Brand names do not attract employees anymore; even headhunters are looking at new establishments

Times are changing. There was a time when job seekers used to think twice before joining a new venture and run from pillar to post to get a job in a well-established brand.

But now, the mindset is changing slowly. Even the headhunters, the HR, are giving up positions at companies like PepsiCo, Reliance Industries, Philips, Cipla, Dell, Accenture, Adobe, Vodafone and Vedanta Group to join the new-age ones.

One of the reasons that the HR heads are shifting loyalties can be that they want more recognition and motivation at work.

According to industry experts, HR heads are looking for more challenging roles or bigger brands. While for others, it was their inability to adapt to the organisational culture.

"Often HR heads think they can make drastic changes very early on in the new company but that is not possible. They do not realise that company culture was built over decades by the promoter family and they will have to work with their coterie and not topple them," said a research firm executive.

But, as per an HR head, who recently quit a prominent business group, revealed companies need the best HR leaders to help them navigate through today's complex talent scenario but they aren't always receptive to changes.

"While their sales pitch is great, companies are unwilling to really go along with professional advice. Or old coteries make professional HR a strain. Worst, HR heads get blamed as an easy scapegoat. With more opportunities, they cut their losses rather than waste their time," the HR head added.

A recent article published in the Harvard Business Review had Ram Charan, Dominic Barton and Dennis Carey explaining the demand in quality HR talent - those moving out and companies eager to get them onboard.

In the last few months alone, there have been exits galore - many of them high-profile. In July, Prabir Jha, CHRO of Reliance Industries quit – it was recently reported that he is set to join Cipla soon - while earlier this month, Vedanta Group HR head Rajesh Padmanabhan put in his papers.

Another headhunter said that the next stage would be a generational shift. “After all these senior seasoned HR leaders, there is a generational shift that is bound to happen," the head added.

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