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Recruiting HR people is its own discipline. We hire them for India teams.

HR managers, HR business partners, talent acquisition specialists and payroll specialists: the people who will run your people function deserve better screening than a keyword match on 'HR generalist'. We recruit HR professionals into India teams at 12% of annual CTC, with the shortlist judged by people who run HR operations daily.

HR managers, HRBPs, TA and payroll specialists recruited for India teams at 12% of CTC, screened by practitioners.

Speak to sales EOR vs entity, in detail

G2 4.8 / 5 on G2, from companies employing teams in India through us.

Teams building in India. First hire to full team.

Generic recruiters versus HR-specialist recruitment.

A generalist agency treats an HR search like any mid-level vacancy. The failure modes of a bad HR hire say otherwise.

Generalist agency search

Versatile HR-specialist search

Screening depth
CV keywords: 'end-to-end HR', 'stakeholder management'
Scenario screens on PF disputes, exits, POSH cases
Compliance literacy
Taken on the candidate's word
Tested: filing calendars, Form 16, gratuity math
Systems experience
Tool names collected from the CV
Probed on what they configured versus merely used
Benchmark data
Generic salary bands for 'HR roles'
Live pay data split by HR specialism and city
Judge of quality
A recruiter who has never run payroll
Screens designed by our own HR operations team
Fee timing
Invoice at offer or joining
12% of CTC, invoiced on day 90

Generalist agency search
Screening depth CV keywords: 'end-to-end HR', 'stakeholder management'
Compliance literacy Taken on the candidate's word
Systems experience Tool names collected from the CV
Benchmark data Generic salary bands for 'HR roles'
Judge of quality A recruiter who has never run payroll
Fee timing Invoice at offer or joining

Versatile HR-specialist search
Screening depth Scenario screens on PF disputes, exits, POSH cases
Compliance literacy Tested: filing calendars, Form 16, gratuity math
Systems experience Probed on what they configured versus merely used
Benchmark data Live pay data split by HR specialism and city
Judge of quality Screens designed by our own HR operations team
Fee timing 12% of CTC, invoiced on day 90
Day 0
Scope the HR role: specialism, seniority, mandate
Day 4
Market map of HR talent in your target cities
Day 9
Shortlist with scenario-screen results attached
Day 14
Your interviews, our scheduling and debriefs
Day 18
Offer closed with specialism-specific pay data
Day 90
Tenure milestone passes, fee invoices

A weak HR hire multiplies errors across every employee.

Most hires fail privately; an HR hire fails publicly and administratively. Missed PF deadlines, botched exits, contracts issued with the wrong clauses: each error attaches to every employee they administer, and the cleanup involves regulators and, occasionally, courts.

Scenario-based screening exists because HR competence is procedural, and procedures can be tested before the offer instead of discovered after the penalty.

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Illustrative cost of one weak HR manager year, 40-person company Penalties, dispute settlements and rework attributable to HR error
₹1,4 lakh Q1
₹3,6 lakh Q2
₹6,2 lakh Q3
₹9,8 lakh Q4
Illustration aggregating typical penalty, settlement and rework costs from HR administrative errors at a 40-person company. Individual outcomes differ widely.
Where HR hiring mistakes surface
Keyword-matched HR generalist, untested Every employee file they touched
Scenario-screened specialist hire Errors caught at the screen, not the audit

Hire the wrong engineer and a feature slips. Hire the wrong HR manager and every contract, filing and exit they touch becomes a liability with a signature on it. Budgeting the new HR hire's full cost? Load salary and statutory into the EOR versus entity calculator and see the true monthly figure.

How an HR-specialist search actually runs.

The mechanics of finding someone qualified to run other people's employment, done by people who do exactly that.

You run

  • The mandate and reporting line
  • Final interviews and the decision
  • The offer level, informed by our data

We handle

  • Market mapping of HR talent by specialism
  • Scenario screens with written results
  • Compensation data cut by HR discipline
  • Employment on our entity if you need it

You run
  • Define the mandate
  • Meet the finalists
  • Choose the hire
  • Set the package

We handle
  • Map HR talent
  • Test the scenarios
  • Verify the claims
  • Benchmark by specialism
  • Close the offer
  • Employ if entity-less

When something happens in India, it is ours.
Scenario design and screening execution Versatile's HR operators
Shortlist quality and evidence Versatile stands behind it
The hiring decision Entirely yours

A named compliance manager owns your account. Not a queue, not a chatbot, one person who already knows your headcount and your last filing.

Account managerMedian first reply 4 to 6 hours
Recruitment coordinatorBrief to shortlist 9 days
Finance associateFilings on time 8 / 8

Screened by practising HR operators

The people designing our screens run payroll, exits and statutory calendars for 33 clients every month. A candidate who has never actually reconciled a PF ECR does not survive a conversation with someone who did it last Tuesday.

Specialism-level pay data

An HRBP, a TA specialist and a payroll specialist at the same 'years of experience' command different packages in different cities. Our benchmarks split by discipline, which is why our offers close without overpaying for a title.

Scenario screens, shared in writing

Shortlists arrive with each candidate's responses to real situations: a contested exit, a POSH complaint, a payroll error discovered post-disbursement. You read how they think before spending an interview slot.

The full stack when you lack an entity

If the HR hire is your first India employee, we employ them on our Bengaluru entity within five days at $149 monthly, and they can then build your team on our infrastructure from day one.

Screened by practising HR operators

The people designing our screens run payroll, exits and statutory calendars for 33 clients every month. A candidate who has never actually reconciled a PF ECR does not survive a conversation with someone who did it last Tuesday.

Practitioners can tell rehearsed answers from lived ones.

Specialism-level pay data

An HRBP, a TA specialist and a payroll specialist at the same 'years of experience' command different packages in different cities. Our benchmarks split by discipline, which is why our offers close without overpaying for a title.

Generic HR salary bands cause both overpays and losses.

Scenario screens, shared in writing

Shortlists arrive with each candidate's responses to real situations: a contested exit, a POSH complaint, a payroll error discovered post-disbursement. You read how they think before spending an interview slot.

The evidence arrives before the interview does.

Moving someone across

When your HR hire takes over from us.

Clients often recruit an HR manager through us precisely to insource work we currently run. The handover is part of the service: files, calendars and systems transfer to the person we helped you hire.

Employee files and policy library Kept
Statutory calendars and logins Kept
Filings through the transition Continuous
Handover consulting fees 0 days

We happily recruit our own replacement.

Supporting evidence

Judge the recruiter by its own HR operation.

The screens are built inside Foo Falcon Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, incorporated 2022, where our team files PF, ESIC and TDS for hundreds of employees monthly. Audit us as proof the screening bar is real.

  • Incorporation
  • GST
  • EPFO code
  • ESIC
  • Shops and Establishments
  • PAN and TAN
  • Udyam MSME
What we verify
  • Incorporation Ministry of Corporate Affairs
  • GST Goods and Services Tax
  • EPFO code Employees Provident Fund Organisation
  • ESIC Ministry of Labour and Employment
  • Shops and Establishments Government of Karnataka
  • PAN and TAN Income Tax Department
  • Udyam MSME Government of India

Sample scenario screens shared before you engage.

200

people re-papered onto our entity in one batch

33

employers whose India pay cycles we operate monthly

5 days

to employ your HR hire if you have no entity

G2 4.8 / 5 on G2, from companies employing teams in India through us.

G2 4.8 / 5 on G2, from companies employing through us.

Companies whose HR function started with our search.

On hiring the person who now runs everything, and what the scenario screens caught.

Video
Bharath Rasoi KS Rajeshwari Founder, Bharath Rasoi
Video
Open Theatre Anand Raj Founder, Open Theatre
Abid Hassan Verified client
Sensibull
“They moved fast and took the whole compliance side off my plate. For a founder making an early India hire, that is exactly what you want.”
Abid Hassan Founder and CEO, Sensibull
Via G2
Moonshot
“Every option was either 'set up your own entity' or a platform that quotes a great price then hits you with add-ons. Versatile was the one that actually made it simple. First payroll ran on time. No scramble.”
Angad S. Co-Founder, Moonshot
Via G2
Digital Marketing Agency
“Contracts, PF, ESI, TDS and payroll all in one place. Invoicing in USD meant zero exchange rate surprises. The compliance rigour is genuinely reassuring.”
Vedant T. Founder, Digital Marketing Agency
Via G2
Design Studio
“Setting up in a new country can get messy fast, but their India EOR made onboarding feel easy. The team is responsive, clear, and great to work with.”
Setu C. Studio Owner, Design Studio
Via G2
US Startup
“We used Versatile to hire our first employee in India after months of putting it off because the compliance side seemed like a mess. They walked us through it and now we don't think about it.”
Verified US Founder First-time Founder, US Startup
Via G2
Mid-Market Tech Co.
“Versatile consistently delivered work that was both strategically sharp and execution-ready. Their turnaround times are impressive, and they think about problems the way an in-house team would.”
Shivani K. Senior Manager, Tech TA
Via G2
Growth-stage Startup
“Their team was highly responsive, professional, and easy to work with. They made a complex process feel simple.”
Mukul S. Core Team, Growth-stage Startup

Case studies.

Largest food delivery app in India, decacorn View case study The world's largest professional network, part of Microsoft View case study Legacy US software company, publishing platforms View case study

Specialist search, standard pricing.

HR searches cost the same as any other discipline: a percentage that waits ninety days, and employment infrastructure if the hire needs a home.

HR-specialist search

HR managers, HRBPs, TA, payroll
12% of annual CTC

Senior HR leadership at 15% or scoped individually. Invoice raised on the hire's ninety-first day of tenure.

Scope an HR search
  • Specialism-mapped sourcing
  • Scenario screens by HR operators
  • Written screen results per candidate
  • Pay data cut by HR discipline
  • Interview logistics owned
  • Day-90 fee timing
  • Free replacement search
  • Optional onboarding to our entity
  • Specialism-mapped sourcing
  • Scenario screens by HR operators
  • Written screen results per candidate
  • Pay data cut by HR discipline
Plus four more inclusions
  • Interview logistics owned
  • Day-90 fee timing
  • Free replacement search
  • Optional onboarding to our entity

Candidates from your own network are never charged for.

Employer of Record

Home for a first India HR hire
$149 /employee/mo

$129 monthly beyond twenty total heads. Your HR hire lands employed, insured and payrolled in five days.

Employ the hire
  • Employment on our Bengaluru entity
  • Five-day onboarding
  • PF, ESIC, PT and TDS filings
  • Payslips and Form 16
  • Group health cover
  • HR documentation support
  • Exit processing if ever needed
  • Transfer to your entity later
  • Employment on our Bengaluru entity
  • Five-day onboarding
  • PF, ESIC, PT and TDS filings
  • Payslips and Form 16
Plus four more inclusions
  • Group health cover
  • HR documentation support
  • Exit processing if ever needed
  • Transfer to your entity later

Common for first-India-employee situations.

Whole-team pricing past twenty

$149 $129 /employee/mo

The employment fee, for the HR hire and everyone after them, steps to $129 past twenty heads.

Inside every HR search

  • Role and mandate calibration
  • HR talent market map
  • Scenario screen battery
  • Reference checks with substance
  • Specialism pay benchmarks
  • Offer and counter management
  • Notice-period shepherding
  • Post-join check-ins to day 90

Volume pricing

$149 $129 /employee/mo

Team-wide fee becomes $129 beyond twenty employees.

Inside every HR search

  • Role and mandate calibration
  • HR talent market map
  • Scenario screen battery
  • Reference checks with substance
  • Specialism pay benchmarks
  • Offer and counter management
  • Notice-period shepherding
  • Post-join check-ins to day 90

If the HR hire will be employed through us, salary and statutory costs bill at actuals beside the fee. Assemble the complete budget in the EOR versus entity calculator before the search kicks off.

Hiring HR professionals for India, answered.

What founders and COOs ask when the next hire is the one who will run hiring.

What roles does an HR recruitment agency cover?

The people function itself: HR managers and generalists, HR business partners, talent acquisition specialists and recruiters, payroll and compliance specialists, and HR operations roles. For India teams the sweet spot is the first HR manager at a growing company and specialist backfills at established ones.

Why does HR recruitment need a specialist agency?

Because the failure modes are administrative and legal, not just cultural. An HR hire who misunderstands PF applicability, gratuity accrual or POSH obligations creates liabilities signed in your company's name across every employee file. Screening for that requires screeners who operate those processes themselves, which generic agencies do not have.

How do you test HR candidates beyond the CV?

Scenario screens built by our own HR operations team: a contested termination with notice-period dispute, a PF ECR that will not reconcile, a harassment complaint requiring an ICC process, a payroll error found after disbursement. Candidates respond concretely; you receive their answers in writing with the shortlist.

What should we pay an HR manager in India?

Specialism and city move the number more than the title does. A first HR manager for a small Bengaluru team, an HRBP at a scale-up and a payroll specialist carry distinct market bands, and we share the live data for your exact cut during calibration rather than quoting a generic range here.

Can you hire our very first HR person before we have an entity?

Yes, and it is a classic sequence: we recruit the HR manager, employ them on our Bengaluru entity at $149 monthly, and they operate on our infrastructure while your own setup matures. When your entity is live, they and the rest of the team transfer over with continuity.

What if the HR hire does not work out?

Below day 90 there is no fee and the replacement search runs at no charge, the same terms as every search we run. Beyond it, we help manage the exit properly, which for an HR role matters doubly, and restart with the market map already warm.

Do you also handle the HR work directly instead of hiring someone?

Yes. For teams under roughly fifteen employees, our human resources agency service runs the entire HR function inside the employment fee, no HR hire needed. Many clients start there and graduate to recruiting a dedicated HR manager through this service once scale demands one.

Longer reading: HR run for you instead, for small teams · Talent hired in fourteen days · Best payroll outsourcing companies in India

Tell us where you are on the decision.

A role you want to hire, a team you want moved, or just the two routes to compare. A named person replies in 4 to 6 hours.

A named person replies in 4 to 6 hours, not an autoresponder.

We use these details to respond to your enquiry.

A named person replies in 4 to 6 hours, not an autoresponder. We use these details to respond to your enquiry.

What the first call covers

30 minutes

A cost comparison for your headcount, on your numbers, both routes.

  • A written cost breakdown
  • Entity documents before the call
  • PF, ESI, TDS, termination law
  • No follow-up sequence
Book a call →

You pick the time, we send a Meet link. Any timezone.

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