Medical Devices company – India

Job Briefing: In Jan 2022, we were mandated by our client to help them headhunt an HRBP (Human Resources Business Partner) for their India Shared Services business. They started this entity 3-4 years back and have 25+ people on board. The client is an international company which operates under a local entity.

The role required candidates to focus on design thinking, implementation and operations of Shared Service strategy supporting the end-to-end Associate life cycle wherein the incumbent would collaborate cross-functionally with Global Stakeholders to ensure HR service delivery that optimizes business results and contributes to rich associate experience. The budget of the role was INR 22 Lacs per Annum (~USD 30k). Strategy for attracting suitable candidates: Given the search requires niche talent, and only from specific companies (preferably from IT/Consulting/Shared services background), with a special focus on Design Thinking, Strategic mindset & ability to blend into clients' culture, with a hands-on approach to work and attitude to learn and diversify their skills.

Our search approach was to first tap into our internal database, where we approached candidates who might be senior for the role though basis our previous relation with them, we connected with them to get relevant references given their network and experience of working in a similar setup. We were able to successfully identify 3 relevant candidates (2 references & 1 through headhunting using social media). Client Management: Given that this was a critical role for the Director HR, post role qualifier we discussed on having a weekly catch up call with her to update her on the search and candidates. She wanted a detailed evaluation on each candidate and there was daily coordination with them to ensure the process was quick.

The twist: Out of the 3 candidates, client shortlisted a candidate from the initial batch within a span of 72 hours, wherein the candidate reached the offer stage, post clearing 4 rounds of interviews. At first, the candidate was aggressive in following-up on his candidature and reached the offer stage as well. He even shared his Offer Letter, Incentive Letter and Pay-Slips from his current organisation for the CTC (Compensation / Cost to Company) discussion to happen which showed his keenness in accepting the offer and joining as soon as possible. But unfortunately, as soon as the offer letter was rolled out, he took a good 2 days to respond and accept the same and we knew there’s something wrong. After 3 days, he responded with an email at 10PM stating he has taken a counteroffer and has been retained by his current organisation with a much larger role. It came as a shock to us and the client.

Plan B: The backup candidate too was holding another offer and just to be cautious, client refused to process the backup candidate and we had to start afresh. It then became slightly difficult for us to find another candidate as we were facing certain challenges finding the ideal candidate again and there were multiple escalations from the client’s end in closing the same. After 2 weeks, when we had lost all hope on finding a good candidate but without fail kept speaking with candidates/references, we happened to come across a candidate (Again through an industry reference) who had just left his current organisation and had to relocate from Mumbai to Gurgaon as his ailing parents were affected by COVID-19. He showed keenness in exploring the opportunity and even though he was out of job, we went ahead with his profile and got him interviewed.

Result: Right after his first round of interviews with the Director HR, we got a call from her, and she informed she has already taken the candidate’s slots for next round of interview the following day and that they’d like to meet him in person. It gave us a lot of satisfaction & confidence that finally we were able to help them find the right candidate. The interview process went smooth with him and in a span of 5 days, the offer was rolled out, he accepted the same and joined the client on 11th March, 2022. On the day our candidate joined, the Director of HR called us to thank us for the effort, patience & dedication that we showcased during our search. She communicated that closing such a critical role for them will help us build on our relationship in the coming year.

Written by: Rahul Goyal - Principal Consultant Lavanya Soni - Associate Consultant On behalf of Mayank Chandra, Managing Partner, Antal International, Lucknow office