Struggling Startup: How Can We Boost Our Recruitment Success in Bangalore?

Dear all, We are a startup recruitment firm based in Bangalore and are really struggling to get things moving in the right direction. We have a very small staff right now—about 3 employees in total: 2 recruiters and 1 freelance business development executive. We are at the end of 6 months of our company and have only had 3-5 closings so far, which I think is very bad and negative.

Seeking Expert Advice

Any tips from the experts on what could be done right here? I also need contact details (official email IDs/contact numbers) of HR professionals of companies in Bangalore for our business development. Can anyone help with this or suggest where it may be available?

Regards,
Priyanka Sathish

Challenges in Building a Recruitment Business in India

This is a question that is asked almost every week here on CiteHR. I suspect that it is the case in India, as it is in most parts of the world. There are no such lists.

In the "old days," people got the phone book out and worked out which organizations might be useful and then called. Nowadays, it is not so easy. There are privacy considerations. People—especially HR Managers—do not want their emails and phone numbers published anywhere. They are busy people, with work to do. They do not want to be bugged either by recruiters or job seekers—especially when there are established channels to work through.

I would suggest that you and your business development manager are going to have to use whatever resources you can find via the internet to identify the companies you would like to build a relationship with. Then you will need to invest in a good pair of shoes, some marketing collateral, and then get out and sell your services.

Your only problem, as I see it, is that you are only one of hundreds, if not thousands, of "startup recruitment firms" in India. Every man and his dog seems to be starting a business in this field.

I wish you luck; you are going to need it.

Regards,

Let me first congratulate you on being an entrepreneur. Please take note of the following:

1. Please don't stick only to the IT sector (I am assuming that you are into IT recruitments). Take up the non-IT sector as well. There is huge potential. In the non-IT sector, you will receive money faster compared to the IT sector. Life insurance companies need a huge number of sales managers. The companies are really struggling to recruit them as this is a tough field, and the sales managers leave their jobs very frequently. Think about it. It gives you good remuneration.

2. I assume that you have some job portal logins (Naukri/Monster, etc.). Go through the job postings of various companies. In that, you would find the details of the admin/HR of those companies. Collect them. They can be very useful to you.

3. Select a couple of MBA students (maybe in the 3rd semester). Tell them you have an assignment for them and send them into the field to collect data about the companies and the contact details. You will have the data, and the students will have the exposure. You will have to take care of their travel expenditure. Don't pay any stipend/remuneration until and unless you are financially stable.

4. In the initial stages, try to have as many clients as possible. Don't think of big clients/small clients. Pick up everything that comes your way. Please don't limit yourself to only one sector. First, you need stability. Remember, all the so-called big companies have just started as small companies like yours.

Try these simple ones if they make some sense to you. All the best. Please do share your success story with the forum members. In case you need any further assistance, you can get back to me.

Regards,
Alex

Hi Alex, I have started my own boutique recruitment firm in Delhi. We mainly focus on IT recruitments. We have two IT clients in our database now, and one of the clients is not very active. I saw your responses to the people who have posted their queries on how to run a recruitment firm successfully. I really liked your suggestions, and I am hopeful that you will guide me as well.

Effective Business Development Strategies

Can you suggest some ways I can do effective business development for my consultancy firm? Currently, I am not in a position to give any remuneration to anyone. However, I have posted ads targeting freelance business development managers but with not much luck.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Thanks, Simon

Please try to go through the ideas I have shared with Ms. Priyanka Sathish. It will definitely help you.

1. Remember always to develop your own database of companies and HRs. It will not happen overnight. As suggested earlier, rope in a couple of MBA students with the idea of an assignment. They will give you the necessary details.

2. Try to find out the IT companies association in Delhi. You can get good data.

3. Till the time you are successful, please concentrate on other sectors/verticals so that you can sustain in the market.

4. Please don't concentrate only on recruitments. Develop your organization as an HR solution provider.

On-Campus Recruitment Strategy

I will share one simple idea. If you can implement it properly, this will definitely fetch you good money: Try on-campus recruitment.

Project yourself as an intermediate firm linking both the corporate and the engineering colleges for campus drives. Prepare a good mail and forward it to all the engineering colleges and the corporate companies, big or small—it doesn't matter. The corporates might or might not pay you, but you can charge the colleges on a per campus drive basis or per selection basis. Trust me, colleges need people who can fix some appointments for their students so that they can boast about themselves.

By doing so, you are actually developing your corporate connections and the colleges as well. If you can have a couple of companies with you, this is a recurring business every year. It has very good money potential too. You can have a good database of the freshers from various colleges, which will be of great value to you.

Find out the campus drive season and act quickly. This is again IT recruitment only. This work doesn't require any business development executives or recruiters. You can do it on your own sitting in the office/home. Just some smart work from you. But please prepare a very good mail.

Once you implement this, I will share how to improve your business further with existing clientele (corporates and colleges).

Try this out. In case you need a few more ideas, you can always get back to me.

All the Best!

Regards,
Alex

Thanks so much, Alex, for your valuable suggestions. I will surely implement them. Can I have your Skype ID to stay connected if it is okay with you?

Regards, Simon