Naresh Jhangiani admits that returning Indians are worth hiring at a premium. “For a Project Manager with about 9-10 years of experience—that includes an extended onsite stint in a Fortune 500 company—we are willing to add a year of experience while finalizing the compensation structure.” As the Assistant Vice President (Human Resources) of Satyam Computer Services, Jhangiani feels that the value-add such an employee brings can be very critical to the success of a business relationship in the software services industry. Jhangiani recollects the case of a recent successful hire of a very senior professional for heading one of their divisions. The recruit has paid his value many times over in the new businesses he developed within a client site. And while Satyam was just one among the companies to offer the ‘returning Indian’—and certainly not the most competitive—salary, what clinched the decision was the HR intervention.

Himself a professional who returned to India earlier this year after a long stint in Europe, Jhangiani feels that a majority of Indians abroad haven’t been able to leverage their business knowledge and technical expertise to break the glass ceiling. So even though most of the preliminary interviews were completed while in the US, Satyam invited the gentleman to visit the Hyderabad campus, firsthand understand the work culture, and focus on the critical nature of the role concerned, its potential and the possible impact of the contribution to Satyam’s growth.

Vivek Tripathi, HR Manager of Adobe India, is bullish about the contribution of returned Indians. Adobe has been shipping products from India—conceived, designed and developed at its India center. The center started with three people in 1997—today, it staffs over 10 percent of Adobe’s worldwide engineering resources.

While offshoring has become a reality, and large Indian and MNC companies are consolidating their delivery centers, is this above example an indication of the experience of all HR Managers? Is this case just valid for top management personnel or restricted to those in technical management path? Are the doors opening for all the other returning Indian software professionals?

Expectations Realistic?
Some of the aspiring “returnees” expectations and experiences:

“I would like to get an offer while still in the U.S.”

“Applying through corporate employment websites returns only a faceless automated response.”

“Going to job fairs involves standing in queues and handing over resume to the person behind the desk who doesn’t respond with more than “we will get back to you later.”

“I am coming to India on a two-week trip and would be visiting 3 cities-am open to meeting some corporate members to explore job opportunities.”

On the other hand, speaking to returning Indians have fetched some unanimous responses about the HR machinations:

“There are numerous jobs advertised on the jobsites and the newspapers, yet somehow the interviews don’t indicate the same urgency.”

“Placement firms also do the same thing—they project a requirement as if you
are going to be called tomorrow, but for months you don’t hear from them! This gives the impression that they only wanted to get your resume for future reference. Generally speaking, India needs to mature in many aspects relating to placement, interview process and giving the candidates their due.”

“There are multiple levels of interviews—with the HR and technical teams in India, the U.S. technical team, and so on. The expectations of each of the panels are different—are they serious of about hiring?”

“During the interview, I was telling them about how I manage tasks and they were looking for more micro-management skills in my resume. They said that the developers in India are not as responsible with their assigned tasks!”

Those who successfully get into jobs are eventually heading for a culture shock.

“I end up working 10-12hours a day for 6 days a week.”

“When you realize that you will not be able to make more than 35-40 percent of what you were making in the U.S., it may disappoint the candidate, but one has to face the reality that the cost of living in India is much cheaper than what it is in the U.S.

Nevertheless, one also has to reconcile with the fact that he or she cannot afford to have international vacations when ever they wish, which was possible when in the U.S. What international lifestyle are we talking about here?”

“I will have to surrender my Green Card if I did not visit the U.S at least every 6 months. I am looking for an opportunity that would necessitate me to visit the U.S once in 6 months.”

The Hard Facts
Should returning Indians be treated any different than the local Indian domestic talent? When one left India, it was for the opportunities of a better future. Now they are returning, shouldn’t it be for the very same reasons? Tripathi of Adobe affirms, “Relocation has worked best for those candidates who have taken a clear decision to come back and live in the support environment of their family.”

The HR Head of another leading MNC company sums up his unhappiness.

Some returning expats have very high expectations that do not match the realities of Indian market. For example, compensation packages that don’t have any relevance to the Indian market place.

The returning Indians need to have clear goals. Often, they keep searching for jobs both in the country where they are located and in India, and finally opt for a job in the country where they are located.

Once an offer is made, they take time citing frivolous reasons. They have to be reasonable and realistic.

Many do have good experience, but this should reflect in their performance, for them to be treated differently. Experience without performance doesn’t help either the person or the organization.

Changing Role of the HR Manager
Attracting NRIs is about “managing expectations.” Jhangiani says that Satyam often invites the aspiring employee to visit the U.S. office during the preliminary interviews. Once the person joins in, the reporting Manager often plays the role of a “guide/mentor” —holding hands and helping in settling down professionally.

“Of course, hand holding in terms of relocation, schooling for children, searching for home, setting up the home, educating on the finer nuances of changing Indian culture, differences between overseas country and Indian culture etc., are very much required, especially for people who are returning after a long stint overseas. The HR manager has his job cut out with respect to this kind of hand holding, no doubt.”

Vivek Tripathi adds, “ The interview panel must give him the ‘big picture’ as well as the expectations from his role.” Once the person joins, Tripathi says, “the work environment and work style in software companies in India and in the U.S. are very similar, so there aren’t any reasons to treat ‘returning Indians’ any differently at the office.” Interestingly, one overwhelming positive aspect is the attrition level of “returned Indians.”

Jhangiani reveals that about 60-70% of the hires they have made in the past 4 years are still with Satyam and have grown into positions of higher influence. He thinks that the Indian experience motivates them to explore attracting persons of other nationalities too to the respective “global” development centers that the company has-across the world!
It is a Catch 22—a situation where aspiring returnees want everything in place—professionally & personally, if not socially—before they would like to take the most important step of giving up a comfortable life in the U.S. And on the other hand, the HR Managers of rapidly ramping-up Indian /MNC organizations—who have targets to meet almost on a weekly basis to hire—are unable to spend time with and sort out the concerns of a ‘potential window-shopper’—not withstanding the perceivably better talent.
And neither is willing to concede quarter!

The Chinese “Sea Turtles”
The Chinese have a phrase for their immigrants or sea turtles that were born on the shore, grew up at sea, but eventually returned to the shore again—“Hai Gui”. While the massive return of overseas-trained Chinese signifies their recognition of the development of their homeland sufficient to afford their ambitions, the previous waves of massive returns also always led to great changes in this land. The long awaited homeward bound tide has finally risen sooner and much stronger than anyone’s expectation, mainly as a result of the steadily growing and more secure Chinese economy.

Almost all returnees experience culture shock upon their return to their homeland—as much as they did when they landed in the foreign land for the first time. Returning with high anticipation and enthusiasm, many have experienced difficulties adapting to their own homeland due to their overseas experience and unrealistic expectations. In some instances, highly trained and experienced returnees have found themselves serving roles that are no better than a full-time interpreter—treated like an overseas Chinese tour guide on the boss’ annual overseas trip. It is generally expected that returnees need two to three years to fully adapt to the Chinese market and systems, and five to ten years to fully realize their professional potential.”

We see India at a similar cross road in 2004. If people wanting to return are willing to bite the bullet now, and return –prepared to be part of the boom that it is to be, willing to look at India for a career as they did when they went to the U.S. first, as a long term prospect overlooking their relocation phobia, then we are talking business. Else, this boom will go its way, and no one the wiser for it.

Achyut Menon is a management graduate from the University of Bombay 1984, and runs a search firm in India. He is a member of the Executive Recruiters Association, and can be reached at menon@optionsindia.com