Iquest Consultancy Kondhwa, Pune, Maharashtra

When do you need an Executive Search partner and why? No matter the unemployment rate, the degree of difficulty involved in finding top-tier talent remains the same. That was true before the Great Recession, and it’s true today. Actually, it could be argued that for companies attempting to find the candidates they need on their own, the difficulty is even greater. That’s because with as many job seekers as there are in the marketplace, those companies can quickly be overrun with resumes and applications. As a result, it takes longer to find the candidates they want to interview and potentially hire, and by the time they do find them, those candidates are typically no longer available. Needless to say, that’s a misuse of time, energy, and resources. Making a bad hire in your C-suite can have disastrous consequences. There’s an art to finding qualified, top-performing executives and the search for the right candidate can make the process far longer and far tougher.

What is Employer Branding and how does it matter? Employer branding is one of those terms that gets thrown around a lot in recruitment.There are plenty of blog posts and articles out there which talk about employer branding and how companies can improve their brand. However, the big question is why is employer branding so important? Employer branding initiatives take time (which most HR and recruitment professionals don’t have an abundance of). So, to get buy-in for employer branding, you need to know the exact value it can bring to your business. What are the tangible benefits of having a strong employer brand? And what are the negative consequences of ignoring employer brand development altogether? 1. A great employer brand can make up for lower remuneration Do you find yourself often losing out on talent because you don’t have the budget to match your competitors’ salaries? While you might not have a huge salary and bonus package to be able to offer your candidates, a strong and appealing employer brand can help to win them over. Jobseekers look for more than just remuneration when applying for a role; if your company has a positive reputation as an employer, this can help to give you the edge in a competitive market. Make sure that your values are communicated within your job adverts and on your careers site, as well as any lifestyle benefits, such as flexible working. Remember that money isn’t everything to candidates. 2. It can help you to retain your employees A developed employer brand that’s communicated clearly within the recruitment process means that employees will know exactly what to expect when they start within your business. If you don’t communicate your employer brand or set unrealistic expectations of yourself as an employer, candidates might feel confused or misled.

The ‘Gig Economy’ & the future of Contract Staffing. In the consulting/knowledge working context, the gig economy is often referred to as the open talent economy, a term largely attributed to Deloitte Consulting. It’s a way to work or conduct business in a borderless and technology-enabled market where businesses and professionals seek each other out to collaborate on a particular project. In a gig economy, the job market is characterized by the dominance of limited-period contracts rather than permanent jobs. So, instead of a regular wage, workers get paid for “gigs”. In Asia, the concept of the open-talent or gig economy is in its infancy, though it has definitely become part of a changing cultural and business environment. There is a distinct shift in tenor and tone, and we are seeing the emergence of a new segment which looks at people with high-end skills in marketing, human resources, finance, etc. Owning its growth to a host of reasons, gig economy is slowly transforming the nature of work in urban spaces. A recent Indeed report on the job markets of India points to this shift. The report mentions how employees are increasingly willing to sacrifice the additional benefits that come with a permanent job, such as gratuity or health insurance, in exchange for a greater amount of flexibility that allows them a healthy work-life balance and the opportunity to simultaneously pursue multiple interests. Indeed data shows an increasing preference by the employers for flexible work arrangements, especially in larger cities, where daily transport might be difficult and cumbersome.