‘Looking to have a talent pool on bench to be outsourced to clients’, says Randstad India CEO

Human Resource firm Randstad India is looking to expand its services by outsourcing talented employees to companies. In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Paul Dupuis, CEO, Randstad India spoke about the company’s strategy and way forward.

Here are edited excerpts:

Q. You recently released an employer brand research that adjudged the best companies in India. Are there any differences between India and other markets in terms of factors that lead individuals to join/leave an organisation?

A. Our study has shown IT/ITeS as an industry that has been dominant as an employer. They are followed by automotive firms and retail/FMCG companies. We not only looked at the attractiveness of the brand, but also awareness about it.

In India, the top five reasons why individuals join companies include salary and employee benefits followed by work-life balance, job security, career progression and strong management. Unlike other markets, salary is the number one priority in the country.

It was surprising to find job security as a reason. Among all markets, career progression took a spot among the top 5 reasons. However, we found that Indian employees also want strong leaders who they can trust and follow.

Q. Among newer trends emerging in the market, how big is gig economy in India?

A. While the concept of gig economy has started off in India, the key factor to watch out for is whether it is accepted by companies that are hiring. But I believe that a fluid workforce is good for the market and adds to diversity.

Q. From a business prospective, how big is it for Randstad India?

A. We are a big player on the temp staffing space and have the Randstad Technologies business which is seeing rapid growth.

We are looking at the idea of a bench where we can have a pool of talent that can be loaned off like a gig, but we would take the risk and outsource them to clients.

Q. Are acquisitions on the cards?

A. We have spent a lot of money on acquisitions, big ones as well as some smaller ones. But, we believe that it is time to leverage acquisitions that we made.

Organic growth is the key mission in India, but we are always watching the market. Any acquisition needs to add value to the existing business. But we are not interested in small acquisitions.

Overall, we have been performing well. We had a good year last year and posted profits for the first time in India last year.

Q. Are there any compliance issues in the HR space in India?

A. We are winning businesses just because of compliance-related concerns. We walk away from a lot of business if there is even a hint of non-compliance.

In the staffing world, the number of transfers that we have seen from other firms to Randstad is huge. This is primarily due to compliance issues.

Q. Will you be entering the blue-collared workers space providing services to manufacturing firms in the future?

A. We have taken a strategic decision to stay away from blue collared staffing for manufacturing from now. There are not just compliance issues but also safety issues, adequate compensation and provident fund (PF). In the manufacturing environment, some companies don’t honour this. But it is an interesting opportunity.moneycontrol