The Hindu Business Line : Hunting far and wide

When clicking the mouse in search of a job, it is likely that at some of the job portals you will find industry goliaths on a brisk recruitment drive with their logos and names flashing brightly. The number of Internet users seeking jobs online has increased by 71 per cent from 3.8 million in 2004-05 to 6.5 million in 2005-06, according to the Internet Mobile Association of India (IMAI). Further, the number of online job seekers is expected to cross 9.2 million in 2006-07, leading to a growth in the online recruitment industry from Rs 145 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 241 crore in 2006-07.

Hence, with the industry poised to grow above 60 per cent year-on year, it may give one enough reason to believe that companies would be increasingly using online recruitment to match their needs.

The corporate world and headhunters, however, continue to use traditional modes of recruitment such as consulting placement firms and advertising in niche magazines.

Though online job portals may be doing substantial business in the generic job market, in the information technology sector, headhunting is still the preferred route for top-level and middle-level management jobs and specialised skills. CEOs, COOs, division heads, and vice-presidents, among others, are hired through direct recommendations independently or through placement agencies.

"Around 35 per cent of our employees are recruited through references from employees. Another 35 per cent come through our placement cell and the remaining through placement agencies. When it comes to recruiting people with technical skills, we struggle to find such a pool of talent," says Bhuvaneshwar Naik, Head, HR, Yahoo India Research and Development.

Major industry players as well as placement consultancy firms share a similar view. Dell India, which recently inaugurated its Gurgaon centre, employs 800 people and the number is expected to grow to about 2,500 over the next 12-18 months. The company still considers different sources for its talent search at different levels.

"Our company Web site generates a lot of applications. While applying on companies' Web site, applicants are directly in contact with the company and this perhaps makes them more confident than going through job portals. We still go through newspapers, trade publications which would have a wider reach.

However, Web sites do generate a strong database for middle-level positions," says Deepak Gulati, Director, Gurgaon Centre, Dell International Services India Pvt Ltd.

Asked whether individual company Web sites impact the business of job portals, Hitesh Oberoi, COO & Director, Naukri.com says, "Not really! Companies do have their career Web page, which attracts applications. However, we do have a lot of applicants who get diverted to the companies' Web sites through our portal. Since it becomes difficult to browse through individual company requirements, job portals make it easier to check on multiple companies. This makes it a platform for companies to market their brand effectively."

Despite the popularity of job sites, an industry player feels that in contrast to the western world where these portals are effective tools, in India they are still at a nascent stage.

"As companies go global, job sites could be very effective. However, they will require to evolve in order to move up the value chain from catering to generic skills to more specialised skills," says Pranesh Anthapur, Chief Operating Officer, Yahoo India Research and Development.

Placement companies have their own plus points. Companies feel that the physical screening done by them makes the process much more easy and less time consuming, besides you find the relevant candidates. In many cases, consultancy firms also do technical screening of candidates, saving the company a lot of time and energy.

Elixir Web Solutions, a Delhi-based placement firm that has some of the big IT companies as its clients, echoes the trend. "Due to an initial screening done by us on soft skills and in many cases even on technical grounds, major IT companies still prefer placement firms for certain positions," says Maya Nair, Practice Manager, IT and Research. The company's revenues from the IT industry alone has grown by 40-50 per cent over the last five-six years and for the year 05-06, the revenues from IT have contributed about Rs 3 crore.

British headhunter Gilbert Tweed Associates is also of a similar opinion. Its Managing Director Ravi Bhatia says job sites have not impacted its business as they do top level recruitments, which are not the forte of job sites.

Gilbert Tweed's revenues through IT placements have contributed 25 per cent to the overall revenue growth of 75 per cent.

priyanka@thehindu.co.in

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