Manpower is one resource which India has in abundance, but searching for the right talent becomes an issue; especially for SMEs and start-ups. There are hundreds of applications for a post but sometimes it may happen that none of the applicants is suitable. Looking into this problem, this all woman team of Beehire tries to solve this recruitment issue. To know more about the venture, YourStory.in caught up with founder, Vandana Ketkar Chatterjee:How and when did the idea of Beehire germinate?
As Skan Consultants stabilized, we realized our internal struggle to find good people, despite being in the Skills business ourselves. Startups and SME’s we realized, face tough challenges due to their small operations and lack of employer branding. The resources available to actually do a good search are also frequently unavailable. Engaging consultants is often unviable as consultants are unwilling to work with relatively unknown companies which may default on payments, and where the consultant would have to invest major efforts in employer branding.
From these challenges and extensive interaction with Startups, the idea of a service exclusively for Startups and SME’s germinated.
How is it associated with Skan Consultants?
Skan Consultants is the parent company.
Tell us something about the team at Beehire.
Beehire and for that matter Skan is an all-woman team. We have picked a cohesive team of women, with an emphasis on multi skilling abilities, good communication skills, good educational backgrounds and a mix of freshers and experienced professionals. Some of the team members work remotely with flexi hours, and others work a regular work day in a formal workplace. However, each member of the beehire and Skan teams are totally focused on delivering quality to each client, no matter how big or small the requirement. With beehire, we have tried to automate certain processes to cut costs. This is a new concept, where clients are guided to create JD’s(often a challenge) which gives better results in terms of focused candidates. The automation, we believe will result in uniform service quality across the country.
What are your expansion plans?
We already have 2 offices, one in Gurgaon and another in Bangalore. We plan to expand to Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad in the next 2 years; growing both Skan as well as beehire together in all these centres.
What is the size of the market? Who are you targeting?
While Skan is a premium service, mainly meant for large corporates; beehire is a flat fee, low cost, DIY service for startups and SME’s. Primarily we are targeting technology and knowledge startups, as well as establishments such as law firms, high end clubs etc who have small but well defined hiring requirements. We would be looking at least at 500 or so potential clients in each city targeted initially. There would be additional demand from other centres as well such as Hyderabad and Chandigarh which we have not yet factored in.What is your market differentiator?
Beehire brings to the table the following skills that our competitors do not
- A huge current database of active job seekers
- Experience in hiring pan-India
- Several media options for posting jobs and maximizing response
- Efficient media planning and the best mix of job postings optimized for each requirement
- A flexible scalable model, which can be upgraded as per business requirements
- Employer branding services
How much capital was required to start-up? Where did the initial funding come from?
Almost no initial capital was required, except for some design fees for the website and so on. Initial funding came from Skan.
What is your Revenue model?
Beehire clients are charged a flat fee for a fixed number of positions per year. In case a client needs a full service recruitment consultation for a particular position, they can use that option for just that position as well. We can also, for a fee, conduct the entire recruitment process for the client, including interviewing, negotiation, offer letters, reference checks. Employer branding activities are part of each service.
What is the future of this new development according to you?
We hope to be able to bring more control into the hands of entrepreneurs, over the quality of the people they hire. They need no longer depend only on referral candidates and make compromises as they do not have access to a larger pool of talent. This can catalyze high growth in some clients, especially in knowledge and technology based enterprises.
Where do you see Beehire five years from now?
We see beehire as a catalyst for the growth of enterprises, offering unique scalable services from low cost DIY services to premium Executive Search services. It would be my dream to see a beehire client grow into a large corporate and use the services of Skan.
Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?
When I started this business four years ago, I was told by everyone I knew, that it was impossible to start and run a business in India without compromising on my values or ethical framework. That I would be forced to resort to underhand tactics and corrupt practices to even survive. I am proud to say that whatever little we have achieved, we have done on our terms and within our value framework. That we believe is our greatest achievement.
Do check http://www.beehire.com/ for more details.
Jubin Mehta | YourStory.in
