Sudipta Dev on why the relationship between a pharma company and its search firm has to be a partnership based on trust and understanding.

Organisations engage search firms when they are in need of specialised talent within a particular timeframe, and are not able to procure the same through their own resources. It is a critical task, which makes the relationship between a company and its search firm so significant. Trust plays a key element in this relationship. The headhunting company needs to have an in-depth understanding of the culture of its client organisation, to find the perfect fit among the scores of people it shortlists on the basis of education, experience and skills. Most importantly, it is not a business tie-up between a client and vendor, but a relationship of close partnership. In most pharma organisations, junior level recruitments are done through internal referrals or campus recruitments, but when these companies need to hire people for sensitive and senior positions, they have to engage the services of a search firm. And this is what lays the foundation of the relationship. "I would go to someone I trust and who knows me well. He should understand the cultural context of the organisation and be thorough with the leadership and processes, should represent me well and speak the organisation's language," says Manish Kumar, Senior VP-HR, Alkem Laboratories. This close relationship is often irrespective of the fact whether the search firm is a big brand name in the recruitment space. As Kumar points out, "There are many good firms, but for us the key factor is who understands our company. It should not necessarily be a big firm, but maybe an individual or a small company with whom we have formed a close bond. It has to be long-term."

"The pharma sector is extremely particular about tying up with search firms that have teams that specialise in pharma hiring. They tie-up with firms that have an expertise, database and network within this sector"
- Hamsaz Vasunia
Associate Director
EmmayHR Services

Hamsaz Vasunia, Associate Director, EmmayHR Services concedes that the search firm has to build its credibility initially and then it is a partnership approach where the role of the recruiting agency is not just to hire for their client but to also consult him in certain market information, compensation trends etc. "The pharma sector is extremely particular about tying up with search firms that have teams that specialise in pharma hiring. They will tie-up with only those firms that have an expertise, database and network within this sector. They prefer search firms that have hired ex-employees from the pharma sector," adds Vasunia.

For senior positions within commercial operations and plant, organisations are keen to work with a search firm that specialises in pharma hiring, but for recruiting within their R&D divisions, they often do it directly as it is extremely niche and they want to use their network to tap the talent pool. However, R&D outsourcing is big in India currently, resulting in a talent crunch as there are not enough skilled professionals to do it. "There is a clear gap between the demand and supply in a lot of cases. Thus it is very important for a search firm to ensure that it has its tentacles spread across the sector to close up on any new requirements," says Vasunia.

Apart from the network and hiring expertise, strong domain knowledge (with constant updation) is essential for a successful partnership with a pharma company. "Several companies whom we work with, realised the limitations on the talent pool availability in the sector and have successfully played it to their advantage by planning their talent needs to augment organisational capabilities over a long to medium horizon rather than only the short-run," states Vikram Bhardwaj, Managing Director, Redileon Executive Search.

Key issues

For an organisation, the key issue is the professional integrity of the headhunter. Kumar asserts that there should be a written agreement between both the companies. It is also important that the search company should not be working with a competitor and there should be no business centres in conflict.

An organisation should also not engage more than two headhunters. "The more search firms you engage, the more it is a problem for you. It is a time consuming relationship. We need to see him as a partner and be in constant communication with him. It is imperative to keep him informed of the latest happenings in the company," explains Kumar.

Concern areas for search firms

Search firms often rue that low rates offered to them by pharma companies when compared to the other sectors. Furthermore, these searches are narrow and even for functional jobs in a company, nobody is hired from outside the industry. Consequently, the search firms need to know when the requisition was made and how many recruitment agencies have been in action, as the market might already have been tapped. Vasunia lists the pain areas:

Usually hiring for the pharma sector at the junior/plant level is tough because the compensation levels offered are lower than any other allied sector. Recruitment process is very slow and long. Candidates go through seven to eight rounds and sometimes lose interest on the way. Hiring audience for all positions is restricted only to pharma and this narrows the search in certain functions where an outside industry experience would not harm

Need for search firms
Most direct sourcing efforts do not yield desired results for critical leadership roles—a more specialised, 'less blanket' approach is required. Most 'passive candidates' usually do not engage in posting their profiles on job portals or apply directly. Because of the indispensability of such potential candidates, companies want to ensure predictability of outcomes—a mandate to a good search firm ensures positioning and appropriate pitch for the company, brings out and relays the essential attributes of the job and hand-holds the candidate throughout the execution process. Search firms add immense value through the entire process right from scooping talent to conducting detailed analysis of the candidate's attributes and fit, including reference checks, expectation management and anchoring the principals
Source: Redileon Executive Search

Long-lasting partnership

"Areas of conflict arise when there is lack of clarity on the manpower requirements, expectations unmatched and seriousness to hire"
- Sampath Shetty
Vice President
Permanent Staffing Business Unit, TeamLease Services

Certain executive search companies have the niche expertise to hire people with the desired skills and are able to meet their client demands. The only problem arises in mismatch of expectations which might lead to conflicts in the relationship.

"Any relationship is balanced around expectations, to be managed by the stakeholders in both sides of the business. Areas of conflict arise when there is lack of clarity on the manpower requirements, expectations unmatched and seriousness to hire," states Sampath Shetty, Vice-President, Permanent Staffing Business Unit, TeamLease Services. He reminds that there would be times that growth generates urgent hiring peaks, or a specialised position is needed. In such a scenario, the recruiters who delivers a cost-effective role in ensuring the hiring goals of the company, is the one partnering in the growth and success for the client organisation.

The relationship between the search firm and the client organisation often turns into a long-lasting partnership. Bhardwaj feels that this partnership can be a positive and successful one if the search firm remains neutral yet gingerly advocates for the client, and in several cases to the client, maintaining a professional reputation, not being known to be 'body-bagging', balancing the needs of the candidates with the priorities of the client. "These are just a few things which go a long way in crafting successful relationships and are most commonly ignored by search firms," says Bhardwaj.

It is a known fact that the best candidates are 'passive job seekers', who do not actively go job hunting and have full-time jobs. The success of any organisation depends on one key resource-the right people. Search companies impact the business of their clients by finding the best talent to work for the company.