Insight

Why do you recruit? If you are a recruiter in your company, do you recruit because the hiring manager told you he needs 4 more salespersons or 3 more technicians this quarter? Have you wondered why or where these figures come about? Well you may know these numbers come from a grand plan done every year called a manpower planning. But why do you do these plans?

When a general intends to fight a war, he first surveys the enemy terrain. From this, he has a fair idea of what kind of specialists he needs – does he need to breach certain obstacles? Then perhaps he needs demolition experts. Does he need to pass through lakes and seas? He may need engineers to build bridges. Can he rely entirely on his own resources or troops? Can he make use of friendly forces on ground who knows the terrain, language and culture better than his own?

Going to a market is no different than what I describe above. When a CEO wants to penetrate a key market like say India or China, there are three main things he needs to consider – his Product, Process and People. Most CEOs of MNCs are confident of the first 2 Ps when they enter a new market. Their Product is world-class and much sought after. They believed they have world-class processes in Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR etc to help penetrate the markets. But what if he cannot find the People on the ground to help him execute to his plans? Of course he can bring his specialists from his home country to help out but there are only so few they can bring along and at a high cost.

Hence the importance of recruiting. Most companies view recruiting as a tactical event. I say this is a big mistake. In today’s tight labor markets especially in complex hyper growth markets like China and India, recruiting is a strategic weapon that can make or break a company’s best laid plans.

Hire Smart or Manage Tough – Red Scott

The best companies who have successfully make key markets like India and China their home turf have attracted the best talents. Their key secret is that they never view recruiting as a singular event on its own right. They first recognize the key pivotal roles in their markets (specialists) then they have a way to describe these talents (competencies). Finally they recruit, assess, certify and develop based on these competencies. They do this process for both their own staff as well for the key talents in their channel network (friendly forces). All these tasks are unified as part of a grand plan to enter and succeed in a new market. So the next time you seek a headhunter to look for a key talent for you, pause a while and reflect – why do I recruit?