Philip Balmer of Max Healthcare tries his (culturally wrong!) hand at chole bhature

It's been more than a year since Phillip Balmer moved to New Delhi from Abu Dhabi, but even now the Director of Nursing at Max Healthcare has trouble figuring out what his nurses mean when they nod their heads in response. ''You can never tell if that's a 'yes' or a 'no','' laughs the 40-year-old New Zealander. Balmer may laugh at the oddities of Indian culture, but his employer is working hard to make sure that the nursing expert it roped in while he was on vacation in Thailand, slides smoothly into its corporate culture.

In fact, after an international search zeroed down on Balmer, Max had him fly down to India, spend two days speaking to its top executives, and meet the people he was going to be working with. After he came on board, Balmer was put through a detailed orientation. Says Rupali Kamra, Head of hr at Max Healthcare: ''If enough time is spent on the orientation of the person, cultural issues can be sorted out.''

Some industries like hospitality have always had expats working in their ranks, but it is the first time that other sectors such as software and manufacturing are hiring foreign nationals not just in India but also in their offices abroad. The ratio of Indians to non-Indians at Wipro's overseas offices in more than 25 countries is 1:1. Infosys has more than 145 foreign nationals working for it, and Tata Consultancy Services just finished recruiting 50 foreign nationals at its Global Development Centre in Hungary. Even groups such as Tata, A.V. Birla, and UB are hiring foreign nationals to fill some key positions.

Such globalisation is throwing up a whole new set of hr challenges, involving a tremendous amount of learning on the part of Indian companies. For starters, there's the image of being 'Indian' that companies need to address. In many foreign countries, India is still perceived as a country of elephants and mendicants. Therefore, when a company like Max, Infosys, Ranbaxy, or TCS goes recruiting, it has a lot of stereotypes to battle.

Then, there are culture-specific issues like individual privacy and work values. It's considered rude in America to ask an applicant his or her marital status, family background, or even age. ''There's a fine line between what you can ask them and what you can't,'' notes Prateek Kumar, VP (Talent Engagement and Development), Wipro. Also, American and European employees are more self-driven and prefer to work without supervision, focusing solely on end results. Whereas an Indian manager may expect his reportees to come to him for problem-solving or directions. At least in the software industry, these issues are believed to have a significant impact on the success of project execution.

So, how are Indian companies managing? By moulding their own work culture and philosophy to suit local needs. For example, at Wipro's European headquarters in London, the basic hr policy is borrowed from the parent, but local realities like leave regulations and employee benefit schemes are also taken into consideration. There are some policies that are uniform across the organisation and locations. These include performance appraisal, compensation (relative), and career planning.

The core issue, however, is of fitting the foreign national into the value systems of the employer. Depending on the nature of their business and the location, Indian companies are adopting different strategies. At Infosys, for instance, CEO N.R. Narayana Murthy himself often leads the ''value identification and classification'' exercise for new recruits-both Indian and foreign. There are five values communicated to new hires: customer delight, leadership by example, integrity and transparency, fairness, and pursuit of excellence.

Thereafter, the hr team takes over and teaches the hires how the values are ''demonstrated, breached, and communicated''. ''These values are the glue that holds every Infoscion together despite cultural differences,'' points out Hema Ravichander, Senior VP (HR), Infosys.

Similarly, Wipro conducts a two-week long cultural sensitisation programme in India in the employee's first month itself. He or she is briefed on the company's business model, values, and the verticals. Local employees chip in and give the person a taste of India, with invitations for some ethnic lunch and dinner thrown in. Wherever possible, a meeting with Chairman Azim Premji is also organised. ''The idea is to familiarise him with our culture and company,'' says Kumar of Wipro.

Before any of that can happen, foreign employees have to be identified and recruited. Typically, top management positions are filled through searches and are followed by one-on-ones with the CEO and other key executives, either through a video conference or personal visit. The method of selection is always tuned to meet the local regulations and cultural issues. For example, Infosys does not put its applicants at US and Canadian universities through a rigorous math test, like it does in India. Indeed, in some US states like Massachusetts, it could lead to legal problems.

TCS, on the other hand, usually flies down its instructors from India whenever it hires in bulk, like it recently did for its Global Development Centre in Hungary. These instructors teach the recruits company practices and also conduct a small training programme. ''Such a cross-cultural environment helps integration and develop a sense of teamwork,'' points out S. Mahalingam, Executive Director, TCS. Adds Anita Sanchez, a Spaniard working with TCS: "Most of my colleagues have had international exposure, so it was relatively easy for me to fit in at TCS."

At pharma giant Ranbaxy, the focus is on ongoing communication, and accessibility to knit the ''family'' together, points out Udai Upendra, VP (Global HR).

As Indian companies change their colours, there will be impact on their local operations too. For example, policies for new sets of issues relevant to American and European countries will need to be formulated and implemented in India. Otherwise, the companies will run the risk of coming up with discriminatory practices. Agrees Ajit Isaac, CEO, PeopleOne: ''What will happen is that people policies will meld into a broad basic framework. But there will be a regional tilt in terms of specifics depending on the local environment.''

That's already how multinational companies operate. When Indian firms go that way, they will not only think, but look and talk global.