Headhunting for passive job seekers

Passive job seekers constitute a large percentage of the best talent in the industry. Sudipta Dev highlights what it takes to lure them to change their jobs

It is generally believed that the best candidates are those who are not actively searching for a job. They are happy in their present position and organisation, and are not looking out for a change anytime soon. However, they are proactively thinking about their career and are not averse to a change if opportunities do arise. In the IT industry with its high employee turnover (25-30 percent), where long-term loyalty is almost unheard of, what actually comprises this workforce? Experts believe that almost 40-45 percent of the workforce in the industry comprises passive job seekers. These are people between mid to senior levels, many with a high level of expertise in their field. The brand value of the company, a challenging job role, better perks and positions, might be suitable attractions to make them change their jobs, but there is a category that is the toughest to lure—those with good boss.

The general belief is that it is the passive job seekers who constitute the cream in the industry—the alumni of IITs and IIMs, possessing coveted branded education as well as a high level of expertise. Gautam Sinha, CEO of TVA Infotech, however disagrees, “It is not true that they are the best talent, it just happens that either they have a good boss or the company that they work in is growing fast at that point in time. Long-term

loyalty in the IT business is difficult to build and can only be created if the company is willing to share its wealth creation.”

Why does somebody opt for a job change, particularly at the mid-management level? The “boss problem” factor is one of the essential reasons why people are unhappy in their organisation. There are many other trigger factors. Sunil Gandhi, Centre Head (Mumbai) Mafoi Management Consultants, lists them:

• If an IT professional is not able to upgrade his skills on the technology which is fast changing, and is keen to work in a company which offers an opportunity to work on the latest technology.
• The opportunities and growth in terms of kind of projects, role in the project and monetary aspects.

Who are they?

In most IT organisations, job-hopping starts reducing with seniority and age. In fact, it is not uncommon to find about 25 percent attrition rate in some companies for those with 3-4 years of experience, and less than 1 percent attrition for project managers and above. S C Bhatia, Chief Executive, Datamatics Staffing Services, points out that while passive job seekers are spread across all levels, the majority are in the age group of 30-40 years. It is also true that with age and experience, people are less averse to risk-taking and change jobs less often. However, is this related to skill sets or domain knowledge? “Yes, to a large extent it is applicable to IT people with contemporary skills or domain knowledge where there is a big demand-supply gap. For example,

candidates working on ERP modules, embedded systems, open source technologies and product companies. They also get good opportunities outside India,” answers Bhatia.

The best strategy for a headhunter

Reaching out to passive job seekers and convincing them to take up a job is not an easy task. Most headhunters consider proactive networking as the best strategy. Bhatia informs that approaching them through a reference or mutual contact generally results in a positive response. Gaining the confidence of passive job seekers is important. It is also imperative not to push them into taking up a job. Bhatia points out that one of the toughest problems faced by headhunters in this case is that most clients do not share comprehensive job descriptions which could pose a challenge, especially while speaking to passive job seekers.

The headhunter often has to play the role of a career guide or consultant to convince a passive job seeker. Gandhi agrees that the consultative approach works the best. “Find out what the candidate is doing and what are the job satisfaction levels. If the option available offers all this plus more then put that perspective across. I think the role of a headhunter is to understand the career plan and help the candidate achieve that.”

Sinha acknowledges that selling is tough and one needs to have all the information before calling. The best option, according to him, is soft selling with benefits clearly spelt out. The benefits have to be a combination of the short term (next 3 months) and the long term (next 18 months).

The success rate

The strike rate greatly varies according to the deadlines present before the headhunter. If given more lead-time (which is difficult in keeping with the just-in-time manpower requirements), the success rate naturally goes up. Bhatia agrees that the hit rate is sometimes as low as 25 to 30 percent. Cultivating candidates over time guarantees success.

The company where you are placing the candidate and its perceived “employment value” in the market is the most important factor. If the company is unknown, then the salary and future growth are important, says Sinha. He adds that headhunting for a CEO is purely reference based, “Cold calling is a difficult proposition here. The brand of the recruiting company is a important factor here as potential CEOs will only talk to recruiters from companies that they have heard of.”

Bhatia lists the essentials of headhunting for a CEO:

• Proactive networking with senior IT professionals in seminars and IT forums.
• Seeking references of senior executives from other senior IT professionals.
• Scanning periodicals, the Web, etc, to track the career progress of senior IT professionals.
• Maturity in handling

relationships with senior candidates and gaining their trust. In the US, Eliyon Technologies has a tool that continually scans millions of corporate websites, press releases, electronic news services, and other online sources, for probable senior level hires. Biographical “profiles” are created from this information, which includes details of their experience, education, the organisations they have worked for, etc. Eliyon’s database contains information on millions of professionals, with new records added monthly. Till Indian companies have an access to such a gigantic database of top manpower resources in the country, a significant pool of passive candidates will remain untapped.

sudipta@expresscomputeronline.com