FES Partners Teams Up with India’s ASPPL

Welcome to this special interview, where we are delighted to introduce our partnership between FES Partners and India-based ASPPL – Associated Search Professionals Pvt Ltd. which is also an associated partner with Lense &Lumen, an association of 14 independent Executive Search companies globally.

Today, our founding partner Thaddaeus Mueller had the pleasure of speaking with V Balasubramanian, widely known in the industry circles as ‘Bala’, an esteemed executive search professional based in Bangalore, India. With extensive expertise in talent acquisition and leadership recruitment – also for German companies – Bala has been instrumental in helping businesses find and retain top talent across diverse industries.

As we launch this exciting cooperation, we look forward to exploring how this collaboration will enhance our shared mission of supporting growth, innovation, and success in Greater China, India and the rest of Asia.

Dear Bala, just like China, India is known for its vast talent pool. How do you differentiate yourself in identifying and recruiting top-tier managers for industrial companies, especially those with specific technical skills that German clients typically seek?

We approach each mandate from the roots without any bias. It starts with logical reasoning/analysis, getting into the depth of the client and the requirements and thereby defining our strategy and approach followed by steady execution!

We don’t just jump into searches without a proper orientation about the client and the Mandate.

Especially when we work for German clients, we are aware of the German values such as fairness, loyalty, professionalism and reliability – those should be reciprocated, and we keep that on top.

When it comes to execution, we know Germans are perfectionists and we ensure doing the “precision search” as per their skill requirements.

In recent years, the demand for cross-border talent has increased – not least because India has become a hotbed for international investments. How do you ensure that the candidates you present to international companies, do not only have the right technical skills but also the cultural adaptability and communication skills to thrive in an international organization?

In 1992, India began to liberalize its economy and transition to globalization through a series of economic reforms. Due to increased economic activity and globalisation, there are many MNCs operating in India and many Indian companies are operating overseas. Due to which cross border talent requirements is increased and its growing YOY.

In our screening and interview process, we scrutinize candidates based on Technical and Cultural aspects.

Technical skill assessments are done mostly based on the Job Descriptions. Even if the incumbent is technically very sound, still there will be gaps between the employer and the candidate in terms of reporting, response, approach, respect and prioritization. This gap dimensions may vary as per the geography and approach, here is an example:

Say a European executive has to report to an Asian boss, the measurement scale in terms of their quick adaptability and reporting shall vary compared to the other way round.

Cultural aspects such as attitude, etiquette, and respect for other cultures and basic mannerisms are fundamentals and should not be compromised; it shall be common for all cross-border recruitments.

What trends have you observed in the leadership qualities required for India’s manufacturing and industrial sectors?

First and foremost is the integrity and honesty, followed by other qualities like decision making, ownership, accountability, agility, people management, collaboration. Today’s Leaders need to be more influential then dominating.

Though there are many qualities required for the leader, not all are critical when it comes to employers’ expectations and it shall vary as per the employer profile and the board.

In India, leadership requirements can be categorised as transformation leaders and execution leaders: Transformation leaders are mostly visionaries and change management professionals, on the flip side: Execution leaders are Go-getters

For German industrial companies looking to set up or expand operations in India, what common challenges do they face in sourcing the right leadership talent, and how does ASPPL mitigate these risks?

German industrial companies always look for stable and reliable candidates from India with high technical competencies and at reasonable compensation.

While referring candidates, ASPPL does preliminary background checks about the candidate and direct interviews.

Preliminary background checks cover career track record, stability and performance of the candidates in the present/past employments.

Also, once client selects the candidate, ASPPL will carry over a detailed background verifications, by formally talking to the previous employers, industry stakeholders, customers / suppliers and internal – external peer groups and thereby making a detailed report about the specific candidate.

And something personal: Bala, you’ve been in recruiting almost throughout your whole career. What do you do when you’re not scouting for the best talents?

When I don’t travel (which I enjoy tremendously), I do meditation and watch movies to balance work pressure. And at times, you’ll find me playing table tennis.