The right person for the right job

Friday, December 26 1997

The right person for the right job

Purvita Chatterjee

Pioneering the executive search service in 1946, Sidney Boyden, founder of Boyden International, had said, ``Most resources are available to all companies. The great variable is the quality of management, it determines why some companies fail and others succeed.''

Boyden's philosophy is being carried forward by Karl Lange, chairman of Boyden International. Lange spoke at length on the relevance of `executive search' in a sophisticated market economy, during a recent visit to India to celebrate Boyden International's 10-year stint in the country.

Lange's observations were:

Fast changing markets necessitate constant innovation, consumer electronics being a case in point

To meet competition, companies need to adopt sophisticated marketing tools, cost management and strategic flexibility

High labour costs have to be countered with higher levels of productivity

Technology, marketing tools and financial instruments are improving constantly

Globalisation requires multi-cultural talents

Complex corporate structures require more elaborate management toolsLange felt that to meet these challenges, companies need to constitute a professional management cadre. Mere personal knowledge or management succession by family members will not help in coping with the complexities of a competitive economy.

Also, the traditional approach of large corporations (like the big German chemical companies) to recruit managers straight from university, who climb up the ladder in due course of time, is no longer advisable. Organisations today prefer a lean and flat management structure.

According to him, companies can get quality management professionals by adopting a systematic, focussed approach to recruitment processes. Executive search companies can provide invaluable service in this regard.

Some of the big executive search firms have transnational reach that help companies recruit the best of talent worldwide. The professionals, too, learn about the opportunities that are open to them, when they come in contact with the search firms.

Interestingly, the executive search industry has been the fastest growing business in the West in the post-World War era.

Boyden International operates in India as a licensee brand and is self managed and owned by Dinesh Mirchandani. Says Mirchandani, president of the outfit, ``Our focus is to look for people who are not really looking for a job and are never likely to apply to an advertisement''.

Boyden International approaches candidates directly by selling them an opportunity, which they thought never existed. Adds Mirchandani, ``The idea is to secure professionals in an informed and structured way and provide an environment that gives this scope.''

Of course, all such `searches' are done with tremendous confidentiality. In India, the firm has carried out nearly 2,000 top search assignments in the last 16 years for companies such as Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Kellog's India Pvt. Ltd and Templeton India.

Boyden also provides an `unconditional guarantee' that it will provide free replacement within six months in case the candidate who has been absorbed in a client firm leaves the job.

Offering their expertise in industries like consumer goods, high technology, financial services, automobiles, hospitality and advertising, Boyden International estimates that India needs over 1,000 `freshly minted' CEOs each year.

Boyden International is head-quartered in New York and has a network of over 50 offices in 35 countries.