The success story of Global Adjustments

[Guest guest]

The success story of Global Adjustments Shobha Warrier

 

"Ranjini says she has understood India better by teaching foreigners

about India. "We didn't know the India that we needed to explain.

For example, I didn't know how to explain why we had a dot (bindi)

on the forehead. Finding answers to such questions have made us more

penetrative of our own culture. It made it easier for me to answer

many questions because I was brought up in the vedic culture."

 

http://im.rediff.com/money/2006/oct/10ran2.jpg

Ranjini Manian, founder-director, Global Adjustments.

Photograph: Sreeram Selvaraj

October 10, 2006

 

In March 1995, over lunch, Joanne (Grady Huskey), a diplomat's wife

told her Chennai-based friend Ranjini Manian how difficult it was

for a foreigner to adjust to the new surroundings, new culture and

new food habits that India offered.

 

"Joanne told me that there are relocation services and cross-

cultural companies in the West, and India would need such services

because the world was coming to India. Then she asked me, why don't

you start something like that?" reminisced Ranjini.

 

Ranjini, who has more than a smattering knowledge of French,

Japanese and Spanish, considered the idea of starting a relocation

service in India a bright one. After all, she had been helping out

her non-Indian friends out of personal interest.

 

"Indians as a race are very hospitable and welcoming. And Joanne

spoke of the days I helped her out as a friend when she was feeling

down in the new surroundings. She said the help I gave her was

needed by every westerner who came to India. So my inspiration to do

something for the expats is Joanne."

 

That was the beginning and Ranjini soon became an entrepreneur. She

is the founder-director of Global Adjustments.

 

Birth of India's first relocation service

 

The first thing the two ladies decided was to give the venture

a 'workable' name. So they grabbed a piece of paper (it's still with

Ranjini) and jotted down names that they thought would suit a

relocation service.

 

Finally they zeroed in on 'Global Adjustments.' The next step was to

find a suitable place for their venture. Without a second thought,

Ranjini decided to use her vacant flat, in one of the residential

localities of Chennai, as the office of Global Adjustments.

 

"At that time, it didn't strike us that it was a great location with

the Park Sheraton nearby and above all, this was south Chennai!"

 

Ranjini remembers that they did the "most foolish thing" after that.

They went to the most expensive place and bought the stationery for

their office. Ranjini had some spare furniture and Joanne had a word

processor. And Global Adjustments was born.

 

The most important thing an entrepreneur has to follow is to keep

all the windows open, says Ranjini. . . "so that the antenna was

always open and I was looking for something new or different to do

all the time. Though I loved the idea put forth by Joanne, I knew

what I was going to do was a pioneering effort. At that time, there

was not a single company in India that offered relocation services."

 

Was it easy for her?

 

"No, it was not easy because many people wondered why they should

pay for the services that any other Indian would be offering for

free. Many Indians also asked me how I would convert this

into 'business'?"

 

"Our culture says Atithi Devo Bhava (a guest is like God). Anyway,

we do need to look after our guests, they argued. There was a little

resistance from the local community as well as the small existing

expat community to corporatising hospitality."

 

Ranjini admits that it was the press in Chennai that gave her the

much needed publicity free of cost. "Within two weeks of our launch,

we were on the front pages of The Hindu. It said culture shocks of

expats coming to India would be eased by Global Adjustments. So

being in the news was one way the message was spread. We also spoke

to various consulates about what we were doing."

 

Then they decided to arrange a seminar called 'The Taste of Madras'

for the expatriate community in Chennai. It was free for everyone.

Experts from various fields spoke at the function -- S Muthiah

talked on history, Anita Ratnam on dance, Nandita Krishna on

Hinduism, and Ramesh Krishnan on sports. Yes, Ranjini had the

advantage of knowing all these experts personally. "That is why they

all came to talk to the expats. That is why we had an easy starting

point."

 

First client

 

After the seminar, an American named Barry Brown who was staying in

a hotel signed up as the first client of Global Adjustments. In

fact, the company he worked for -- Air Touch International -- also

signed up. At that time, the company was planning to bring cell

phones to India by tying up with the RPG Group.

 

"We welcomed Barry Brown to India, helped him choose a place to live

in, schools where to educate his children, to choose a hospital, et

cetera, et cetera. However, in the end, Barry Brown didn't come to

stay in India. But the American who came after Barry Brown became

our real first client."

 

Dealing with the first clients was comparatively easy, said

Ranjini. "It was very easy because they came with no expectations.

But now it is more difficult because we have been in the business

for the last 11 years. Naturally our clients expect very high level

of service from us. But in those days, even a little help was

appreciated."

 

The first major corporate client of Global Adjustments was Ford.

Sixty to eighty families of Ford executives became their clients way

back in the 1990s and relocation training modules were designed

specifically for them.

 

"An American may be more friendly and open but he has very little

knowledge of India. On the other hand, a British will have more

knowledge of India, yet they face the same relocation problems,"

Ranjini remarked.

 

Clients after ten years

 

Today, after ten years, Global Adjustments has more than 1,000

clients from 70 nationalities. The list among others include

Alliance Francaise, Alcatel Development Centre, Bank of Tokyo, BMW,

British Council, Deutsch Bank, Ernst & Young, Fenner, Ford India

Ltd, GEC Alsthom, France, the German Consulate, Hewlett Packard,

Lufthansa, Nokia, Panasonic, Sansui, Shell, Singapore Consulate,

Toshiba, Japan, US Consulate, Van Melle, Holland, and World Bank.

 

>From two employees in 1996, the company has grown to have 35 people.

Other than Chennai, they also have branches in Gurgaon and

Bangalore. Regional consultants are there in Pune, Trivandrum,

Mumbai and Hyderabad.

 

Perception of India in the last ten years

 

India, points out Ranjini, has gained respect in the minds of

westerners now. And this is not because of its cultural background

and heritage but "because of the advancement in the field of

technology. It is visible now. I see people coming here after doing

their homework and with a more open mind. They tell us, please teach

us what we should and shouldn't do. Earlier it used to be, 'This is

how I am used to, and I want it this way.' Now, it is more like, how

can I adapt and integrate. How can I manage an Indian team? We teach

a programme on how to manage an Indian team and most westerners take

that course. They also take time and effort to understand India."

 

Along the way, Global Adjustments started a course for Indians to

understand the westerners too. That was when the dot-com boom had

started and a lot of Indians were moving to western countries. They

also had plenty of doubts in their mind. Global Adjustments trained

people to go and live in different locations. There were thousands

of Indians who took training from Ranjini's team to learn to live in

different parts of the world.

 

After the dot-com bust, it is now the call centres that are asking

for training.

 

Turning point

 

The turning point for Global Adjustments was in 2004, according to

Ranjini. "We called ourselves a company that offered relocation

services. We thought, are we really that? We are actually a cross-

cultural company in an integrated way. So, today we call ourselves,

India focussed, integrated cross-cultural training and destination

services company."

 

Real estate division

 

Other than the relocation services, Global Adjustments also has a

real estate division now that advices Indians where to invest if

they want to rent out homes to expatriates. "We tell them where to

buy, how to build and how to do up the homes, etc to suit the taste

of the expatriates. We also train them on how to work with other

cultures. We do a lot of communication training. We also offer

customer service programmes, office etiquettes and protocol

programmes."

 

The company also offers a round- the- clock telephone and e-mail

helpline for all their clients throughout their stay in India.

 

The only magazine for expats

 

It was a comment from an expatriate that made Ranjini think of

starting a magazine. "She told me, Madras is so boring. So, we

started off as a calendar of events in Chennai. I told all the

exapts, 'I will keep you occupied all the 30 days. Don't tell me the

city is boring.' Then, they asked me, 'There is an exhibition at

Poompuhar on Ganesh Chaturthi. What's that?' So, we started

publishing articles on what's Ganesh Chathurthi, etc. Slowly, our

magazine, At A Glance: Understanding India, became a cultural guide

to all the expatriates, and ours is the only cultural magazine for

expatriates in India."

 

The proudest moment for Ranjini was receiving a letter from

President A P J Abdul Kalam appreciating what she is doing for the

nation through the magazine.

 

The most cherished comment was when an expatriate said it was like a

lifeline for them. Another person told her while leaving India that

she had collected 4 years of the magazine and was taking them back

to her country.

 

Ranjini says not a single expatriate leaves India smiling; "They are

always sad and crying because they are leaving India. Many tell me

it is a 'wrenching moment' for them. It is the warmth of the people

that touches them."

 

Learning experience

 

Ranjini says she has understood India better by teaching foreigners

about India. "We didn't know the India that we needed to explain.

For example, I didn't know how to explain why we had a dot (bindi)

on the forehead. Finding answers to such questions have made us more

penetrative of our own culture. It made it easier for me to answer

many questions because I was brought up in the vedic culture.

 

"This work has made me more sensitive and aware as a person, what I

am doing and where I am going. It is like retracing my own origin.

It has enriched me as an Indian and certainly as a person."

 

"These last ten years have been a journey of constant learning,

relearning and un-learning for me personally and for all of us at

Global Adjustments! The journey as an entrepreneur has been exciting

as well as challenging."

 

The reason for her success? "I was at the right place at the right

time."

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