Case Study

Building a Strong Talent Brand for a US Startup’s India Expansion

The Background

A fast-growing US product company wanted to establish an offshore development center in Pune. Despite strong clients and niche expertise, the company was relatively unknown in India, and the new office was still under development — making talent attraction a major challenge.

The Challenge

Low employer visibility and credibility in India.
Need to hire quality tech talent quickly in a competitive market.
Office space under construction reduced on-site appeal.
Client needed an RPO partner to build the India team from scratch and drive candidate engagement.

Our Role

Harsh led the engagement in a prior role, managing the RPO relationship and owning the talent attraction and engagement strategy end-to-end. Harsh's delivery team executed a combined employer-branding and recruitment play to build trust and accelerate hiring.

Our Approach

We designed a candidate-centric program focused on storytelling, speed, and leadership engagement:

Founder Video Storytelling: Embedded a short video of the Founder sharing the India vision into candidate outreach to humanize the brand.
Localized Employer Presence: Recommended and supported an India careers page to improve discoverability.
On-Ground Collateral: Used brochures and standees during recruitment drives to build professional presence.
Leadership Connect: Ensured every final-round candidate had a one-to-one interaction with the Founder.
On-the-Spot Offers:Encouraged offering across the table after final interviews to secure top candidates instantly.
Post-Offer Leadership Touchpoints:Arranged introductory calls with US management after offer acceptance to strengthen commitment.

The Results & Impact

Our candidate engagement strategy transformed a little-known startup into an employer of choice — delivering faster hires, stronger commitment, and lasting retention.

Key Outcomes:

< 3% offer drop-out rate: Significantly lower than typical market levels.
0% attrition in the first 6 months: Hires stayed and performed through the critical initial period.
Achieved hiring targets on time: Enabling the client to meet launch milestones.
Stronger employer brand in the local market: Leading to improved inbound interest for senior roles.
Higher candidate confidence and faster acceptances: Due to founder engagement and immediate offers.

The Takeaway

Even a new or unknown employer can attract top talent when authenticity, speed, and engagement come together. A thoughtful candidate experience isn’t just good hiring practice — it’s a business advantage that builds trust, brand, and long-term success.

Let’s build your hiring success story together.

The Results

The impact was transformative — for both the client and our partnership:

150–200 hires delivered annually across engineering, manufacturing, and technology roles for three consecutive years.
95%+ SLA compliance achieved consistently after the first quarter of implementation.
Significant drop in CV rejections through improved calibration and feedback systems.
Zero project escalations post realignment, owing to enhanced collaboration.
Client HR team recognition for outstanding project delivery and stakeholder satisfaction.
The client’s HR leader, who co-owned the initiative, was later promoted and deputed overseas — a testament to the program’s success and visibility within the organization.