A study of recruitment and retention strategies of Swedish firms in India

Abstract

With the expansion of many national firms and entry of a number of international firms in India, the demand for local talent has increased tremendously. International firms need to have policies and processes for attracting and retaining the right talent in a highly competitive market, that are adapted to the local employment market conditions. As India is a vast and diverse country divided into different regions, with different sub-cultures, the complexity of the Human Resource Management increases. The presence of Swedish firms in India has been continuously growing with more than 100 Swedish firms doing business in India today. The exports of Swedish firms to India have increased by 42% in the past six months. Sweden is one of the top ten investors in India and is heavily integrated in the India's business milieu with firms like Ericsson, Volvo, IKEA and ABB. Our paper will focus on the HR practices, specifically related to the recruitment and retention strategies, of established Swedish firms in India as well as new Swedish entrants. This paper will focus on how Swedish firms attract talent in India, what are the processes and policies for retaining talent, and how they can improve their recruitment processes. We are also interested in examining how Swedish firms overcome cultural differences, i.e. attitudes and mental models, and facilitate a transition to a culture that works across both countries. Keywords: HR practices, recruitment, selection, retention, Swedish firms, India, ABB, Caran Design India, Syntensia.