According to human resource consultants, demand for temporary workers has risen as much as three to four times following business disruptions caused by the pandemic, and is set to surge further
Pummelled by the coronavirus outbreak, companies across India, especially small and medium enterprises, are looking to hire new workers, but only on a temporary basis, as they seek to keep costs under control.
According to human resource consultants, demand for temporary workers has risen as much as three to four times following business disruptions caused by the pandemic, and is set to surge further as employers are unlikely to commit to full-time workers, at least over the next 12-18 months.
Mohit Rampal, a consultant at Ramognee Technologies, a Gurugram-based mid-sized cybersecurity firm, recently posted his requirement for developers on a job portal. In other times, Rampal would have preferred “hiring" these developers on a permanent basis. But, this year, he could only afford them on a contractual basis. “Demand for solutions around CRM, data mining, artificial intelligence, remote cyber management, etc., has gone up and companies are looking for contractual hiring," said Rampal.
He said hiring for project-only basis is affordable as it has less impact on costs over the long-term. Besides, resources are available within a shorter response time and there is no commitment to retain them. Most importantly, it lets the core team focus on the main product development, he said.
Also, while handling a particular contract, a contract worker cannot take on other projects which may result in a conflict of interest with the employer.
“There is a clear trend in contract hiring now. For functions like legal, finance and IT, people are looking for contractual hires which are between 6-12 months tenure. Mostly small and medium enterprises are hiring. Large organizations cannot do away with critical hires on a temporary basis, so they are not doing it," said Anshul Lodha, regional director at Michael Page, a UK-headquartered recruitment agency.
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