Shipra Nangia: Hiring goes beyond recruitment  

Could you go into your background and what you do currently at Quincus? 

After graduating from university, I worked for a recruitment agency and then I joined Quincus as a Talent Partner. When I joined, I was assigned to manage recruitment for Singapore, Indonesia, and a few other countries.  

This year, I was reassigned to manage the recruitment, hiring, and operations for India.

What is it like managing a team of mostly engineers in Delhi? 

As the main person in India from our People and Talent team, I get to interact directly with a lot more people. 

I come from a human resources background, so when I speak to our team of engineers, I usually gain new perspectives on the roles’ domains. I learn even more about how products, websites, and mobile apps are developed; what new tech is trending; and more. It is a great way for me to gain insight into the talent market and new technology. For me, this is an additional aspect that I truly enjoy as I learn a lot and grow through working with different departments.  

As a whole, Quincus is made up of so many people with different culture and background. I feel like I am also constantly learning something new every day working with our local and international team. 

What are some challenges that you face as a tech recruiter?  

Coming from a less technical background, it was challenging to fully understand the different terminologies and specific skills needed in an engineer or developer initially. On top of that, I need to be able to identify these in potential candidates. Eventually, I developed this knowledge and ability from experience and consulting with engineers and tech leads. 

Whenever I’m unclear about what our team requires, I will usually conduct more in-depth research so I can identify more suitable candidates to join our growing team. 

How is the Quincus hiring process different from other companies or agencies?  

We try to make the hiring process such that, at every stage, the candidate learns more and gains more insight into the company.  

We look at our hiring process beyond just recruitment—we facilitate them all the way to onboarding. Before joining us officially, they gain access to our HR platform, Sapling, to get a feel for the employees, complete their profile, view our Quincus calendar, and much more!  

We make the effort to make candidates feel like they are already a part of Quincus even before their start date. We host welcome calls to check in with new hires before their start date, get to know how they are feeling, and if they feel prepared or have any questions.  

We have had some positive feedback regarding the Quincus process from our new hires! 

How do you make the India team feel like they are together? 

Within the India team, we actually have smaller interactions with each other via calls after 7 or 8 pm. This is when we can interact with each other outside the office as friends and not colleagues. 

Apart from this, our India team also has a WhatsApp group to give holiday greetings for local festivities, share jokes, and understand how things are going for each other on a more personal level. Within Quincus, we try to have relationships that go beyond work, and we try to build genuine friendships.  

Before COVID-19, we were fortunate to be able to go for lunch and dinner together on a regular basis.  

What part of your job do you like the most? Most memorable interactions with candidates? 

All the interviews that I have are always memorable—I enjoy speaking to candidates and learning more about them. 

The thing I like most about my job is how much I interact with people—getting to know them and expanding my network. Having this type of social interactions on a daily basis allows me to gain confidence and become more open and comfortable when I’m speaking to other people. It also allows me to gain insights into what is happening in the world, which is something I really enjoy.