The marketplace for middle and senior management hiring has not been efficient, it lacked the transparency of information for the recruiter and the candidate, explains Uday Sodhi, CEO, HeadHonchos.com

From your experience, what challenges are companies facing in hiring middle and senior management today?

Hiring in India is a challenge across functions and levels. However, while hiring for middle and senior management, the stakes for the organization and the individual are far higher.
While the internal pipeline of talent is an important source for middle and senior management requirements, lateral hiring becomes necessary due to lack of internal expertise or the need for specialized skills or experience. Some of the key challenges that companies face in their search for this talent are around identifying the most appropriate channel to reach out to potential candidates, sourcing relevant candidates from a large pool of unfiltered profiles and due diligence on selected candidates. That is because the focus at these levels tends to be on the caliber of profiles rather than sheer numbers.
Finally, information about senior roles and candidates is typically more sensitive, so discretion and confidentiality are important.

Why are companies struggling so much specifically with middle and senior level hiring?

The marketplace for middle and senior level hiring has not been efficient. On the one hand, candidates do not have access to information about opportunities across the board. On the other hand, companies do not find job sites cost-effective or efficient for senior hiring as there is no barrier to application so they do not usually post senior jobs online. In turn, mid and senior management professionals do not come online for their job search and so the cycle continues. In fact, research that we conducted showed that 84% of respondents believed that the internet was not fulfilling the needs of senior hiring and catered only to junior professionals and jobs.
The fact that there is not enough visibility for opportunities and no transparent mechanism for both parties to interact have combined and led to inefficiencies in mid- and senior hiring.

How can online platforms help in middle or senior level recruitment?

Online platforms can provide this transparency, where companies can post their openings for middle and senior management hiring and candidates can also post their profiles. Add to this a strong focus on updated, complete and authentic information about candidates, and we may have a paradigm shift in the way that senior hiring is done in India.
A confidential and secure platform can be a powerful mechanism for potential employers and recruiters to connect with the right talent.

What is the acceptance from online platforms both in terms of candidates and companies?

From the candidate perspective, this channel creates an opportunity for jobseekers to seek better career options. In India, there is a cultural stigma; a professional who is not happy with his or her job, does not have a forum to look for opportunities or actually go and seek advice and help. Having access to an online portal where jobs at that level are available, makes it easier for professionals to take charge of their career without having to talk about their willingness to change.
On the employer side, an online platform gives a larger spread of candidates and carries the opening across a wide spectrum of professionals that are seeking a change. It is still early days for this channel but I think it has all the ingredients for success and we have already started seeing traction on our portal with more than 400 companies posting current openings.

How are recruitment portals different from professional networking sites when hiring middle and senior professionals?

All these different channels will co-exist. All of these channels bring transparency to hiring, so they are all aligned to helping the employer and candidate engage. While one can argue the pros and cons, one difference with professional networking sites is that people registered on these are not necessarily looking for a job and hence the employer/recruiter needs to find out if the person is at all open to considering a career shift. Websites that are specifically designed for recruitment, invest in filtering and assessing profiles. Companies know that they will reach candidates who are serious about change and this is more efficient for companies that are looking to hire.