I haven’t found myself or The Marigold but I did find Uber and Ola…

Well I’m just over 3 months in my new home in Bangalore and I’m yet to find The Marigold Hotel, indeed I’m yet to find myself in Bangalore very often at all to be honest. Most of my working days are spent in Mumbai, Delhi or Hyderabad. Next week it’s Vadodara. Look it up.

My family tell me they are settling into their new lives well! While my daughter is somewhat over the novelty of stairs and having to tidy a larger bedroom, I suspect my son is secretly relieved that there aren’t tigers around every corner. I haven’t told him yet, that with summer coming, he will soon have a much higher chance of playing with cobras than tigers in the garden!

How have things been different for me? I think it can be summarized in three words – volume, volume, volume! Volume in everything. Probably somewhat obvious in one of the most populous countries in the world but I’m not just talking people and traffic. The size of everything, the country, the number of companies, the size of opportunity India presents – all has a definite impact on the skill set and working styles (not to mention patience!) required to work in India.

I wouldn’t compare my experience to the Beatles, or any other hippy that have come since the 60’s to find themselves, but I have learnt a few things about myself and discovered new Gods in my short time here.

First off I thought I was a recruiter, I found out I’m not. That’s quite an affront after nearly 15 years in your profession of choice. I’ve met recruiters here. They and their companies are very good at what they do. So good, they make 3000- 5000 placements a year, in 1 company. Admittedly they work in a team, each taking on specific functions within the process and have totally different metrics more aligned to retail/online shopping – like ‘footfall’ and ‘eyeballs’.

I’ve never even been in a company of 5000 people, let alone one that needs to recruit 5000 a year. Yet in India, that’s the sort of volume of a recruiter has to work with in India. The mind boggles.

Recruiting is a totally different skill to what I thought I had. Apparently what I do is more like Talent Acquisition – finding the senior talent companies need to manage, direct and grow their businesses. Some call it Executive Search. Burgers, schmurgers – it’s different to recruitment, that’s for sure.

On my very first morning in Bangalore, as I lay awakening on the floor, in one of my children’s sleeping bags, and not the Goan beach I had originally been planning for, I read an email from an old client who was looking for a new country MD to run their expanding India business. I reflected ‘We were right! This is exactly why I moved to India, the opportunities are endless and there for the brave’.

Immediately I started thinking of potentially suitable candidates. That didn’t take long. My arrival 13 hours earlier hadn’t given me sufficient time to acquaint myself with a significant proportion of business leaders in the immediate surroundings. Fortunately my India Partner was more thoroughly acquainted with the local market and provided referrals aplenty! I also decided to do a bit of personal branding and profiling and advertised the opportunity. It worked. It worked way better than I ever imagined. I haven’t screened 300 responses for 1 role…ever. Let alone a Country CEO/MD level. Dealing with that sort of volume was a lesson in efficiency and time management, that’s for sure!

Meeting clients is always informative. They’ve now taken on a level of trepidation to be honest. Talking about business headcount requirements at times can be overwhelming and require you to really focus on highlighting what you are capable of delivering, rather than pitching yourselves as the ‘5000 Headcount Solution’. That suits me fine. Quality over quantity remains firmly as my preferred approach!

With my now numerous travels across India it is clear to see that in the professional world India is clearly embracing change if not driving it. Literally. I really don’t know what I would have done without Uber, Ola and Meru. Even on some of the rickshaws/ tuk tuks (for those of us with SE Asian experience) you can pay with your phone! I must say while it removes the nostalgia of haggling for a rickshaw and being charged 300% more than a local, it makes life a whole lot easier by helping me know exactly where I am going and probably saved me a small fortune in the process.

On the flip side when Uber and Ola decide to strike it does throw you out of your comfort zone somewhat! Hurtling down a 4 lane highway (on which you can definitely get a minimum of 7 lanes of swerving traffic, in case you were curious) in a rickshaw that has thinner metal walls than a tin can, it makes you focus on what’s important, and for me that’s family. I’ve thought about my wife and children a lot the last few months. I mean a lot. More often than not I distract myself from any impending death by assuming a prayer position, putting my head down and clasping my hands together to type my prayers to The Apple God. Or read. He also proves to be a fountain of worldly knowledge.

In summary, I find I’m learning a lot! ‘Recruitment’ is recruitment, wherever you are, however I’m learning (again) how to manage some of the subtleties required from market to market and some of the subtle social vagaries that come in such a diverse country. In some ways India is exactly as I thought it would be, in others so very different but in a very positive way. I also need to learn how to operate in a much, much larger market than I’ve ever been used to…and cope!

P.S. That Country MD role I ‘picked up’ on my first morning in India. I filled it. Still got it! 🙂