According to experts in human resources, even joining of new
graduates is likely to be staggered as companies are expected to onboard
staffers after gauging the demand scenario.
Image used for representational purpose.
Hiring of fresh engineering
graduates from college campuses by IT services companies is likely to see a
decline owing to uncertainties arising out of the global spread of
coronavirus.
According to experts in
human resources (HR), even joining of new graduates is likely to be staggered
as companies are expected to onboard staffers after gauging the demand
scenario.
“We anticipate delay in
joining dates for the freshers holding offer letters. Dishonouring letters of
appointment may also happen if the user industries in the US and Europe
continue to reel under the impact of the virus for the next eight weeks,” said
Aditya Narayan Mishra, chief executive officer of staffing firm CIEL HR
Services.
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He said hiring of
engineering graduates might fall by 20-30 per cent if the virus was not
contained in the next few weeks.
In anticipation of demand,
the top four IT firms of India added more than 50,000 freshers last year.
Hiring of fresh graduates is also part of the initiative of most firms to
rightsize their employee pyramid, which has become mid-level employee-heavy in recent
years.
Among IT firms, market
leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has added around 30,000 fresh graduates
in this financial year. The company’s management has said it will increase this
number to 39,000 in the next financial year (FY21).
While Infosys has made
18,000 offers this financial year, Wipro has said it will onboard around 20,000
fresh graduates.
“Joining of fresh graduates
is likely to be staggered now as companies are expected to turn cautious due to
likely demand slowdown. So, it can happen over batches,” said Pareekh Jain, an
IT outsourcing advisor and founder of Pareekh Consulting.
“The real impact will be on
hiring for next year (2021), which will depend on the demand outlook amid
spread of coronavirus.”
The IT industry is staring
at a demand slowdown as many developed countries, including the US, have
started to shut down establishments for imposing social distancing to fight the
spread of virus. As a result, the companies are already witnessing delay in
wining large deals, with reports suggesting that deal signings worth around
$3-4 billion have been deferred in this month alone.
While fresher hiring hinges
on the demand outlook, even job interviews for lateral hiring is getting
delayed as companies are not able to conduct face-to-face interviews.
“The biggest issue is that
none of the companies in India have complete e-onboarding process, so even
after selection, candidates are not getting onboarded. As of now, most clients
have deferred joining to the first week of April,” said Sunil Chemmankotil,
head (specialised staffing) at TeamLease Digital.
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