What makes Peopleone Consulting India's fastest-growing full-spectrum HR services firm? Ajit Isaac, the company's founder CEO, explains how

Bangalore: The founder CEO of Peopleone Consulting, Ajit Isaac, 36, is a gold medallist in his post-graduate programme at Madras School of Social Work. He has also completed a leadership programme from the Leeds University on a Chevening scholarship.

As a business head, Isaac is responsible for making Peopleone Consulting a total human resource (HR) solutions company. Founded in 2000 with equity investment from JP Morgan Partners, Peopleone Consulting is one of India's fastest-growing full-spectrum HR services company.

Silent on the company financials, Isaac says his company has grown at an average of 100 per cent every year of its operations. Started as a pure recruitment company, Peopleone Consulting is today an integrated HR services outfit. The company ranks second in the staffing services industry. Excerpts from an interview with him:

What is the trend you see in the HR sector in India?
India is one of the few countries where employment is showing an upswing with organisations outsourcing their operations from here. Hence it is possible that we will find a larger number of international firms setting up operations here. There are three types of players in the market. The first is a firm having international affiliation and generally working at executive search. The second is an Indian firm with a national presence. The third is usually a single-city operator or working in a niche area. The total industry revenue is estimated to be between Rs 400 and Rs 500 crore.

Are placement agencies graduating to staffing companies?
Staffing companies are those that carry people on its rolls and forward them as associates or deputees to work in client organisations. Placement agencies usually work on middle-to-junior level positions and earn a one-time fitment fee for placements done at client organisations. Some placement companies are looking at converting themselves into staffing organisations. The key is to build a backend that is capable of transaction processing as well as maintaining a clean record on necessary compliances.

What kind of assignments do you offer?
Peopleone Consulting today is one of the leading recruiters in India and we have the distinction of successfully completing resourcing assignments across hierarchies and all functions. We have recruited more than 2,000 people last year for the BPO [business process outsourcing] business in India and added more than 2,000 numbers to our staffing services division. We have completed about 30 senior search assignments, including some international positions.

Which are the corporates that use staffing companies' services?
Corporates from diverse industries bring into play the staffing companies to assist them in HR procurement function. Companies use staffing professionals in order to find premium candidates in a relatively short period of time. The present trend is that companies in IT, IT-enabled services, fast-moving consumer goods, manufacturing, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors look at staffing firms as their vital resource for their HR requirements. Most of the jobs filled in through the staffing firms are for a period between four and 10 months.

How do you tackle the loyalty issue? The loyalty of the deputees will be to your company, and not to your client.
We believe in people development and employee satisfaction. Loyalty and business ethics are the fundamental elements of our conduct, whether at employee level or at client, or at candidate level. The organisation takes care of its employees and they in turn trust and rely completely on the company's positive principles.

How does Peopleone Consulting offer career growth to the people placed by the company?
A dedicated set of professionals is constantly engaged in each specific verticals, delivering value-added solutions both the clients and candidates. Peopleone Consulting aspires in offering career growth to its candidates by providing them opportunities to leverage their potential and assisting them in acquiring better positions at well-known companies.