Speaking to TechGraph, Vikram Ahuja, MD ANSR and Co-founder & CEO of Talent500 spoke about how the company is staying up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in global workforce management and talent acquisition and ensuring its clients get cutting-edge hiring solutions.
Read the complete interview:
TechGraph: How does Talent500 help companies build and manage global teams?
Vikram Ahuja: Talent500 strives to empower companies by providing an all-in-one platform that serves as the operating system for global work, providing them with a comprehensive platform to build and manage global teams effortlessly.
Through our proprietary curated network of 1.5M+ global professionals, we enable access to a diverse pool of top talent worldwide. Our integrations with over 100 talent sources ensure companies can find the right professionals, contingent or full-time, recent graduates, or other specific cohorts.
Our advanced AI engine utilizes multiple data parameters to automatically filter and identify the best-fit candidates for our client’s open positions. This streamlines the recruitment process, increasing recruiter productivity and saving valuable time and resources.
We also offer end-to-end recruiting automation. From talent sourcing to workflow management, offer management, and candidate engagement, our proprietary tool provides a one-stop solution, allowing companies to focus on their core business while we handle the entire recruitment lifecycle.
And when it comes to managing the multinational workforce, with our suite of global payroll, compliance, and employer-of-record solutions, we ensure seamless onboarding of talent from anywhere in the world. We handle global employment complexities, freeing up companies’ time and resources to concentrate on their strategic growth objectives.
TechGraph: What are some of the challenges that arise when working with teams across different time zones and cultures, and how do you address those challenges?
Vikram Ahuja: Building trust and team cohesion in dispersed teams require dedicated effort. We focus on team-building activities to foster trust, promote open communication, and develop a shared team culture.
Managing real-time collaboration across dispersed teams can be complex. We encourage asynchronous communication within teams and utilize collaboration and project management tools to schedule periodic updates, ensuring alignment among stakeholders.
Maintaining healthy levels of engagement and motivation without regular in-person interactions is demanding. As part of our efforts to make sure our employees feel valued, connected, and supported in both their professional and personal lives, we have prioritized rewards & recognition programs, employee spotlights, and location/region-specific perks and benefits.
Ensuring high productivity and output from distributed teams is critical. We provide clear performance expectations, establish measurable goals, and utilize performance-tracking tools to monitor progress and provide timely feedback.
And lastly, navigating diverse cultural norms, values, and behaviors requires deep empathy. We encourage cross-cultural training and resources to enhance understanding and effective collaboration, reducing misalignment, clashes, and misunderstandings, right at the onboarding stage.
By addressing these challenges head-on, we enable organizations to leverage global teams while fostering a cohesive, engaged, and culturally sensitive work environment.
TechGraph: What are some of the key factors Talent500 considers when helping companies hire the ideal talent? How do you ensure that candidates have the right skills, but also the right fit for company culture?
Vikram Ahuja: At Talent500, we offer premium candidate profiles that are curated and rigorously vetted across several criteria. We have a multi-pronged, holistic approach that considers both skills and cultural fit when helping companies hire the right talent.
Talent network and pre-screening:
We maintain (and consistently build) a curated talent network of 1.5M+ global professionals, allowing us to access diverse and pre-screened talent. This network includes candidates with varying backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets, increasing the chances of finding the right fit for each company. Our proprietary AI engine filters candidates based on 100+ data parameters, streamlining the screening process and ensuring that only the most qualified and suitable candidates are presented to companies for further evaluation.
Comprehensive evaluation with skills assessment:
We conduct thorough skills assessments to evaluate candidates’ technical proficiency and expertise. We employ a multi-level assessment approach that includes integration with 3rd party assessments and our interview-as-a-service offering to conduct in-depth technical interviews tailored to specific roles. This ensures a comprehensive evaluation of candidates’ skills and capabilities.
Cultural-fit assessments for company values alignment:
We recognize the importance of cultural fit and understand that shared values contribute to long-term success, especially in today’s global context. We collaborate with companies to identify and define their unique culture, enabling us to evaluate candidates’ alignment with those values.
Collaborative partnership with our clients:
Our goal is to establish a strong partnership with companies, gaining an in-depth understanding of their organizational culture, values, and specific talent requirements. Our recruiting managers align search criteria and assessment methods to identify candidates who match skill requirements and cultural fit. And maintaining an open feedback loop with our clients helps us continually refine our selection process based on their input.
TechGraph: Can you share an example of a successful partnership between Talent500 and a client company? What were the partnership goals, and how did Talent500 help the client achieve those goals?
Vikram Ahuja: One of our favorite success stories revolves around our partnership with a well-known Canadian athleisure brand.
The company wanted to establish a Bengaluru-based GCC (global capability center) to power all technology aspects of its retail chain. Additionally, they wanted to replicate the diverse and inclusive culture of their Canada headquarters, building a woman-first organization focused on holistic wellness.
As part of our solution, we first created a distinct employee value proposition tailored to women in tech in Bengaluru, prioritizing women-first employee benefits. We used stories and testimonials from current employees to highlight that flexibility, diversity, and inclusion were integral to the company’s culture.
Next, we leveraged multi-channel sourcing and AI-powered profile screening to build the ideal talent pipeline. Using our network of 1 million+ global tech professionals and 200+ job boards, we shortlisted profiles with 80% accuracy.
TechGraph: How does Talent500 stay updated on the latest trends and best practices in global workforce management and talent acquisition? What steps do you take to ensure that your clients always receive the most current and effective solutions?
Vikram Ahuja: As an AI-driven company, we strive for data-first thinking. This means that our Talent Acquisition and Growth teams are always looking for the latest, insightful data points, and conducting research to keep us abreast of the trends. We conduct annual surveys of our ever-increasing talent pool to understand the pulse of the market and emerging trends.
In 2022, our recruitment survey received input from 10,000+ candidates from across the world. This gave us meaningful insights into the latest trends and best practices in global workforce management and talent acquisition. The findings from this survey helped us curate the most effective solutions for our clients. They also act as a ready reckoner for our clients to build fail-proof/market-proof business strategies.
Talent500 also finds the best-fit candidates for our global clients, and that means knowing who those candidates are, what they like, where they work, what motivates them, what interests them, etc. For every company we hire, we rely on insights from recruitment platforms like LinkedIn and Naukri.com. Recently, because of this relentless usage of the LinkedIn Talent Insights platform, we were awarded the LinkedIn Talent Awards 2022 in the category of Talent Insights Pioneer.
TechGraph: How do you ensure companies maintain a diverse and inclusive workforce when building global teams?
Vikram Ahuja: At Talent500, we understand that building and supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce requires a structured, multifaceted approach.
Process-based initiatives
Our talent pool comprises 1M+ highly skilled professionals from different parts of the world, sourced from over 200 job boards, intentionally including platforms that prioritize underrepresented groups and diverse candidates.
Our AI-powered fitment engine ensures that candidate screening is 100% objective and bias-free, using over 150 parameters to find the right candidate in terms of skill, experience, and culture fit.
People-based initiatives
We regularly audit every step of our recruitment process, ensuring that job descriptions use neutral language, and recruiters use blind resumes wherever possible.
We implement structured and standardized technical assessments and interview procedures when hiring our clients to ensure unconscious bias elimination.
Diversity training is an integral part of onboarding for our hiring managers and recruiters, where we focus on unconscious bias awareness, inclusive hiring practices, and the importance of diversity and inclusion.