76 special report

Illustration by Rebecca Chew

77 special report

It’s not you, it’s me

the expat-local conundrum:

Google the term ‘Expat jokes’ and a whole alternate

universe opens up. There’s enough colourful, cultural

content there to keep many of you busy reading

for the next few months.

Expats and the problems they face in a market

like India seem to belong to an alternate universe

and that’s understandable. No expat wants to

come off , sounding like a condescending foreigner

who doesn’t ‘get’ local work culture or its people.

Indian adland has seen its fair share of expats come

and go, yet there are increasing signs of multi-

culturalism at its workspace.

Is the Indian workspace a tough nut to crack?

Going by the average window period that most

expats end up spending in India, we would certainly

think so. So what inspires equal parts awe and

incomprehension about a market like India?

We spoke to a wide range of industry

professionals — Expats who have worked in this

market in the past and the present, Indian expats

who are working in other markets and Indian

expats who have returned to work in India — to

understand the various cultural dynamics at play.

Bindu Nair Maitra

78 special report

Max Hegerman is probably among the most cheerful expats you are likely to meet, in India. That’s not to say most other expats are grumpy faced professionals but Hegerman clearly brings a diff erent brand of sunny to his work day. There are usually two kinds of expats one is likely to meet in India. One would have whole heartedly embraced everything that India possibly has to off er, the other will usually seem a little stunned from their daily dealings with India and its people. Max clearly belongs to the fi rst group.

Having lived in Shanghai for a number of years before moving to India with DDB, Hegerman recently moved from being president at Tribal DDB in Mumbai to WPP owned JWT as digital head, based out of Delhi. That’s two Indian cities since he fi rst landed in the country. What advice would he give to expats looking to move to India? “Come! But come with realistic expectations and an open mind. India (and I say this to everyone) is not the easiest place to live. However, it is (by far) the most rewarding place I have ever lived and worked. Embrace the amazing, mind-blowing challenges that you will face every day — and feast on the multi-sensory overload caused by the sights, sounds, smells and food of India. Above all else, do not try to compare, classify or compartmentalize India, because it’s truly God’s country,” says Hegerman.

So what is it about this country that seems to inspire such misgivings about the Indian workspace? Hegerman believes that for most expats it’s the inability to fi nd their way through the organized chaos that India represents. He explains, “The lack of processes and/or structure for most foreigners, especially, those in process-driven occupations like advertising and design, can be downright maddening. Add to that, the lack of overall infrastructure, and life in India can be much more challenging than life back home.”

Jim James is head of international licensing at UK’s Haymarket Media and is currently based in London. He has spent close to 12 years in India and China. Spending that much time in any region as an expat gives you an insight that’s closer to the ‘local perspective’ than the expat one. And James has plenty of local perspective.

On the challenges facing expats in India, he says, “Patience, or perhaps impatience. Things take time in India and I think that a lot of expats, not just in the creative/advertising industry, struggle to adapt to how things work or accept how things work or how to work with it more to the point. A lot of expats are on a defi ned contract/time period in India and when they arrive in their new offi ce, they want things to start happening immediately. Specifi cally in the advertising industry, there are very short timelines, products are launched and re-launched simultaneously around the world, the ad schedule is global, budgets are tight and clients’ expectations are always sky high. So, if something doesn’t happen to work out just so for the expat agency head, well, maybe he loses his head, so to speak. Of the people I have known in senior positions in the Indian ad industry, they have either left early through frustration or an inability to change things, or they have been dragged back to head offi ce for — let’s face it — not getting the job done. There is one exception to that rule I can think of. But for the rest, if they had been a little less impatient or if their employers/clients had been a little more patient (understanding) then there is no reason why expats shouldn’t survive for longer and achieve more success in India. It is possible. I have done it and I have a lot of friends who are or have been successful in India. All of us were in India for more than three/four years.”

“Come! But come with realistic expectations and an open mind. India (and I say this to everyone) is not the easiest place to live. However, it is (by far) the most rewarding place I have ever lived and worked”

Max Hegerman

Digital head, JWT India “Patience, or perhaps impatience. Things take time in India and I think that a lot of expats, not just in the creative/advertising industry, struggle to adapt to how things work or accept how things work or how to work with it more to the point.”

Jim James

Head of international licensing,

Haymarket Media UK

Expat speak:Working in India

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Dominic Twyford, client director at Fitch India’s Delhi offi ce, has been in the country for the last 15 months. Twyford is not above doing a little categorization of his own. He says, “In my experience of working in Hong Kong and Singapore, expats fall into two categories- those who embrace their environment and thrive on the challenges and rewards, and those that seek the path of least resistance or an easy way of life. If you are in the former group, India is appealing due to its dynamism and diversity; if from the latter group, you are likely to prefer other countries to work in as life and living is easier.”

Twyford is of the view that if one had the mindset, it would be possible to create a very long list of negatives, but says one would have to include things like traffi c jams, bumpy roads and noisy auto rickshaws. “To thrive in India you need to leave such thoughts at the airport and embrace the whole thing. In my case India adds more to my life than it takes away. Living in India is also an eye opener; I have realized that I am far more resilient than I had appreciated,” he surmises.

He believes expats, no matter where they work, or what sector they are from, bring new experiences, new ideas and thoughts. “What is important is to apply these thoughts within the local context, ensuring that they are relevant to the subtleties of the local market,” he adds.

Graham Kelly joined as executive creative director for OgilvyOne in India, when the agency was looking to strengthen its digital off ering here. He feels his India experience has been a little diff erent from that of the average expat since he spent some time traveling in the country before coming on board. He explains, “I have enjoyed working in India. But I think for most people who come in from other markets, especially, UK, US or Europe, it’s an environment that’s very diff erent from what they are used to. In that sense, India can be quite overwhelming. There is a lot of red tape involved, and I know that can be diffi cult to deal with. If you compare that to a market like Singapore, it’s a very comfortable place for expats because India isn’t familiar in a way that a place like Singapore may be and that can be daunting. India can be a tough place to do business.”

He adds as an afterthought, “One of the things that India is known for is that things get done but not necessarily in the way that you thought. Things may get done in the last minute. The Commonwealth Games is a perfect example. While the whole world was panicking and saying ‘it won’t happen, it won’t happen,’ India did it, even if it was last minute. I can’t speak for others but overall, if I compared it to Japan or Singapore, those markets are defi nitely more structured. Having said that, I don’t let it stress me, I know it’ll get done.”

“I have enjoyed working in India. But I think for most people who come in from other markets, especially, UK, US or Europe, it’s an environment that’s very diff erent from what they are used to.”

“To thrive in India you need to leave such thoughts at the airport and embrace the whole thing. In my case India adds more to my life than it takes away. Living in India is also an eye opener; I have realized that I am far more resilient than I had appreciated”

Graham Kelly

Executive creative director,

OgilvyOne India

Dominic Twyford

Client director, Fitch India

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Paul Ward, managing partner, BBH India has been part of the agency’s India operations from day one. He left India in between to work at BBH Singapore, and then returned as managing partner when the agency’s creative head and managing partner Priti Nair quit the company. Ward will not say it, but the brief from the London offi ce at the time would clearly have been to sort out HR issues at the time. When Kyoorius caught up with him for this interview, he was on the verge of taking a three month sabbatical from work to go on a trip around Asia. His exit also coincides with the departure of Raj Kamble as managing partner from BBH India. It seems clear that he won’t be returning to India for work, a third time. Has he had enough of India then?

Ward seems genuinely dismayed that we are putting two and two together in this fashion. “I know it seems odd and if I were an outsider, I would probably look at the situation in the same light. The timing may be bad but all I want is to take time off . I’ve actually had enough of working. I’ve been at BBH for 15 years, during which time I’ve criss-crossed many continents and bounced between offi ces a multitude of times. I hate using Manchester United as an analogy (as I’m a Newcastle United fan), but in my opinion BBH is the best agency in the world and trying to keep this up and stay with the pace is like trying to stay in the Manchester United fi st team week in, week out — it’s very diffi cult. Just like Paul Scholes in 2010, I need a rest and am therefore taking a sabbatical and just like Paul Scholes, I’ll be back,” he promises.

Ward believes one reason many expats fi nd it hard to adjust to life in India is the lack of an established expat community here, which he fi nds surprising. He explains, There is a big diff erence in the work culture, which I am sure is part of the reason expats tend to struggle, but just as important — I think — is what you do outside of work too. I think the expat community is signifi cantly smaller and, dare I say it, less interesting here, than anywhere else I’ve worked. As a result, you start to impose yourself on your colleagues more than you would elsewhere. Not that this is a major problem — I’ve developed friends who I’m sure will become life long acquaintances — but you do sometimes fi nd yourself hankering for a bit of space and maybe some time with folks from back home.”

When one looks at cities like Amsterdam, London or New York, which are vastly more multi-cultural in its workforce, how does India compare to those markets?

The obvious diff erence, says Twyford, is market maturity. “India remains under-branded and the disciplines of advertising and branding are relatively new still. However, India is now a major focus for global companies and their brands. Given time, I am convinced that Delhi and Mumbai will become increasingly multi-cultural and the creative industries will benefi t from new perspectives.”

Responds BBH India’s Paul Ward, “I’d actually say Mumbai is a far more creative city than Amsterdam in a lot of respects. Yes, there might not be enough government-funded culture out there, but the people on the street do a pretty decent job of it. I’m sure he pisses some people off , but the bloke who spray paints ‘Bean Bags’ and his number all over town is possibly one of the best guerrilla marketers I’ve seen. I’m a huge fan. There are more and more creative businesses either coming, or planning on coming to India, which in my opinion can only be a good thing — competition and fi nding diff erent ways of doing things can only be good for our business. Finally, I think it’s a good time for me to doff my hat to Aggie and Paddy’s (Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi’s) Taproot and Raj Kurup’s Creativeland Asia here — I think both are great businesses, both very diff erent in their own right, but both I think could fi ght toe to toe with anyone in Amsterdam on their day.”

“I’d actually say Mumbai is a far more creative city than Amsterdam in a lot of respects. Yes, there might not be enough government-funded culture out there, but the people on the street do a pretty decent job of it.”

Paul Ward

Managing partner, BBH India

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Gowthaman Ragothaman, chief client offi cer, Mindshare Asia Pacifi c recently moved to Singapore from India. In his view, India is still very “inward looking.” He explains, “That may be because, we have so much to solve and address within ourselves. Our environment still struggles with embracing external factors and invariably gets into the argument of, ‘Oh, we are very complex, nobody will understand us’ and then the self fulfi lling prophecy begins.”

Asif Ansari, who spent a considerable amount of time working in the advertising industry in Sweden before returning to India to set up KA Advertising with former colleague Prashant Kalyankar, feels the average Indian agency already has a sense of multi-culturism embedded in it, to some extent. He says, “I’m sure every agency here has people working from diff erent parts of the country — People who speak diff erent languages, represent diff erent sub-cultures and come from diff erent socio-economic backgrounds. So maybe we already enjoy a similar advantage.” That said, he believes a truly multi-cultural team can give birth to some fantastic ideas, and says, “Creative hotbeds like Amsterdam, London and Hamburg thrive and produce great advertising because of the multi-cultural teams that work in the agencies there. There’s no better catalyst than an amalgamation of backgrounds, education and experiences from diff erent cultures to ignite new thinking. In Sweden, apart from native Swedes, I’ve worked with Danish, Finnish, American, Mexican, British, Dutch and Croatian expats. The sheer energy, and the variety of ideas a mixed group like that can produce quickly, is quite unbelievable.”

Ansari says he sees two main challenges that expats face in India today, “The limited understanding of the culture of the land and a work culture that’s distinctly diff erent from the one they’re used to.”

Joji Jacob, group executive creative director at DDB Group, Singapore, is an Indian adlander who has been working abroad for some years now. He says there are a number of reasons behind why one doesn’t see too many foreign faces in Indian advertising. He elaborates, “Firstly, I don’t think India needs them. India doesn’t need to import talent. It has enough human capital that is talented, well-educated and up to the task. Secondly, should some global conglomerate decide, in its wisdom, to ship someone from HQ to run its Indian operation, it’s going to be pretty diffi cult, if not near impossible, for them to wrap their head around the culture and its million diff erent nuances. Thirdly, India is frankly not very expat-friendly. Living in India takes some getting used to. Compare this to, say, a country like Singapore where, to give you just one example, even the domestic help industry is well-regulated and accountable.”

Gowthaman echoes Joji’s point about India being self-suffi cient in terms of talent. He says, “As a market we are reasonably self suffi cient in terms of talent. Our market complexities like 28 states, each being a country in its own culture, adds a new dimension to this. So far, the developed market did not look at India as a destination as well because of its lifestyle infrastructure (apart from, may be Bangalore) which is still not expat friendly.”

“I’m sure every agency here has people working from diff erent parts of the country — People who speak diff erent languages, represent diff erent sub-cultures and come from diff erent socio-economic backgrounds.”

“I don’t think India needs them. India doesn’t need to import talent. It has enough human capital that is talented, well-educated and up to the task.”

Asif Ansari

Founder, KA Advertising

Gowthaman Ragothaman

Chief client offi cer, Mindshare

Asia Pacifi c

Joji Jacob

Group executive creative

director, DDB Group Singapore

84 special report

The challenge, according to him, will be to understand the concept of Indian diversity well. “We have 28 countries in India. At a personal level, expats will still struggle in India with poor infrastructure — especially with schooling, housing and travel,” he adds.

Anju Kurien moved on from Grey Worldwide last year to join as senior vice president, head human resource, Omnicom Media Group. She recalls their strategy of hiring middle management to junior expat staff , in her last organisation.

She says, “There was a certain point in Grey where we wanted to get some international blood into the team. At that point, we decided to recruit juniors. What it did for us was that it impacted the comfort zone of employees at that level to deal with foreigners and not be intimidated by them.”

Joji Jacobs says, based on his conversations with people who’ve turned down positions in India, there are two main challenges facing expats looking at a life in India. He explains, “One is the lifestyle. India is perceived as being diffi cult and dangerous to live in, especially if you have a family in tow. Two, Indian culture seems imposing and intimidating to a foreigner. China on the other hand, seems to have overcome these obstacles. Mumbai and Shanghai took off from the same starting post but the Chinese city has left its Indian counterpart way behind. You go to Shanghai and everything works perfectly. They are leagues ahead in terms of infrastructure. And you see expats immersing themselves in all things Chinese as if they were going out of fashion.”

Max Hegerman says on a professional level he has learnt a lot. He elaborates, “One of my biggest learnings has been that, although people genuinely appreciate my “foreign” background and experience, if I cannot relate it to India/Indians in a meaningful way, I am just taking up space. So, for just about three years, now, the learning curve has been vertical. But, I am not complaining.”

Understanding cultural contexts is, therefore, key. Sam Balsara, chairman and managing director, Madison World says India is a diverse and complex market with each state having its own language and unique culture and adds, “We have seen that success in the Indian marketplace depends a lot on understanding culture and having an emotional connect with the people. Expats fi nd it diffi cult to get a grasp of this culture.”

Lulu Raghavan, country head, Landor India feels that in the context of her agency, bringing in an expat is not a long-term sustainable model. “It’s a good one in the short term because there are defi nitely skills and expertise that can be transferred to the team here but for us, we fi nd that the continuous dialogue and conversation that we have with many other creative directors in other (Landor) offi ces works more seamlessly than having someone come down for a fi xed period of time.”

She admits that its easy to get frustrated in India with the way things work (or don’t work out, sometimes) but believes its important to have a mindset of listening and adapting to the culture here. “If you’re fl exible, you can bring the best of what you learnt abroad and not in a condescending way. We’re not going to change Indian customers or Indian clients. For me, it was more about adaptation, I was focused on what I can do here that will work best for Landor in India. We have creative directors and designers from many studios that are involved in our work but we have never had anyone based in the India offi ce. They come, they contribute to meetings but they might be based anywhere in the world. The network helps a lot. We interact, they contribute and give us their expertise and learning and drive the development of the project. Our off er is very much global and local. We have people from other offi ces involved in every project of ours,” she counters.

“We have seen that success in the Indian marketplace depends a lot on understanding culture and having an emotional connect with the people. Expats fi nd it diffi cult to get a grasp of this culture.”

Sam Balsara

Chairman and managing

director, Madison World

“There was a certain point in Grey where we wanted to get some international blood into the team. At that point, we decided to recruit juniors…”

Anju Kurien

Senior vice president, head

human resource, Omnicom

Media Group

85 special report

One of the primary reasons behind the dissonance in the expat-local relationship is their widely diff ering approach to something as basic as work culture. The west is process oriented to an extent that can drive the average Indian batty while expats fi nd the many liberties allowed on timelines and deadlines by the average Indian co-worker horrifying.

Asif Ansari adds, “If you take the work culture in the West or Singapore, it is fairly process-driven. There’s probably a document in every agency there which spells out every step of the process — from the initial meeting with the client, writing out a contact report (usually within 24 hours), raising an estimate, writing a brief, briefi ng the creative team to developing the creative, assessing it, presenting it, getting client feedback on it, getting it produced, getting it run and fi nally closing the job. In sharp contrast, most agencies in India have a pretty haphazard (at least from an outsider’s point of view) way of doing things. There may be some method to the madness in some pockets, but by and large, it is nowhere near the rigid structure and process most international agencies have. This can be disconcerting to an expat who’s used to being driven by the discipline of process.”

Max Hegerman says the disconnect between organizational culture and personal work culture has been one of his biggest challenges on a professional front in India. He explains, “I was raised in a big, competitive family. Both my parents were athletes, so from my earliest days, sports was the great equalizer. In addition, sports imbued me with a sense for how important it is to win — and to win as a team. Early on, I was struck by the lack of team spirit within Indian organizations. On paper, the notion of every person in an organization having a defi ned/specifi c role to play is accepted. But, in practice, it is still largely about individuals and individual success. So, for a team player like me, I have struggled a bit to get my teams to accept and adopt my approach. In addition, people do not really hang out a lot after work like they do in other parts of the world. Time spent with work mates away from the offi ce is pretty productive. On many levels. So, for me, the

lack of extra-curricular activities takes away a key opportunity for me to bond and immerse myself in an important social scene.”

Ansari believes the attitude towards things like punctuality and productivity is a big factor in the dissonance at the work place. He adds, “Some of the work habits we have may seem ‘unprofessional’ to an outsider. Things like punctuality, time taken for a lunch or coff ee break, unwavering respect for deadlines, being focused and productive in meetings, etc. When I last worked in Mumbai, around 9 years back, it was fairly common for people to walk into the offi ce by 11am, grab a lazy cup of coff ee, chat with colleagues, etc. Work would only start around or after a long lunch. I’m not saying this is wrong or right. That’s the way we do things here. But this sort of work culture would horrify most expats. Also, in most markets internationally, there’s a massive emphasis on work-life balance. People come to work at 8.30 am, take 30 minutes for lunch and scoot off at religiously at 5pm. Working on weekends is unheard of. Weekends and vacations are regarded as downtimes and are taken very seriously. An expat who comes to India expecting that will be sorely disappointed.”

Landor’s Lulu Raghavan echoes that view. ““There is a lot of growth happening in a market like India and our clients are working extremely hard. In India, the culture is such that the client still treats design agencies as they do marketing consultants and advertising agencies so that you are basically “on call” at all times. I think that is diffi cult. In the west, there is defi nitely much more regard for work hours and for non-intrusion beyond work hours, working on weekends. In the Indian context, that’s not the case. I’ve had people in my team who have quit because they can’t adjust with the demands here. I think client servicing in this context is very diffi cult, if you’ve lived and worked abroad.”

Michael Follett, who came in to head planning for DDB Mudra in 2009, (and has since returned to London to join The Red Brick Road) believes creating great work requires great relationships, between planners and account men and creatives. “This means that organisational charts and chains of command are usually fairly pointless in an ad agency — it’s your personal relationships that drive your professional life forward. So in that sense, I didn’t notice too much of a diff erence.” Having said that, Follett admits he was surprised by the obsession with job titles in India. He elaborates, “At DDB, Rajiv (Sabnis) and Rajeev (Raja) and I tried to have a deliberately fl at structure, based on an equality between junior and senior members of the team. This worked for most people, but others resented the lack of elaborate job titles and outward displays of

Work Culture in India

“There is a lot of growth happening in a market like India and our clients are working extremely hard. In India, the culture is such that the client still treats design agencies as they do marketing consultants and advertising agencies so that you are basically “on call” at all times.”

Lulu Raghavan

Country head, Landor India

86 special report

hierarchy. But I am glad that we stuck to our guns: it meant that we were open to receiving ideas from all members of the team, but it also meant that we had to get involved ourselves. We had to drive the car ourselves, not be driven about like some babu!”

So how does the Indian workspace compare to other Asian work places, like say, Shanghai, Singapore or Hong Kong?

Answers Hegerman, “My experience in China was pretty unique, in that I started an agency (TBWA\Media Arts Lab) that was a mirror image of the other MAL offi ces around the world — which, in-turn were based upon the way Apple works internally. So, for that, I was looking for local Chinese that could conform to a particular manner and intensity of working. But, to answer your question, I have one answer (example, actually) that I bring up a lot. In China, during and after presentations, the room is generally pretty quiet. Verbal reactions from clients to presentations are rare, and often reserved for the senior-level. To get feedback and reactions, I would literally have to walk the halls and engage clients one-on-one to get what I needed. On the other hand, in India, my presentations have not even begun, and I am bombarded by comments/thoughts and points-of-view.”

Hegerman adds that at the point of his move to India from China, he had expected a more open work culture, an environment that was eager for an outsider’s perspective. This wasn’t so.

He explains, “I was surprised to fi nd that China, in fact, had a longer, more robust experience/relationship with the fi rang than India. I was impressed by how (fi ercely)

independent Indians are, and how that has driven them to fi nd solutions internally before looking elsewhere. Which (having that knowledge in-hand), makes me even more grateful for the opportunity I have been given to work here. That said, advertising is about creativity and ideas. And, for the most part, these are a refl ection of culture — which is no longer localized. Indians move so seamlessly between a McDonald’s (or Bembos) burger and vada pav, The Godfather and Satya, Messi and Sachin… So, even though there are not that many true foreigners in the ad business, a unique form of multi-culturalism exists in India. In addition, a growing number of NRIs, after years of life abroad, are returning to India with a wealth of global experiences and insights — which will only speed up India’s globalization.”

‘Does India need expats?’ is a question one hears often among folks in the industry. The Red Brick Road’s Michael Follett responds to that, “I think ‘need’ is the wrong word. Of course India doesn’t need to import talent to make up a defi cit. There is more than enough talent in India. But foreigners can add an interesting and unexpected perspective to answering business problems. Because they are diff erent, they don’t come up with the same solutions as everyone else. At my current agency, we could choose to staff the place solely with true-born Englishmen, but instead we have a rich mix of Australians, Americans, French, Spaniards, Russians and New Zealanders. I think The Red Brick Road is more interesting — and more creative — for having such diversity.”

Surprisingly for an expat, Jim James has a rather Indian point of view on this question. He says, “India is, itself, a melting pot of multiculturalism, such a big place geographically, such extremes in terrain and climate, so many languages and religions, so many diff erent attitudes to food and drink, traditions and habits, old young, rich and poor, it goes on and on. And I think actually most Indian creative businesses refl ect all of these diff erent cultures with staff coming from every corner of the country. Add in a couple of NRIs returning to India and a couple of expats, it all adds to the spice without missing out on too much from around the world. And the other point is that most Indian advertising campaigns are targeting Indian consumers, Indian markets, so do they really need a bunch of EuroAsianAmericans telling them what to do?”

Adds Chris Thomas, chairman and CEO, BBDO Asia, “A market that’s complex and as richly diverse as India, you want to make sure that you ideally have people who really understand India. Of course, you also want talent that has international perspectives, and can bring new skills into the market like global knowledge on a global piece of business, making that knowledge relevant to the Indian market. So I never discount bringing in talent but the balance in India is certainly skewed towards Indian talent and quite frankly, there’s a lot of it, so why bring in expats?”

“A market that’s complex and as richly diverse as India, you want to make sure that you ideally have people who really understand India. Of course, you also want talent that has international perspectives, and can bring new skills into the market…”

Chris Thomas

Chairman and CEO,

BBDO Asia

87 special report

Its not like expats aren’t going to be trooping into the country or that organisations won’t be looking at hiring expat talent in future. But as BBDO India’s Josy Paul puts it, there needs to a clear purpose for hiring expat talent. His agency brought in Sangeet Pillai from their New York offi ce to help set up the planning team in India. Paul adds, “What is the specifi c role and responsibility, and measure of success? Because advertising is so nation and culture specifi c, it’s important to be practical and have real expectations. In our case, Sangeet’s role was to set up the planning department in India and introduce the planning disciplines that BBDO worldwide is so well known for. He did a commendable job of building our capabilities. He returned to the US after two years as planned.”

What of the many cases in India where expats haven’t stayed for their contracted period of stay? Paul responds, “Like in any transplant — be it heart, kidney or advertising — the internal body needs to accept and all mindsets need to be aligned. Otherwise there will be ‘chemical locha’ and the body will reject the ‘foreign’ particle. That’s biology, chemistry, history and life! The truth is it takes two to create — and both parties are responsible for making something happen.”

Does bringing in expat talent at the middle management level make sense, perhaps? Madison’s Sam Balsara doesn’t think so. He says, “In any organization, it is the top management which drives the business and sets the processes and ways of working. I don’t think having an expat at the lower level would work very well if one is seeking to drive change. If one is looking for just a hand or specialist knowledge in a narrow functional area or on a client, then its fi ne.”

Anju Kurien, however, says that during her time at Grey, they had made a conscious decision to hire junior talent. “Senior expats are really useful when you have a lot of multinational business. Unfortunately back then, at Grey, we didn’t have so many global businesses. In India, you are investing in the expat for the fi rst two years. What are they going to off er that will justify the cost that they come at?” she asks.

Indian expats have fared better in comparison. Singapore has a signifi cant amount of Indian expats from the advertising industry. Mindshare’s Gowthaman believes the motivation for many Indians to move abroad is better career opportunities. He adds, “Indian expats move outside India purely for growing their career opportunities in their lives. And more importantly, Indian talent can manage uncertainty better and therefore are preferred in some sectors.”

KA Advertising’s Asif Ansari believes Indians are uniquely positioned to work internationally, especially in countries where English is the currency. “We’re probably the only people in the world who have such excellent mastery of a second language. Plus, we’ve always had exposure to international literature, TV, music and movies. We’ve grown up reading all sorts of books and comics, watching sitcoms and soaps, listening to international music and watching Hollywood movies. Put together, these contribute to a deep and rich reservoir of insights and ideas that can then be exploited to produce great work. Also, historically, we’ve always had exposure to international advertising, so we know what works in which market. These three put together give us a singular edge over others, to work in almost any market where English is used. When we set foot in an agency internationally, we tend to hit the ground running because of this. Of course, every market is diff erent and does require some tweaks and resets by way of work culture, but by and large we tend to settle in quickly.”

There are cultural factors that one needs to take into account, too. Ansari feels interpersonal relationships, at work and with clients can be quite challenging to deal with. He explains, “Take something as simple as presenting work

The case for expat talent

The reverse side of the Coin: Indians abroad

“What is the specifi c role and responsibility, and measure of success? Because advertising is so nation and culture specifi c, it’s important to be practical and have real expectations.”

Josy Paul

Chairman and chief creative

offi cer, BBDO India

88 special report

to a client. In India, my experience has been that clients are very open and honest in their opinion about the work their agency puts on the table. If they hate it, they’ll say it in no uncertain terms. If they love it, they’ll say it out — loud and clear. In Singapore, I’ve always experienced a strict hierarchy at work. The juniors at the meeting will always defer and wait till their seniors comment on the work, before they say something. In Sweden, it is completely diff erent. Decision making here happens by consensus. So you’ll fi nd yourself presenting work to a committee that’s expressionless and poker-faced throughout the meeting. Nobody wants to telegraph his or her feelings about the work. It’s impossible to read what’s going through their minds. There’s no way to adjust your pitch or tailor it because there’s absolutely no reaction. This also takes the wind out of your sails when you’re presenting work. Then you’ll get an email a couple of days later, spelling out everything the committee liked and/or did not like about the work. Initially, it threw me off completely, but I soon became accustomed to it. Swedish clients also don’t appreciate the Western (read American) over-casualness, aggression and in-your-face candor. You’ve got to temper your enthusiasm with a degree of composure. Again, these are things that you can learn to overcome or deal with fairly quickly.”

The last few years have seen a steady stream of expat talent come into the country, looking to work in an economy that is still growing, albeit slowly. Will the next ten years see the Indian workplace become more multi-cultural?

Graham Kelly certainly believes so. He says, “Yes, it will attract more expats. India and China are getting a lot of attention. India may be slowing down a bit but it is still growing enormously. You don’t get the chance to go through that kind of growth in any other part of the world. As Indian agencies and clients get used to working with expats, there will be more of them coming in.”

Says Max Hegerman, “The tipping point could very well be the recent trend of NRIs returning to India with valuable hands-on experience from other parts of the world. The Indian advertising landscape will change because of these people — and more will come as agencies see success with these individuals, and make more investments. This trend, by default, will create a more multi-cultural environment within our industry. BUT, I do

not necessarily foresee the Indian advertising community importing/adopting a large number of foreigners into the mix — although, personally, I think it would be helpful.”

Asif Ansari answers, “I would think so. From what I see and hear, there are a lot more outsiders coming into India — to study and to work as interns. There are a lot more travelers drawn to India as a destination. These people want to come here to learn from, assimilate, and sometimes even integrate into our culture. (We’ve received several CVs from foreign candidates who want to work at our agency.) If this trend continues and builds, we will defi nitely see a multi-cultural, multi-lingual bunch of people working in India. Some of them will invariably fi nd their way into advertising. And that will only enrich our business.”

Having said that, India undoubtedly changes everyone and everything it comes in contact with. Has India changed the expats who’ve moved here?

Says Graham Kelly, “Absolutely. You take things in your stride more easily, than you would otherwise. You don’t get fazed by the things that may have fazed you before, because it gives you that perspective.”

Jim James agrees that India has defi nitely changed him, and adds, “Without a doubt. I would hope that it has made me more understanding of other people’s — employees, clients — needs and priorities and my time in India made me more patient. Needless to say, my time in India also made me more rounded as a businessman, as a manager of people, my experience rocketed, to be in India during the second half of the last decade was absolutely the time when it all happened. What I learned and saw shaped me as a businessman and a person for the rest of my working life. Sounds dramatic but I think it is probably pretty true. As everyone here (in London) will tell you, I start every second statement or conversation with “when I was in India”. It changed how I deal with problems, it changed my approach to sales, to cost management. I think it probably changed pretty much everything to a lesser or greater degree. But I think anyone who spent as much time in India as I did, really working at the coalface, couldn’t avoid changing one way or another. If someone thinks they didn’t, they weren’t really in India.”

The truth is, as KA Advertising’s Asif Ansari points out during a conversation with us, India doesn’t come with a quick-fi x manual or a cheat sheet that expats can quickly go through on their fl ight here. And understanding this diverse, complex country requires a deep immersion in its way of life before an expat can be deemed “house broken” and companies usually don’t have that kind of time to invest in an expat.

With global brands and businesses making a slow but steady stride towards India, it’s inevitable that this country will see an increasing number of expats in its midst. Global businesses are making the world a smaller place to do business. Can the Indian workplace really aff ord to stay insulated forever? Not likely. As Bob Dylan told us, rather philosophically, long ago — “The times… they are a changing.” Indeed.

India 2020:More multi-cultural?

“Yes, it will attract more expats. India and China are getting a lot of attention. India may be slowing down a bit but it is still growing enormously. You don’t get the chance to go through that kind of growth in any other part of the world. ”

Graham Kelly

Executive creative director,

OgilvyOne India