Managing Talent in India When Company Expands Overseas

The role of the corporate center in terms of location and talent management has assumed importance for Indian companies expanding overseas. Navneet Vasishth, partner and director of Boston Consulting Group, dwells on the issue in the October article “Managing HQ & Local Relationships” in the Business Standard.  

According to the article, “firms traditionally adopted one of two approaches, exporting senior talent from India or hiring senior talent locally for international locations.” With the scale of international operations increasing, this strategy no longer suffices to drive growth.  

The corporate centre increasingly manages a vast number of locations, target markets, product variations, and partners. Hence, companies must lay stress on talent and experience rather than on origins. Vasishth advises companies mulling new structures for corporate centers of two options:  

1. Develop global platforms. Organization will need to answer: “What global platforms do they need for future success and which of these need to be located outside India?”

2. Acquire talent for top leadership and their physical location. Talent and experience rather than origins should become the defining criteria for corporate leaders. This will necessitate that Indian companies become inclusive as they target leadership.

For more advice, read the full article on the Business Standard website.