Headhunters. Some tribes in Australia and Africa were ferocious headhunters who carried off the severed heads of enemies as trophies of war. A modern avatar of headhunters is a feature of the corporate world for recruiting senior professionals. Networking and direct approach are preferred methods for tagging desired people. Headhunters, either freelance or HR houses are resorted to when firms are unable to identify suitable candidates by themselves. Freelance headhunters’ compensations are structured rather like commissions of ship salvage operators or house agents- no cure no pay. If a suitable candidate is recruited using their services, the commission is a generous; six month to one year salary of the person recruited. If they draw a blank they do not get paid. All their leg work goes waste. I have encountered this tribe thrice in my life, two HR firms and a freelancer. The first was in early nineties when Hyundai were looking for a head honcho for their proposed Chennai plant. The second was when Mittals were recruiting an MD for a Steel plant they were taking over in Kazakhstan. The former came to naught. In the second case, I recused myself from consideration after being short listed, as it entailed my staying alone in Kazakhstan like a Bihari laborer, with the wife working in India. Both approaches came through professional firms. The third approach was from a freelancer ten years ago. I was traveling in a taxi in New Delhi when I received a call on my cellphone, with the caller enquiring whether he was talking to Captain Mohan Ram. When I said yes, he informed me that he was a headhunter and requested me to spare him a few minutes over the phone. I was sixty-eight then and was continuing as an advisor in TVS. I guessed he had made a mistake and referred him to our VP (HR) if he had good candidates. He laughed and said “Sir, I am not headhunting for you, I am headhunting you!” I told him that it must be a mistake, I was 68, had retired from active operations three years earlier and was working only in an advisory capacity. His reply startled me. He said he knew that and reeled of my entire CV from my Kharagpur days. He seemed to know my Kundali backwards. I told him that I was happy where I was and was not contemplating any change. He told me “Sir, Next week you are giving a talk to Personnel Management students of Tata Institute of Social Sciences at Ramada Inn hotel in Mumbai. Can I meet you for ten minutes after the event?” I was impressed by his meticulous preparation and agreed to meet him in the coffee shop after the event. When we met over coffee, he stated that he was not at liberty to reveal the name of his client. I bluntly told him that the discussions were over, if he did not tell me the name of the firm. Reluctantly he told me the name of the firm, a large conglomerate based in Mumbai. The guy knew near enough accurately my emoluments and said it would be more than doubled. The assignment was to head two tractor plants the company had acquired in Gujarat. They were over manned and running at a loss. The task was to turn around the units, reduce costs and prune headcount. It was a repeat of what I had done for my present company. I probed him on how he came to know about me. After some initial hesitation, he told me that Mr. Rajesh Shah my previous boss in Mukand and MR. V Krishnamurthy (former SAIL and Maruti Udyog Chairman) had suggested that I was the ideal person for difficult turnarounds I was flattered but declined the offer. I was happily settled in Bangalore. Money was not a factor at all. I also did not want to go through the wrenching process of laying off people, head count reduction and ruthless cost cutting. I was too old to go through that butchery again. He tried to persuade me by offering that I could stay in Mumbai, travel to Gujarat two or three days a week and added that the compensation was negotiable. I declined firmly and suggested the names of two retired naval officers working in senior positions in corporates. He was disappointed and left after shaking my hands. They did not hear from him. Obviously, the profiles did not match his needs. As a curtsey, I apprised my Chairman and MD of our discussions and my decision to continue.
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 08:24:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015