BANGALORE/ MUMBAI: Blame it on the economic slowdown or the growing power of Indian businesses; many senior Indian professionals working across the US, UK and other parts of Europe are looking at the Indian job market as they prepare for a homecoming. While the influx has been visible for a while, the pace seems to have quickened. Sample the interest:
Krishna Kumar and Savita Murthy, a couple working for a financial institution and a telecom service provider respectively in New York, were in Bangalore in November to attend job interviews because of uncertainties in the US job market. "They mailed their CVs in early September and headhunters could line up some decent interviews for each of them. The husband has attended seven interviews and the wife attended four. Both are currently finalizing their respective new jobs and are expected to move back to India soon,'' said K Shivaram, a close relative of the couple.
Another couple currently working in Berlin and Paris is moving back to Pune with their 12-year-old daughter. "The wife who works in a French bank has been pink slipped and her term ends on December 31," said an acquaintance who did not want to be named.
Most recruitment firms TOI spoke to understand the phenomenon said the number of Indians coming home in search of work has risen sharply in the past three months. What is significant is that these Indian-origin executives who are now looking to return home are coming in at salaries similar to what they were getting abroad. There are, however, certain sectors which have generated more traction than others. For instance retail, FMCG, financial services, IT, mining and power have benefitted from these highly-qualified Indians looking to come home.
Kishore Biyani-led Future Group is the midst of one such recruitment action. "We are improving our systems and processes, an area that as an organization we are focusing a lot on. The expertise brought about by these people at the back-end and supply chain management areas is something we required," said Sanjay Jog, Chief People Officer, The Future Group, India's largest retailer which runs stores like Big Bazaar and Pantaloon. The retailer hired a number of key executives, all of them Indians who have come from international markets, in the last couple of months. While Manoj Agarwal came from Procter & Gamble's US operations based in Cincinnati who is now heading the project management office at the group, Anurup Pruthi was earlier with Burberry, UK, who is now the chief executive for Digital Services and heads the captive BPO and technology services for retailer. Another Indian to have joined the group is Prasad Menon from the UK operations of Nokia who is heading Product Information Management Services (PIMS) for Future Group.
"It's not only the slowdown in the economy that is leading senior professionals to come back to India, it's also the fact that now India businesses have the scale to absorb such global talent. These companies need global best practices to help them grow further," said K Sudarshan, managing partner-India & Regional VP-Asia, EMA Partners International, a global executive search firm. He has made six C level hires in the last few months-all Indians wanting to come back.
Evidently, executive search firm The Head Hunters India now gets at least 20 CVs every day, mostly from the US and UK. It used to be no more than one or two a day, earlier, said Kris Lakshmikanth, CEO of firm. Nirupama V G, MD of recruitment firm Ad Astra Consultants, agrees. She used to receive a few CVs a month from overseas Indians, now she's sitting on some 300 CVs from senior professionals working in IT services, banking, retail, telecom, hospitality and automotive in the US and Europe. Some are people who have been laid off and others who are afraid they could be next.
There are still others who had always thought of returning, especially to move their children closer to their own culture and families, and who feel this is the right time to make that move. "These job seekers see tension in the US and European job markets. They believe the future growth is in India. And here, salaries at these senior levels are almost on par with US salaries with cost of living being much lower,'' Lakshmikanth said.
Krishna Kumar and Savita Murthy, a couple working for a financial institution and a telecom service provider respectively in New York, were in Bangalore in November to attend job interviews because of uncertainties in the US job market. "They mailed their CVs in early September and headhunters could line up some decent interviews for each of them. The husband has attended seven interviews and the wife attended four. Both are currently finalizing their respective new jobs and are expected to move back to India soon,'' said K Shivaram, a close relative of the couple.
Another couple currently working in Berlin and Paris is moving back to Pune with their 12-year-old daughter. "The wife who works in a French bank has been pink slipped and her term ends on December 31," said an acquaintance who did not want to be named.
Most recruitment firms TOI spoke to understand the phenomenon said the number of Indians coming home in search of work has risen sharply in the past three months. What is significant is that these Indian-origin executives who are now looking to return home are coming in at salaries similar to what they were getting abroad. There are, however, certain sectors which have generated more traction than others. For instance retail, FMCG, financial services, IT, mining and power have benefitted from these highly-qualified Indians looking to come home.
Kishore Biyani-led Future Group is the midst of one such recruitment action. "We are improving our systems and processes, an area that as an organization we are focusing a lot on. The expertise brought about by these people at the back-end and supply chain management areas is something we required," said Sanjay Jog, Chief People Officer, The Future Group, India's largest retailer which runs stores like Big Bazaar and Pantaloon. The retailer hired a number of key executives, all of them Indians who have come from international markets, in the last couple of months. While Manoj Agarwal came from Procter & Gamble's US operations based in Cincinnati who is now heading the project management office at the group, Anurup Pruthi was earlier with Burberry, UK, who is now the chief executive for Digital Services and heads the captive BPO and technology services for retailer. Another Indian to have joined the group is Prasad Menon from the UK operations of Nokia who is heading Product Information Management Services (PIMS) for Future Group.
"It's not only the slowdown in the economy that is leading senior professionals to come back to India, it's also the fact that now India businesses have the scale to absorb such global talent. These companies need global best practices to help them grow further," said K Sudarshan, managing partner-India & Regional VP-Asia, EMA Partners International, a global executive search firm. He has made six C level hires in the last few months-all Indians wanting to come back.
Evidently, executive search firm The Head Hunters India now gets at least 20 CVs every day, mostly from the US and UK. It used to be no more than one or two a day, earlier, said Kris Lakshmikanth, CEO of firm. Nirupama V G, MD of recruitment firm Ad Astra Consultants, agrees. She used to receive a few CVs a month from overseas Indians, now she's sitting on some 300 CVs from senior professionals working in IT services, banking, retail, telecom, hospitality and automotive in the US and Europe. Some are people who have been laid off and others who are afraid they could be next.
There are still others who had always thought of returning, especially to move their children closer to their own culture and families, and who feel this is the right time to make that move. "These job seekers see tension in the US and European job markets. They believe the future growth is in India. And here, salaries at these senior levels are almost on par with US salaries with cost of living being much lower,'' Lakshmikanth said.