Case Study: Deploying 150 Developers for a US SaaS Company in Bangalore

Client Background

A US-based SaaS company specializing in enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for the mid-market segment decided to establish a development centre in India to accelerate its product roadmap. The company, with approximately 400 employees in the US and annual revenue of USD 80 million, had no prior presence in India. The leadership team wanted to build a high-calibre engineering team in Bangalore to work on core product development, quality assurance, and platform engineering.

The company's initial plan called for 150 software professionals across multiple technology stacks including Java, Python, React, AWS, and Kubernetes. The timeline was aggressive: the team needed to be operational within 3 months to align with the product release cycle for the next fiscal year. However, the company had not yet incorporated an Indian entity, and the process for setting up a Private Limited Company with all statutory registrations was estimated at 8-10 weeks.

Challenge

The client faced several interconnected challenges that made the hiring timeline extremely difficult through conventional methods.

First, the absence of a legal entity in India meant the company could not directly employ anyone. Incorporating an entity, opening bank accounts, completing EPF, ESIC, Professional Tax, and Shops and Establishments registrations, and setting up payroll infrastructure would consume the entire 3-month window before a single hire could be made.

Second, the requirement for 150 skilled technology professionals across multiple stacks and experience levels (junior to architect level) demanded a massive recruitment effort. In Bangalore's competitive talent market, where GCCs and technology companies compete fiercely for developers, sourcing this volume of qualified candidates within the timeline required a recruitment infrastructure the client did not possess in India.

Third, the client needed all employees to be compliantly employed from day one, with full statutory coverage including EPF, ESIC, Professional Tax, health insurance, and income tax management. Any compliance gaps could create legal exposure and reputational risk for the parent company.

Fourth, the compensation structures needed to be competitive with Bangalore's GCC market while aligning with the parent company's global compensation philosophy. CTC design, tax optimization, and benefits structuring required deep knowledge of Indian compensation practices and tax regulations.

TMS Solution

TMS proposed an Employer of Record (EOR) model that allowed the client to begin hiring immediately while the entity setup process ran in parallel. The solution was structured in three phases.

During weeks 1-2, TMS established the operational framework. Our team designed the CTC structure for 12 distinct role levels, from junior developers to principal architects, optimizing for tax efficiency while ensuring competitiveness with Bangalore GCC market benchmarks. We set up the payroll processing infrastructure, configured compliance systems for Karnataka state requirements, and created onboarding workflows aligned with the client's global HR processes.

During weeks 2-12, TMS executed a massive recruitment campaign deploying a dedicated team of 12 recruiters and 4 sourcers exclusively for this engagement. We activated multiple sourcing channels simultaneously: LinkedIn Recruiter campaigns targeting passive candidates with specific technology stack experience, employee referral campaigns through our existing network of technology professionals in Bangalore, partnerships with 8 specialized technology recruitment agencies, outreach to technology communities and meetup groups, and job postings on targeted platforms including Naukri, Indeed, and specialist technology job boards. TMS managed the complete hiring funnel, including resume screening against the client's technical specifications, initial technical phone screens by our technology assessment team, coordination of client technical interviews across US time zones, offer management with 24-hour turnaround from final interview to offer, and background verification for all candidates.

Throughout the 3-month period, TMS managed all 150 professionals on its payroll as the EOR. This covered appointment letter issuance with compliant terms under the Karnataka Shops and Establishments Act, monthly payroll processing including CTC breakdowns and payslip generation, EPF registration and monthly ECR filing for all employees, ESIC contributions for eligible employees, Professional Tax deduction and remittance under Karnataka rules, income tax (TDS) computation and monthly deposit, group health insurance covering INR 5 lakh per employee plus family, and employee query resolution through a dedicated HR helpdesk.

Results with Metrics

The engagement delivered measurable outcomes across all key parameters.

On recruitment performance, TMS screened 2,200 candidate profiles, conducted 680 technical phone screens, facilitated 420 client interviews, and extended 185 offers to secure 150 acceptances, representing an offer-to-join ratio of 81%. The average time-to-fill across all positions was 28 days, compared to the Bangalore market average of 42 days for similar technology roles.

On compliance metrics, 100% of employees were compliantly onboarded on the TMS payroll from their first day of employment. Zero compliance observations were raised during the engagement period. All monthly EPF, ESIC, PT, and TDS filings were completed before their respective deadlines. Full Form 16 generation was completed for the partial financial year.

On cost performance, the blended cost-per-hire was INR 85,000 per position, 30% below the client's budget assumption of INR 1,20,000 per hire. The EOR management fee provided a predictable, all-inclusive cost structure with no hidden charges. Total project savings compared to the client's initial estimates were approximately INR 52 lakh.

On operational outcomes, the 150-person team was fully operational within 90 days of engagement commencement. First-month attrition was zero, and 3-month attrition was 2.7% (4 departures, all backfilled within 15 days). Employee satisfaction with the onboarding and payroll experience scored 4.3 out of 5 in TMS's post-onboarding survey.

After 6 months, when the client's Indian entity was fully operational with all registrations complete, TMS executed a seamless transfer of all 150 employees from the EOR payroll to the client's direct entity. The transfer was completed within 30 days with zero employee attrition and full continuity of EPF accounts, ESIC coverage, and service tenure recognition.

Key Takeaways

This engagement demonstrated that the EOR model enables companies to launch India operations at full speed without waiting for entity incorporation. A dedicated, well-resourced recruitment campaign can deliver 150 technology hires in Bangalore within 3 months. Proactive compliance management from day one protects both the client and the employees. Clean, well-planned transfers from EOR to direct entity can be executed with zero disruption. Investing in competitive CTC structuring and a strong employer value proposition delivers high offer acceptance rates even in a competitive market.

Planning a rapid technology team build-up in India? TMS can deploy your team through EOR while your entity is being set up, ensuring zero delays and full compliance. Contact us at +91-XXXXXXXXXX or email [email protected] to discuss your requirements.