Getty ImagesThe enormity of the second Covid-19 wave has broken down the hiring ecosystem in India’s white-collar job market.
While many companies across sectors had started going slow on their hiring plans over the last one month by deferring interviews, job seekers are now faced with an indefinite delay in the issuing of offer letters as several companies have put the process on hold even after the final selection of a candidate, according to half a dozen staffing companies and executive search firms that ET spoke with. However, there has been no withdrawal or cancellation of offers given out so far.
Hiring has gone into a backburner as no firm is even ready to commit how long will be the delay or pause.
Search consultants and hiring agencies have seen a 15-20% fall in offer letters being issued by companies after a person has made it through the final round of the selection process.
According to data of 600 companies put together by CIEL HR Services, just in the last two weeks itself, there was a 10-15% dip in the issue of final offer letters in sectors such as IT, manufacturing, engineering, consumer products, BFSI, retail and healthcare.
“Companies are postponing issuing of final offers without citing any specific reason," said Aditya Narayan Mishra, chief executive of Ciel HR Services. "Though we have not seen any offer withdrawal so far, there is a lot of uncertainty,” he added.
Growing Nervousness
While industry experts attribute this to companies being busy with Covid-related crisis management, many CEOs and top company executives said the pause could also be due to a growing nervousness about the impact of the raging second wave, more states clamping down, and the buzz of a nationwide lockdown. "I would attribute this to the overall business uncertainty and likely impact of more lockdowns on businesses," said Harsh Mariwala, chairman, Marico.
Santrupt Misra, CEO of the carbon black business at the Group, said it could be due to a combination of reasons. "Most companies are busy taking care of their existing employees and prioritising dealing with Covid-related challenges. For some companies it could be because they are reviewing the position either due to business uncertainty or because in some roles (in sectors such as manufacturing) the job cannot be done remotely and given the current circumstance the person cannot join physically," said Misra. However, he added: "We don’t withdraw offers made and I have not cancelled any hiring."
"Sentiment of the consumer is very subdued and a general uncertainty about the future is creating a lot of negativity," said Harsh Goenka, chairman, RPG Group. "As a large group we have shown resilience and have not scaled down on hiring but certain sectors like the MSME are in total shambles. Others like hospitality, tourism, retail, etc., are badly affected … Even for large companies, there will be a pressure on margins very soon," Goenka added.
Search and staffing companies said the entire recruitment logistics was broken down as the whole chain comprising reviewers, business heads who sign off the final offer letters, or some other manager in the line was busy with crisis management — either personal or at work.
While many companies across sectors had started going slow on their hiring plans over the last one month by deferring interviews, job seekers are now faced with an indefinite delay in the issuing of offer letters as several companies have put the process on hold even after the final selection of a candidate, according to half a dozen staffing companies and executive search firms that ET spoke with. However, there has been no withdrawal or cancellation of offers given out so far.
Hiring has gone into a backburner as no firm is even ready to commit how long will be the delay or pause.
Search consultants and hiring agencies have seen a 15-20% fall in offer letters being issued by companies after a person has made it through the final round of the selection process.
According to data of 600 companies put together by CIEL HR Services, just in the last two weeks itself, there was a 10-15% dip in the issue of final offer letters in sectors such as IT, manufacturing, engineering, consumer products, BFSI, retail and healthcare.
“Companies are postponing issuing of final offers without citing any specific reason," said Aditya Narayan Mishra, chief executive of Ciel HR Services. "Though we have not seen any offer withdrawal so far, there is a lot of uncertainty,” he added.
Growing Nervousness
While industry experts attribute this to companies being busy with Covid-related crisis management, many CEOs and top company executives said the pause could also be due to a growing nervousness about the impact of the raging second wave, more states clamping down, and the buzz of a nationwide lockdown. "I would attribute this to the overall business uncertainty and likely impact of more lockdowns on businesses," said Harsh Mariwala, chairman, Marico.
Santrupt Misra, CEO of the carbon black business at the Group, said it could be due to a combination of reasons. "Most companies are busy taking care of their existing employees and prioritising dealing with Covid-related challenges. For some companies it could be because they are reviewing the position either due to business uncertainty or because in some roles (in sectors such as manufacturing) the job cannot be done remotely and given the current circumstance the person cannot join physically," said Misra. However, he added: "We don’t withdraw offers made and I have not cancelled any hiring."
"Sentiment of the consumer is very subdued and a general uncertainty about the future is creating a lot of negativity," said Harsh Goenka, chairman, RPG Group. "As a large group we have shown resilience and have not scaled down on hiring but certain sectors like the MSME are in total shambles. Others like hospitality, tourism, retail, etc., are badly affected … Even for large companies, there will be a pressure on margins very soon," Goenka added.
Search and staffing companies said the entire recruitment logistics was broken down as the whole chain comprising reviewers, business heads who sign off the final offer letters, or some other manager in the line was busy with crisis management — either personal or at work.