Cos set to hire more temps to prune wage bills
As the economy shows signs of a revival and companies gear up to expand their operations, HR heads are turning more mindful of the impact of possible future layoffs on their corporate image. Result: there is likely to be a spurt in openings for temporary staff hired on project basis, at the expense of regular employees.
The demand for flexi staffers is expected to swell to 10 million by 2024 from the cur- rent 1.7 million, according to Indian Staffing Federation.
“Firms do not want to blemish brand image by laying off people and are adopting caution while hiring permanent staff,” said Suchita Dutta, executive director, ISF.
Adoption of blended staff model also helps companies save 25-30% of salaries. “Three years back, companies use to hire 15% of flexi staffers, however, today over 25% of workforce in most of the Fortune 500 companies (in India) constitute of such workers,” said Dutta.
While IT is currently the biggest recruiter of temporary staff in India, the trend is expected to get aggresive in manufacturing and retail sectors, an ISF study said.
According to headhunters, Accenture, Microsoft and Cisco spend over $80 million each on contract workforce, while Cognizant, Oracle and HCL Technologies shell out over $50 million each. “Companies have found higher profitability (in hiring temporary staff), “said Aditya Narayan Mishra, president, staffing firm Randstad India.