To make it in India, you must understand India

One of India’s most popular HR leaders describes himself as “a man from coal mines”, thoroughly grounded and raised in conservative traditional Indian values. Perhaps that’s the reason why Swaminathan Subramanian, Chief People Officer at Reliance Capital, has always stayed away from bluster and believed in maintaining austere HR budgets. But for all his gentle talk and humble persona, Subramanian’s CV is something he can really boast about. A gold medalist in engineering, this HR head has played a key role in supporting the establishment and turnaround of organisations across multiple continents.

Subramanian believes that one of the reasons for his success is his upbringing. “I come from a conservative South Indian family, and believe in keeping things simple. I am a perpetual student, and have never brought a bag of tricks to any job because every company has its own DNA and culture. What works for one might not work for another. I don’t believe you can replicate the success of one company.” he says animatedly.

Subramanian loves to take on new challenges. “Proximity to decision makers is very important. I worked in Dubai, London, Taiwan as well as Indonesia, and have adapted culturally to all these places. But working away from the headquarters (HQ) of these companies had its constraints. There is always going to be transmission loss both ways when you are not based in the same country as the HQ.” This made him resolute to come back to India and work at the epicenter of decision making. He says, “Ironically, I had learnt more about overseas markets and workforce than I did in my own country, and working at Fullerton India [an NBFC that provides loans to rural customers and SMEs] helped me understand the talent and challenges at the hinterlands. There is India, and there is Bharat.”

“If you want to be an HR head in India, then you should know the intricate nuances of the country and states. You cannot apply a boiler-plate global approach.” Understandably, his advice revolves around the importance of giving deserved value and attention to India, particularly for returning Indians: 

Spend adequate time to study India, state by state

“You need to know India, our income tax laws, market practices, talent landscape, cultural nuances and pitfalls. There is no need to engage in esoteric discussions around performance management models and bell curves for example. End of the day, it’s simple: it’s about how much business revenue is, and how much of it are shared with employees and at what cost. It is a business solution, not a text book functional debate,” he explains. “Those are the skills and experiences that hold me in good stead at a marquee Indian company like Reliance.”

Believe in Indian companies

Subramanian was an early believer in the premise that Indian companies are best positioned to contribute to nation building than foreign companies. Homegrown companies such as Reliance Capital are far more entrepreneurial than any other foreign company in India.

“It has required vision from the beginning [for Indian companies] to be the size, scale and stature that they are today. They do not lack what their western counterparts have access to today. Long ago, they didn’t have access to talent, but that has changed significantly over the last two decades”

Tap into the huge resource of Indian professionals returning from abroad

When questioned about the shortage of leadership talent, Subramanian comes out with guns blazing.

“There are huge numbers of returning Indians, who are realizing they are more impactful in their country of origin. The attractiveness of India has increased. Pay levels are almost similar to those of other markets at least at CXO levels. The scale and complexity of roles in India is bigger than being in a single city in developed economies. Even MNCs bring back globally seasoned professionals to handle India, after having demonstrated their caliber in less complex markets.”

For more insights from Subramanian, see the full article here.