of top management and technical personnel every week," Lakshmikanth said.

The company, which has expanded its operations outside India, is recruiting people at the level of president, CEO, vice president and chief technical officer for the Indian and international clients for placements in India and overseas.

With the client list including Intel, HCL, Oracle, Igate, Polaris, and Hutch, the company is expecting to post a turnover of about $ 7 million in the current fiscal.

Head Hunters has started its operations in Hyderabad recently. Lakshmikanth said that his clients have persuaded him to open the company's office here. He was expecting the Hyderabad outfit to post a turnover of Rs 3 crore in the first year of its operations, a six-fold increase from the current level of Rs 50 lakh.

On a hunt

Today the companies which want personnel are willing to pay money upfront and are even prepared to forfeit the money if they fail to recruit the personnel identified by the placement agencies due to any reason

With the shortage of talented manpower, recruitment companies are able to dictate terms to some extent