Get a grip! The world of jobs is changing faster than you can think
ET Online|
Nov 09, 2017, 05.30 PM IST
The 9-to-5 job with annual appraisals, retention bonuses and the bucket of casual and privilege leaves may soon become a special privilege. Hiring and work trends are shifting fast as companies need to cut costs and keep up with the new technologies such as automation. Permanent jobs or three-to-five year contracts will increasingly become obsolete.
Already, 56% of companies in India have more than 20% of their workforce as contingent workers, according to the Workforce Agility Barometer Study by KellyOCG. Moreover, 71% of companies expect the percentage of their contingent workforce to grow over the next two years, which is the highest percentage in the APAC region. IT, shared service centres and startups are the biggest adopters of contingent hiring. The contingent workforce comprises freelancers, temporary staff, service providers, alumni, consultants and online talent communities.
This model is called the gig economy as companies hire gig or temporary workers rather than pemanent employees. In the gig economy, talent works on a demand-supply model, moving across projects and organisations as per the demand and their interest areas.
When the economy is down and emerging technologies challenge business models, companies find gig economy suits them better as it gives them access to a large variety of professionals and helps them keep staff costs flexible. When companies find it hard to reskill their employees as fast as required by the market, a large number of jobs in emerging technologies go to the gig workers.
The new-age trend of flexible working hours or flexi hours fits in with the gig economy. Flexi hours give employees greater control over their work hours. That is possible mostly with gig workers who are hired for specific projects where output is directly linked to remuneration.
If work trends are changing, so are the trends in hiring. Many companies in India now rely less on search firms and build their own in-house recruitment channels. When hiring is down, in-house departments can work as well as search agencies. But more importantly, the in-house hiring helps cut costs and makes it easier for companies to find better cultural fits.
A company can afford hiring costs on permanent or long-term employees but not on contingent workers. That's why in-house hiring could be an indicator of companies increasing contingent work force. Relying on employee referrals and digital and social channels, these in-house hiring departments would be more effective for contingent hiring.
In a decade or so, both the way you get a job and the way you work will transform radically. While the millennial workers prefer the new-age trends, more freedom can also bring more uncertainty.
Already, 56% of companies in India have more than 20% of their workforce as contingent workers, according to the Workforce Agility Barometer Study by KellyOCG. Moreover, 71% of companies expect the percentage of their contingent workforce to grow over the next two years, which is the highest percentage in the APAC region. IT, shared service centres and startups are the biggest adopters of contingent hiring. The contingent workforce comprises freelancers, temporary staff, service providers, alumni, consultants and online talent communities.
This model is called the gig economy as companies hire gig or temporary workers rather than pemanent employees. In the gig economy, talent works on a demand-supply model, moving across projects and organisations as per the demand and their interest areas.
When the economy is down and emerging technologies challenge business models, companies find gig economy suits them better as it gives them access to a large variety of professionals and helps them keep staff costs flexible. When companies find it hard to reskill their employees as fast as required by the market, a large number of jobs in emerging technologies go to the gig workers.
The new-age trend of flexible working hours or flexi hours fits in with the gig economy. Flexi hours give employees greater control over their work hours. That is possible mostly with gig workers who are hired for specific projects where output is directly linked to remuneration.
If work trends are changing, so are the trends in hiring. Many companies in India now rely less on search firms and build their own in-house recruitment channels. When hiring is down, in-house departments can work as well as search agencies. But more importantly, the in-house hiring helps cut costs and makes it easier for companies to find better cultural fits.
A company can afford hiring costs on permanent or long-term employees but not on contingent workers. That's why in-house hiring could be an indicator of companies increasing contingent work force. Relying on employee referrals and digital and social channels, these in-house hiring departments would be more effective for contingent hiring.
In a decade or so, both the way you get a job and the way you work will transform radically. While the millennial workers prefer the new-age trends, more freedom can also bring more uncertainty.
