By SUREKHA AHGIR YADAV - of Wall Street Journal Asia – Expat
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka–”I know a guy” is the single most
important and commonly used phrase in casual business conversations in Colombo.
This South Asian city has a surprisingly sophisticated
corporate scene, excellent internet connections, an array of professional
advertising and digital marketing agencies – but it has hardly any human
resources companies, few, if any, head hunters and nothing much in the way of
talent-matching services.
So, as I launched a digital content startup in booming
post-war Sri Lanka last year, I found myself baffled by this seeming gap in the
market. How did local businesses secure their staff? I knew the talent was out
there because all around me I saw local tech ventures powered by droves of
talented, qualified young people. But how was anyone recruiting them?
The following months of repeatedly trying and failing to
connect with this talent pool through job ads taught me one crucial lesson:
Hiring, especially at the startup level, is done largely on the basis of deeply
entrenched social networks — and not the online kind either. “Oh I went to
school with him” — so he’ll make a great developer. “I remember her from choir”
— she’s the accountant you need.
Within Colombo’s English-speaking business community
everyone really does seem to know everyone. Unless you’re a foreigner with a
small startup like me — then you know no one. Without the extensive networks
acquired through classmates or distant cousins you will often get stuck.
Initially, I tried to insinuate myself into the world of
local insiders by turning up at a couple of Google Business group meetings. I
spent the evening sipping sweet iced coffee (a Sri Lankan staple at such
events) and making small talk with some very polite people who were friendly
enough but ultimately either unable to spare the time to help or effectively
saw me as potential competition for the best hires.
It got frustrating.
But this was all before I caught my catcher.
A catcher is the local lingo for fixer, and if you’re
looking to find an office space, extend your visa, or import some IKEA
furniture you’d do well to find one. Mine arrived at the end of a long line of
introductions from a former colleague of an acquaintance which led me to the
younger brother of said colleague’s friend who then finally produced … Janath
Gunawardene.
Chatty, distracted, with a mobile phone that won’t stop
ringing – the 23-year-old arrived on a misfiring moped. I hired him anyway on the
strength of his design portfolio. Fortunately, I discovered his true calling
very quickly. On his second day, Janath overheard me looking for an SEO
(search-engine optimization) expert and he interrupted with those four words
I’ve since come to appreciate: “I know a guy.”
A week later, Janath ended a hunt for an animation agency
with those four magical words and two phone calls. And subsequently, I muttered
about a back sprain and he conjured up a yoga instructor who turned up at the
office by the end of the day.
The trick, it would seem, is this: if you don’t know anyone
in Colombo, you need to find someone who knows everyone.
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