Being pioneers in eCommerce recruitment, we have seen the tremendous growth in the industry in India. The competition for talent is pretty hot and many Indian eCommerce companies are vying for the top professionals. Now Business Standard (via PTI) has an article that sources a report from industry data aggregator First Data, which places the growth of eCommerce in India at 50% this year.

The VP & Country Manager of First Data Corporation, Amrish Rau, elaborated on eCommerce in India by saying, “We do expect over 50 per cent growth in this calendar year, depending on certain sectors. The online travel-booking segment will be the major contributor to this growth. The total market size stood at Rs 46,520 crore last year, a massive jump from Rs 8,147 crore in 2007.”

Rau informed that some 81% of the market share, or Rs 37,890 crore, trickled in from the online travel industry. The other industry that is gaining traction is that of finance, as mutual funds and insurance are being bought online. Adding more on eCommerce in India, Rau also spoke about e-tailing and how it will grow at a huge rate.

With the advent of broadband connections in India and superior infrastructure, there will be an increase in the number of online shopping sites. With such a vast growth in eCommerce in India, talent will be in demand and eCommerce recruitment too will see a spurt.

Image Courtesy: freedigitalphotos.net

The competition for top talent in the mobile and telecom sector in India sure is heating up. The Economic Times is reporting that Gurdeep Singh is the new head for wireless business at Reliance Communications, which is the second largest telecom company in India (in terms of users). He takes the place of Syed Safawi, who quit earlier this year in February.

In his last assignment, Mr Singh was with Aircel India – as their COO (Chief Operating Officer). He has nearly 30 years of work experience in industries such as consumer electronics, telecom, and home appliances, and is a graduate of BITS Pilani. He also had a stint of five years with Hutch (now Vodafone), where he was the Director (Operations), handling the northern region.

At Reliance, Gurdeep Singh will be in-charge of driving profitability and higher revenues, and will also get a seat on the Reliance management board, which basically is the executive decision making body of all business heads. He elaborates, “I am delighted to be a part of the Reliance Group and look forward to an exciting journey in taking Reliance Communications Wireless Business to greater heights”.

The telecom sector is a great enabler of jobs in India, and industries such as Mobile Value Added Services are totally dependent on it. There is a huge competition for talent, and M-VAS recruitment companies in India sure are stretched.

Businesses these days have become very competitive and belligerent, and are always looking to decrease costs. And in doing so, they end up ignoring certain significant factors. This is particularly true with startups, which typically save costs by pumping a lesser amount of money in human resources. In several cases, the HR department is nearly non-existent. Recruitment for startups too becomes a massive challenge.

Be it an industrial behemoth, a mid-sized company or a startup, at the end of the day, is run by a ‘human’ machinery. But HR management is a very tough task. In an organization, the HR department is accountable for implementing strategies and policies relating to the management of individuals. It helps in staffing, mentoring, learning and development, payroll, and keeping a track of the policies and various procedures in the firm. Many startups wind up giving these responsibilities to an office administrator, who may or may not be equipped to address issues that necessitate a human factor, such as executive recruitment. As much as recruitment goes, a startup can ease the burden on itself by using recruitment agencies that offer low-cost recruitment or new executive placement agencies.

A striking example of this was a technology startup in India. Though it began with just four employees, the business grew in just six months. Hiring more resources proved a challenge. The CEO, wanting to avoid hiring a bad apple, decided to outsource staffing to an executive search firm in Mumbai. In just a month, they had a complete team in place thanks to the hiring agency who offered them expertise for technology hiring solutions.

What’s interesting to note from the above example is that having an executive recruitment firm is as vital as employing the services of a law firm or an accounting firm. Not only does this provide you low-cost recruitment solutions, it enables you to save a ‘seat’ in your office, as the hiring is taken care off by the placement agency. Speaking of office space, some agencies also offer plug-n-play offices that allow you to save money, especially when you are bootstrapping a startup.

A happy and a contented workforce allows a company to scale heights as it increases productivity. Thus, it is imperative for a startup to focus on human resources and recruitment.

Location Features of the Place

• located in the heart of suburbs, Andheri-lokhandwala area, making it accessible via Bus Depot (3 mins), Jogeshwari/Andheri Stn (10/15 mins), Airport (30 mins).
• The building houses companies other major business offices, and also a high-end restaurant on the ground floor.
• Walking distance surroundings include malls (Mega, Infinity & Citi), best restaurants (close to 30 of them), and corporate offices.
• The office is on the 6th floor of a commercial building with fantastic views of the andheri skyline.

Each workstation consists of

• Maple wood desks
• CPU trolley/cabinet
• 4 plug points
• On-desk Softboard
• Comfortable adjustable chairs.
• Ample storage space

Ready-to-use Office Features

• The professionally designed interiors
• 1 seat waiting area
• Fully furnished, wooden-floored conference room with big writing board and several bean bags
• Fully functional Pantry with fridge, microwave, water cooler, sink, etc.
• 600 Sqft Private Terrace for recreation purpose, with designer cane furniture, and comfortable bean bags
• High speed wired/wireless internet connectivity
• Daily office cleaning services
• Split AC
• Free tea/coffee and Mineral water

Price/Details

• Rs.5000 per month/per seat (incl. of all above features).
• Minimum of 3 months rent in advance and 1 month rent as deposit, both are refundable if unused.

The above facility is ideal for startups or small/medium companies who want to use a small office consisting of 1-5 people. If you wish to rent an entire 5-6-7-11 seater room for yourself, we can work out some good deals as well.
To discuss this in detail, you can email Jay [at] sutrahr.com/ (or call 9221 526 099 / 9819 793 771).

• Working with your competitor, does not make him best: Your competitor might have a different work culture. His ability to perform there might not be sufficient to perform with you.

• Great performance in last job does not make him best:There is no guarantee of why his performance was good previously. May be luck, may be the product/service was easy to sell/serve, or other such external factors.

• High enthusiasm in your job, does not make him best: The candidate may show lot of enthusiasm/interest in your job, but this does not necessarily make him eligible. Rather than jumping to conclusions about his suitability for your job, perhaps you should test drive his capabilities “live” or with a real “case study”.

• Worked in a “well known” company, does not make him best: Just because s/he has worked in a good reputed MNC does not mean that he has better set of skills than another candidate from lesser known smaller company. In fact, often smaller companies serve as a better training ground for employees to hone their skills, than major corporations.

• Having an MBA degree, does not make him best: This is often an argued matter. An MBA from the best of B-Schools might still not be enough to toughen or train the candidate for your kind of work. Does s/he have the EQ (oh yes, not IQ!) to handle your job?

When recruiting for your startup, try and find a combination of factors in a candidate, that make you feel confident of him/her being the ideal fit for your job. Of course, no one can gauge whether the guy will perform or not, but what matters is not the absolute level of a competency or skill, but the right level and fit of that competency or skill for your specific job.

So, forget the perfect “catch” and find your perfect “match”.