IT sector attrition to fall, steady hiring likely in next 18 months, says TeamLease

While hiring in the technology sector witnessed volatility in recent months, attrition has come down and steady intake is expected over the next 18 months, according to Rituparna Chakraborty of TeamLease Services.

“We recently reported, maybe a couple of quarters back, that attrition levels were 27%. That’s probably not the case anymore,” Chakraborty, the co-founder and executive director of the recruitment services company, told BQ Prime.

Chakraborty highlighted that employees in such organisations are retaining their jobs, keeping in mind the uncertainties that may arise in the technology sector.

According to her, the managements are also keen to retain existing talent. The constant process of hiring and re-hiring is extremely unproductive for organisations, Chakraborty said.

“Any irrationalities that we noticed maybe two-three quarters back is a thing of the past now. I believe for the next 18 months, this is going to be the approach of most tech sectors.”

However, it would be wrong to say that hiring has come to a standstill in that sector, Chakraborty said.

Hiring Trends
Citing the firm’s Employment Outlook Report for the fourth quarter ending March 2023, Chakraborty said hiring at the middle and senior levels is likely to pick up to a certain extent, which is an aberration from the past.

At the entry and junior level, the intent to hire has been quite bullish, she said.

The fourth quarter is projecting a strong outlook, especially for fresh graduates and entry-level employees, with 79% employers willing to hire from this cohort compared to 74% in Q3, according to the survey report.

For niche, high-skilled job roles, organisations—despite macroeconomic and global challenges—are ready to pay a significant amount of premium while hiring. Over the course of the year, there has been an almost double-digit revision in salaries across sectors, Chakraborty said.

According to the report, India is leading with “the highest hiring intent”, despite ongoing global inflation.

Intent to hire in the services segment seems unaffected and remains buoyant, Chakraborty said.

In the fourth quarter, 77% of employers are keen to increase their resource pool in the services sector as against 73% in the third quarter.

E-commerce sector continues to dominate hiring trends, followed by telecommunications and educational services.

Rural Vs Urban Hiring
The survey highlights that the intent to hire will probably stay flat in rural areas, while it has risen in cities, she said.

The country is witnessing a shift of talent from rural areas to urban areas in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Demand in bigger cities has surged, Chakraborty said.

Organisations are increasingly leaning towards work from office. The normalisation in hiring and “irrational behaviour in tech” probably buoyed the shift to back to office, Chakraborty said. Bloomberg