Reliance Retail hunt for talent has headhunters in a tizzy  ( April '19,2006, HBL)

The tremendous talent shortage in the retail sector has forced retail giants who are taking their first step in the country to look towards the Gulf to headhunt for talent. According to market sources, the country's biggest and newest entrant, Reliance Retail, has asked its HR team to camp in Dubai and do a sort of `gate interviews' of sales, marketing, purchase, merchandising staff of huge hypermarkets such as Carrefour, Lulu and Lifestyle stores. Says one Mumbai-based headhunter, "There are no systems and processes in place at Reliance and perhaps the company is hoping that these professionals from the Gulf will be able to lay down the initial systems."

Mr Sudhakar Balakrishnan, Director and COO, Adecco Peopleone Consulting, says that it is natural for any retail giant to look for talent from West Asia, "These are ready-for-camera guys. But once the first- and second-rung guys are done, they will have to turn to India for numbers."

On whether Indians living in the Gulf will be willing to return, Mr Balakrishnan says that salaries in India are going up and at the same time, the cost of living there has gone up. "Rents have gone up by 60-80 per cent there in the last two years," he said.

Mr Kris Lakshmikanth, Managing Director, The Headhunters India, says the Gulf has been the hub for organised retailing and for Indian retailers, this talent is cheaper than Europe or the US.

One of the senior level executives who has been headhunted by Reliance, says that it's not just the Gulf; Reliance in its thirst for talent would be hunting in all markets for potential talent. Sources say that the group is in talks too with a former top Wal Mart head honcho to head the retail venture.

No retailer has attempted anything like what Reliance is trying to do, says this source. Getting into multiple formats from malls and hypermarkets to convenience stores across over 800 towns, Reliance's retail rollout will need to be fine tuned along the way. The retail operations, says sources, will be headquartered across three cities: Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore

The company is in recruitment mode at the moment and has roped in several top guns from the retailing world. As one of them quipped, "They're all 800 pound gorillas whom Reliance is recruiting now, so a structure where people don't step on each other's toes will have to be worked out."

Reliance's recruitment juggernaut is having its fallout on other retail chains. As one HR consultant pointed out, Reliance, with not much of a track record in retailing, has nothing else to offer now but big bucks. "But, it will be suicidal for other retailers to try and match Reliance; they're doing a greenfield project and they have the money," he says. He points out that retail chains such as RPG and Metro have already effected selective salary hikes ranging from 40-60 per cent. "Retail has been a low-paying industry and salary hikes will have a spiralling effect on their costs," says this HR consultant.

RPG's Radhakrishnan to join: The Reliance recruitment bandwagon for its retail venture rolls on. The latest experienced retailing hand likely to join Reliance soon is Mr K. Radhakrishnan, Vice-President (Merchandising), Spencer's Retail of the RPG group, and part of the original team that put FoodWorld operations in place. He has been roped in as CEO of Reliance's hypermarket vertical. The group has plans to set up hundreds of hypermarkets around the country and he will be responsible for its rollout.

Mr Radhakrishnan, who had quit the RPG group after an over-seven-year stint, a couple of months ago, was to have spearheaded the retail business of diamond trading company Dimexon. However, he will now be a Reliance hand.