2 days ago
Search firms find you jobs. Now their CXOs are jumping jobs too
Top recruitment and staffing firms are grappling with an unusual wave of senior executive departures, as rivals poach top talent from each other to navigate a rapidly evolving market.
Major players like TeamLease, Adecco and Manpower Group are locked in a talent war over the past year, as the industry expands to meet the growing demand for gig, temporary, and permanent workers.
'Leaders who have grown within it often find it easier to navigate, while those coming from outside sometimes struggle to settle in. Add to that the fact that our business model is shifting rapidly—more specialization, more tech, more AI-led transformation—and it is natural for companies to bring in leaders with new skills and perspectives," said Manu Saigal, country manager of recruitment firm Hays.
Saigal joined UK-based Hays in June this year, and was with Adecco, one of India's largest staffing firms, for a decade. Her last position at Adecco was that of a director.
The recruitment sector can be divided broadly into three categories. The staffing industry conducts mass hiring, and its employees work out of client sites. Then there is permanent hiring which can be done by the staffing industry, which places candidates on clients' payrolls . Finally, executive search firms have a team of headhunters, recruiting CXOs.
While search firms are hiring top executives from consulting companies and the Big Four (KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC) for better access to the kind of talent pool that clients want, the staffing and recruitment industry is gunning for its rivals.
The recruitment industry is going through a choppy phase as the economy is on a yo-yo. The advent of AI impacting hiring numbers, global wars and poor visibility of the demand and supplies has made hiring tougher. For many senior recruiters who now hold the top positions in these companies, they need to get someone who understands the crests and troughs well.
In February, Ramesh Alluri Reddy, chief executive officer (CEO) of degree apprenticeship businesses at Teamlease, joined American staffing and recruitment firm Allegis Group as India managing director (MD). Kartik Narayan, CEO for staffing at TeamLease Services has stepped down as well, after working with the recruitment firm for three years. In fact , Sunil Chemmankotil, now country manager of Adecco, also came from TeamLease Digital, one of the businesses of the staffing firm and joined rival-Adecco in April 2024.
'It could be a function of new challenges, new roles, larger roles, compensation, working for an MNC, new industry and so on. I think each of the exits we had could be attributed to a different personal reason, and while we would have liked to keep the people, we respect their decision to move and continue to keep in touch," said Ashok Reddy, MD, TeamLease Services.
While the company makes efforts to prevent exits and builds a second rung of leaders to ensure business continuity, some may not have worked out, Reddy said.
'While we have tried to work on compensation plans that have an annual incentive component, long-term incentive plans and employee stock appreciation rights alongside the capability building for the leaders, we do acknowledge that it didn't work for some leaders as a retention tool."
Adecco and ManpowerGroup did not respond to Mint's queries sent on Tuesday. Mails sent to Kartik Narayan, Ramesh Alluri Reddy, Alok Kumar and Sunil Chemmankotil remained unanswered.
According to one of the CXOs who has joined a rival firm, these shifts also come at a time when the recruitment sector is coming of age in India.
'12-13 million youth are expected to join the workforce every year, and the employment will not be taken care of only by the government. The private sector is working on different formats to get more employees on board, and this is why the recruitment industry will play an integral role in getting the candidate," said the CXO who joined a rival recruitment firm for better growth prospects. The different formats here include mandates for gig, temporary staffing, blue-collar and permanent jobs.
Manpower Group India's former president and country head Alok Kumar joined National Skill Development Corp. International Ltd as CEO in November 2024, after working with the recruitment firm for six years.
