Women Working after Marriage

A recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) report suggested that only 32% of married women aged 18 and 49 are employed. This percentage is much higher for married men in the country, 98% for the same age group. Fortunately, this percentage has increased compared to the last report of NFHS-4. 

As the doors of women’s jobs open, women also take advantage of the various opportunities they are eligible for. With the nation’s growing economy, more and more women are getting their home businesses up and running, freelancing, and providing services to generate alternate streams of income for their families. 

Although women are being empowered and are increasingly working, most women end up having to take a break from their careers due to some or other responsibilities, like childbirth, rearing of infants, transfer of spouse’s work location, etc., which is looked down on when returning to work after a gap.

A recent report by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) on women’s participation in India’s economy estimates that there are over 20 million housewives in the country. The report further said that the share of housewives in the GDP of India is expected to increase in the next few years as women become more empowered.

Women in Leadership

In India, 17.1% of the board seats are held by women, according to the latest edition of Deloitte Global’s Women in the Boardroom report. This is 9.4% higher than the 2014 edition when the Companies Act mandated that one woman should be on every board. In addition, 3.6% of board chairs are female, 0.9% lower than the 2018 figure. 

There is a definite improvement, and the momentum of change is picking up, yet there is a long way to go for us to be recognised as an equitable society.

Helping Women Transition back to Work

It is a common misconception that women with gaps in their resumes lack experience. Women should be credited for their experience in running their home enterprises. They develop and leverage a myriad of skills like, soft skills, conflict resolution, health management, and people management skills while managing a household. They also manage their household’s monthly budget, providing them with practical financial management experience. They should be recognised at par based on these experiences if not equal to their male counterparts with professional enterprise experience.

Still, women often find it challenging to transition back into the workforce after taking a break from their careers.  However, they can successfully make the transition with proper support and guidance. This can be achieved through mentorship programs, career counselling, online courses and programs, and staying current with job market trends.

Many companies, like Goldman Sachs, Cloudflare, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Accenture, Amazon, IBM, etc., have offered return-to-work programs to help women transition back to work through numerous programs. These programs run for a few months providing Training, experience & Networking opportunities to professionals for a smooth transition.

Countries Supporting Women

Many countries have implemented policies and programs to empower women and this is to help them transition back to work after taking time off for caregiving responsibilities. Here are some examples:

• The Canadian government provides numerous programs and initiatives to help women re-enter the workforce. These include job training, subsidised childcare, and tax credits for caregivers.

• Sweden has one of the world’s most generous parental leave policies, with up to 480 days of paid leave per child. The government also offers subsidised child care and flexible work arrangements.

• The UK has multiple programs to aid women returning to work. “The Women Returners Network” is one of them, and it offers coaching, training, and job opportunities for women who have taken a career break.

• The Australian government provides various programs to aid women in returning to work. These initiatives include free career counselling, flexible work arrangements, and subsidies for child care.

• France has implemented various policies to support working mothers. These include subsidised child care, paid parental leave, and the right to request flexible work arrangements.

Conclusion

Women in India have and continue to face significant challenges through social stigma and discrimination due to their lack of formal employment, despite their vital role in households and communities and the experience they gain from this home enterprise management. However, there is hope for change as more and more women are taking advantage of various opportunities to generate income from their homes. 

It is essential to acknowledge the value of their work, not just the monetisation of it, and support policies that promote gender equity and fair compensation. In addition, it is also crucial to help women transition back to work after a break. Many countries have implemented policies and programs to empower women and facilitate their return to the workforce. In the end, it is pivotal to continue working towards gender equality & equity and to support and grow women’s participation in all aspects of the workforce, the economy, and the society at large if India wants to achieve its true potential in the coming decades.

To know more about Women Participation in the Indian Labour Force, do remember to check out our No Women Left Behind Report.

Here are 13 reasons why companies should seek staffing solutions:

1. Finding the Right Talent: In India, the country’s working-age population is expected to increase by over 100 million people between 2020-2030, according to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). As more people enter the job market, companies must find ways to set themselves apart and attract the best candidates. This is where HR staffing agencies come in, assisting employers in connecting with top talent who meets their specific requirements.
2. Access to Vast Talent Pool: A reputed Pan-India staffing firm has a comprehensive portfolio of access to talent. It can supply any tech/non-tech talent required due to their scale of sourcing and keen eye for talent acquisition process. Companies can avoid making wrong hires with the help of a staffing agency’s quick placement and credible verification process.
3. Accelerate Hiring Process: A staffing firm manages the voluminous task of screening and evaluating resumes, which can be daunting in a country like India. This saves companies a lot of time as their internal team doesn’t have to  assess hundreds of resumes to find the right placements. When companies work with an IT staffing company, they  outsource their  bulk recruiting efforts, thus speeding up and streamlining their hiring.
4. Specialised Recruitment Needs: Some industries or roles may require specialised knowledge or experience that is not readily available to the company. HR staffing agencies with expertise in these areas can help identify and recruit suitable candidates.
5. Diversity and Inclusion: Contract staffing agencies have access to a more diverse pool of candidates, helping employers to improve their diversity and inclusion impact.
6. Flexibility: Staffing agencies can provide temporary or contract workers to meet specific short-term needs, or help fill permanent positions. This can be particularly useful for businesses that experience fluctuations in demand or have specific project/time-based needs.
7. Reduction in Turnover: HR staffing agencies can help ensure that candidates are well-suited to the role and have a good cultural fit with the company, hence reducing turnover and associated replacement costs.
8. Increased Productivity: Temporary Staffing aids in recruiting the right candidate for the job role within the organisation. It focuses on human resource recruitment, training, and development in organisations, which contributes to increased productivity. The Hire-Train-Deploy model is a disruptive training and hiring program that aims at bridging the gap between industry expectations and the time required to hire talent ready to be employed on the main job immediately.
9. Cost-effective: Outsourcing recruitment to a staffing firm can be more cost-effective than conducting the process in-house, especially for smaller companies that may not have a dedicated HR department.
10. Handle Onboarding and Payroll: A significant benefit of using staffing agencies is that the staffing agency takes care of the temporary employees’ onboarding paperwork, payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, and unemployment benefits.
11. Mitigation of Risk: Staffing agencies have expertise in compliance with employment  & Labor  laws and regulations across states in the country, reducing the company’s risk of legal issues related to hiring and employment.
12. Leverage Technology: When it comes to staffing, technology can reinvent standard practices and support to automate already game-changing ones. In this fast-paced economy, staffing agencies have always been required to innovate in novel and creative ways.
13. Oversee Company Compliance: Before the economic emergency of 2008 and the Great Recession, compliance might have been considered a hefty expenditure but not anymore. Outsourcing compliance processes has enabled companies to meet global compliance needs and drastically reduce overhead costs, including infrastructure and operating costs.

Growth lies in learning how to dance in the downpour

The future demand for skills is constantly evolving due to advancements in technology, changes in industry, and shifts in the global economy. Creativity, time and project management, agility, IT automation, data analysis and statistics will continue to be the top in-demand skills and employers will continue to wrestle with finding the right talent, the right fit. Outsourcing staffing needs to a trusted third-party agency can provide a range of benefits for businesses of all sizes, from cost savings and time savings to access to a larger pool of qualified candidates and specialised expertise in recruitment and hiring. By partnering with a reputable and compliant staffing agency, businesses can build a skilled and reliable workforce, reduce risk, and focus on core activities that drive growth and success.

What types of products and services can be provided by BCs?

The roles and responsibilities of BCs can be defined under the contract between the bank and the retail agent, which may differ from other banks’ norms and conditions.

Business Correspondents are responsible for executing numerous functions, which have been explained below:

• By identifying prospective customers for the bank, business correspondents engage prospects in generating awareness among customers on the bank’s available service options and financial products.
• BCs run a small campaign at the ground level to educate and advise their customers on managing money, debt counseling and recommending small loans to target customers.
• BC also promotes, nurtures and monitors Self Help Groups, Joint Liability Groups, Credit Groups, and other cooperative societies in rural and suburban areas.

Day-to-day tasks which BCs perform

• Business correspondents collect and handle preliminary processing documents for deposits that involve verification of primary information/ data.
• They are responsible for enrolling customers for various financial products and services. This also involves filling out various applications and documents of products and services the bank provides in that area.
• Business correspondents also complete the whole “know your customer” (KYC) procedure as part of the opening formalities requiring the occasional collecting of crucial client information.
• They are authorized by the bank to provide account statements and other account-related information for a minimum period of 3 months to their customers.
• Business correspondent promotes cross-sell and promotes products through kiosk banking facilities, including mutual fund products, pension products and other such third-party products.

Disbursing and Collection through Business correspondent

• The business correspondents are accountable for collecting and paying small-value deposits and (cash) withdrawals, the maximum value of which is Rs. 2,000 per transaction, while there is no minimum limit.
• Business correspondents are responsible for handling the receipt and delivery of small-value remittances.
• Depending on bank guidelines, they are also involved in disbursing small loans, like entrepreneurial and agricultural loans.
• They are monitors and collectors for the bank’s loan customers.

Who can act as a business correspondent?

When the BC model was introduced in 2006, few institutions were authorized to function as BCs, including NGOs and MFIs established under societies or trust statutes, societies registered under the Mutually Assisted Cooperative Societies Act or the Cooperative Societies Acts of States, Section 25 businesses, and post offices. Later in 2008, the RBI refined its guidelines and included banks where banks can engage such companies as BCs, which are stand-alone entities, or Section 25 companies, in which NBFCs, banks, telecom companies, and other corporate entities or their holding companies do not have holdings in excess of 10%.

The Committee on Inclusion, which is led by Dr C. Rangarajan, thinks that banks are getting worried about the lower margins they can make on financial intermediation because there is more competition among them. They also think that small-value clients (depositors) in remote areas don’t get much help getting access to financial services.

The agency that wants to serve as BC must have a workforce that can be deployed across India. A BC agent should have strong sourcing channels such as referrals, online and offline channels, partner channels, and university and college connections.

The BC agent must have a model that assists the bank in hiring or Hire-Train-Deploy business correspondents. The BC agent is also given the infrastructure and asset service needed to set up offices all over India and run the BC model according to the bank’s rules and guidelines. A BC agent should have strong compliance norms that adhere to RBI guidelines to run the business model.

Why should Banks adopt the Business Correspondent Model?

• Low operation cost for banking service – In-person discussion with BC agent will lead to more CASA deposits at a much lower cost.
• Performing banking at a mobile location – rooted in the local community will give you a great advantage, banks will be close to their rural clients.
• Agility in service – BC provides better flexibility in terms of the delivery of financial services.
• Reactive response – BCs are more responsive to the needs and challenges of local clients.
• Local Engagement – Banks are generating local engagement through the BC model.

In addition to the direct income contributions from these new business sectors, service innovation will be essential to fostering expansion in the connection industry.

5G for business

When examining the benefits of 5G for business transformation, numerous significant common traits become apparent, such as:

-The ability to perform any process remotely, regardless of how vital it is for real-time control of any business operation, automating processes, utilizing compute resources when appropriate, and running edge apps when necessary to achieve higher security levels without compromising overall performance.

The Government of India has introduced the “Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Telecom and Networking Products” so as to attract large-scale investments in telecom equipment manufacturing and augment the domestic production capacity.

5G edge computing will enable businesses to maximize their data usage and act upon insights quickly. AI can process massive amounts of data quickly with fast connections. For instance, in a smart city, AI can automatically adjust traffic lights when a new apartment complex is built. AI-assisted security and machine vision can secure facilities by recognizing possible threats or unauthorized visitors.

Gaming will be more captivating with 5G. HD streaming will have faster speeds and less latency, so gaming won’t need devices with a lot of power. Businesses can leverage 5G to gain revenue, reduce operational costs, and enhance the customer experience.

Healthcare

Doctors and patients will be able to stay more connected than ever before thanks to 5G healthcare use cases. Wearable medical devices, such as an internal defibrillator, can alert a team of ER cardiologists in advance of a patient’s arrival. This data can be used to provide a full record of the patient.

Retail

The consumer experience will be crucial for 5G retail applications. The aisles of packed shelves from today’s stores might not exist in tomorrow’s stores.

Agriculture

The farms of the future will use more data and fewer chemicals.

Manufacturing

The confluence of 5G, AI, and IoT will completely transform factory floors. Aside from predictive maintenance, which helps control costs and minimize downtime, factories will use 5G to control and analyze industrial processes with unprecedented precision.

Logistics

With 5G services in India, fleet monitoring and navigation will become much easier at scale. An augmented reality system that identifies and flags potential hazards without diverting a driver’s attention away from the road could potentially power driver navigation.

Expected Job Growth :

-Installation and maintenance: 1L jobs

-Sales of handsets and broadband connections: 50000

-Technology jobs: 4mn to 6mn new jobs by 2026 in the areas of AI/ML/Engineers/IoT/ Private Networks/ MVNO/Apps/ Gaming Spectrum Management

In the next several years, businesses from a variety of industries, including automotive, manufacturing, healthcare, and education, are anticipated to adopt 5g Services in India in significant numbers. This indicates that there will be a need for staff that is knowledgeable about the new technology and how it operates, and as more and more industry sectors adopt 5G, the entire ecosystem is projected to change and India will be propelled toward a digital economy.

Is this a profitable and sustainable way?

The quick commerce trend has primarily accelerated due to its sheer speed, the convenience of ordering, and the rapid delivery. However, the faster turnaround times (TAT), combined with poor profits and greater delivery costs, put enterprises under pressure and made quick commerce a risky business model.

If we talk about Q-commerce in India, the cost of last-mile delivery for Q-commerce enterprises is  projected to be twice that of traditional e-commerce firms. Also, part of this industry works with gig workers. In this rat race to deliver within 10 minutes, the working conditions, health, and safety of the riders and delivery partners remain majorly compromised.

The cost of selecting and packaging can be decreased by rapid commerce players with the correct automation solution. Automated picking systems improve accuracy and productivity, two factors that are essential for online fulfillment. As opposed to manual operations, automated solutions can help a business save money on real estate rental costs by making use of vertical space that is often underused or nonexistent.

The question for new-age players is what kind of long-term moats they have built, as currently, burning more cash is the new trend. For a profitable and sustainable business model, the kind of strategy these companies build to tackle cash burn will be crucial for their success in the long run.

The Future of quick commerce

• Small shops and companies in metropolitan neighborhoods will eventually disappear due to quick commerce, suffering a fate similar to that of actual mobile stores in urban markets.
• Private equity companies that are backing these cutting-edge startups will start asking difficult questions. Many major players are turning to debt financing instead of equity fundraising as their funding sources are already running low. Numerous unicorns that received significant money and launched with a flourish have since seen their funding sources dry up, and numerous firms have failed.
• Only serious players who are committed to developing a successful model that prioritizes consumer needs and have their P&L in order will survive and emerge as long-term winners. Consolidation and rationalization among food delivery aggregators will be critical to improving – and potentially increasing – overall profitability.
• Incorporating other categories like pharmaceuticals, clothing, cosmetics, and gadgets. Already, platforms like 1MG, Pharmeasy, and Apollo are competing to speed up the delivery of the medications.
• A fleet of delivery robots or drones can further reduce last-mile costs by carrying more orders and reducing operational energy costs compared to manual operations.

What are dark stores?

High-level tasks in a typical warehouse system involve storing the products in the correct area, restocking the stock, choosing and packaging the components according to the order, and final shipment. In order to give delivery personnel ample time to reach the consumer, order arrival to dispatch times in dark stores should ideally not exceed five minutes (for a 15-minute guarantee time). As a result, creating a lean system to minimize time losses in all process phases due to unnecessary operator mobility or item searching becomes crucial for an efficient, quick delivery dark store or micro fulfillment centers.

How dark stores are changing the delivery systems?

Technological developments are making it possible to use space more effectively and to introduce intriguing new urban fulfillment possibilities, including dark stores. Internet retail sector sales are predicted to grow by 37 billion pounds by 2025, from 27 percent to 30 percent, according to the Future Gazing study.

A microcenter also requires workers to select and pack products, as well as prompt delivery services to get the products to customers’ doorsteps.

The attention that the sector is getting is only likely to grow in the future.

Final thoughts

Q-commerce is a newly emerging term that has opened many doors of opportunity in the commerce vertical. Keeping the current mindset in mind, picker/packer, loader/unloader, delivery, and inventory official/manager profiles will be prominent roles in this q-commerce industry, with a higher pay scale. In addition, quick commerce can also affect the job market in other ways. For example, it can create new job opportunities in the form of online customer service positions. Customers may need assistance with their online purchases, and businesses can provide this assistance by hiring people to answer customer inquiries and provide support.

Overall, quick commerce is an innovative way of doing business that can benefit both businesses and customers. It can also affect certain job markets, both positively and negatively. As businesses continue to embrace quick commerce, it is important to consider how it can affect the job market and how businesses can use it to their advantage.

Large firms lead the hiring intent by a significant margin

Employers anticipate strong hiring intent across sectors by business size.

• Small services firms are displaying a healthy appetite for growth and talent demand with a hiring intent of 57%, as demand for services – both India and global – surges in the aftermath of the covid pandemic.
• Medium-sized businesses muster a relatively modest hiring intent (45%), seemingly unable to capitalise as much on current market dynamics as their small counterparts.
• Large firms, on the other hand, lead hiring intent (79%) by a significant margin compared to both small and medium-sized businesses, as seasonality and large contracts from across the globe come to fruition.

Festive quarter brings in good tidings for freshers

While looking into the employment outlook, it can be seen that there is a festive demand in sectors such as E-commerce and Retail at the entry level. The festive quarter will likely bring in glad tidings for freshers and other entry-level talents as hiring intent for this category touches a robust 74% – the highest across all hierarchical levels.

The junior-level category is close on the heels of the entry-level with a hiring intent of 69%. Seasonal demand in sectors such as E-commerce and Retail (Essential) is driving the need for young talent. While mid-level hires enjoy a moderate level of hiring intent (48%), hiring intent at senior levels is at a relatively modest 34%.

Informational Technology and Sales functions continue their top spot in hiring intent

Compared to the previous quarters, this quarter’s employment outlook forecasts a net positive outlook of hiring across functions. Informational Technology at 94% and Sales at 87% continue their leadership in hiring intent at levels significantly better than the other functional areas. The exponentially rising need for digitization and demand for technology professionals is the prime driver behind this uptrend.

Engineering follows not very far behind Sales with a hiring intent at 76%, signalling the demand for specialised and expertise-driven roles, especially in the Information Technology and Telecommunications sectors.

The service sectors that hire for Blue Collar roles – Retail and Logistics – perform at average-to-poor levels compared to other sectors, resulting in a hiring intent at 53%. Office Services and Human Resources lag far behind.

Key takeaways:

Some of the positive indicators to sum up the employment outlook Q3 FY23 report (Services and Allied Industries Edition) include:

• Nearly 73% of employers in the services sector keen to hire this quarter
• IT, Education Services, E-Commerce & Allied Start-ups, and Telecommunications sectors tops the hiring intent
• Metro & Tier-1 cities precede the hiring brigade with the highest intent to hire at 95%
• Bangalore (97%), Chennai (90%) & Delhi (86%) are among the top cities looking to hire
• Entry-level roles sees the highest intent to hire at 74%, followed by junior-level roles at 69%
• IT (94%) and Sales (87%) roles continue to be the highest in demand, followed by the demand for engineering roles
• A remarkable double-digit attrition in the IT, Educational Services, Ecommerce & Allied Start-ups, and Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sectors is expectable

The trends driving transformation in the mechanics of hiring and hiring sentiment are not new but need to be abreast of the dynamics of the current labour market reality. Regardless of uneven economic growth hampered by Covid, the demand for skills in most service sectors and allied industries displayed a fairly impressive intent-to-hire trend. Thus, the prospect of hiring Intent in India’s services sector will likely continue in the third quarter, with 73% of employers keen to upsurge their talent pool.

Do grab the latest copy of TeamLease Employment Outlook Report Q3 FY23 (Services and Allied Industries Edition)

D2C comes in 2 flavours:

• Existing manufacturers who diversify their target audience through D2C as part of their omnichannel strategy
• The second being true D2C players, most of whom are digital native.

Logistics aggregators offer end-to-end services, including warehousing and last mile delivery. To provide these services efficiently, they will need to increase their manpower as overall consumerism will go up. Supply chain will also require integration with the upstream and downstream processes.

D2C business models are disrupting the traditional business model and are transforming to a digital experience to engage with more customers.

New trends and opportunities have also led the D2C industry in India. These include an increase in personalized offerings, a greater focus on fulfilling current needs, the adoption of social media and influencer marketing, and the increase in subscription services. In short, the D2C market is expected to thrive in the coming years due to a shift in consumer buying behavior and rise in online presence caused by the pandemic.

The FMCG supply chain is changing quickly, and emphasis is shifting to digital and social media platforms for product distribution. There will be an increase in positions in digital marketing, performance marketing, omnichannel specialists and social media experts, data science, data analytics, user interface and experience design, information security.

The trend has also led to an increase in the number of people employed for automated warehouse, inventory management, website / application design development, data analytics, AI-powered customer support, and the IoT.

A 3PL provider will help D2C brands scale their business in terms of:

• Managing infrastructure and order volumes through adequate manpower and storage space.
• Providing faster delivery
• Low shipping cost

D2C brands have become very popular in recent years. To compete with e-commerce giants and meet customer expectations, D2C brands need to improve their fulfillment capabilities.

By understanding what customers want and need, businesses can develop better products and services that meet those needs. This can be done by collecting data, analyzing it, and using it to improve their offerings. Additionally, businesses can leverage their brand history to create products that resonate with customers.

Today, millennials are increasingly spending money online, and they expect a personalized, convenient experience from brands. This presents an opportunity for brands to provide more value and a better experience to consumers. A D2C approach helps create a consumer centric business while increasing revenue and meeting growth targets.

Intent to hire trend by manufacturing sectors

Despite short-term setbacks due to the pandemic, the manufacturing sector has had many positive and robust outcomes. In the comprehensive overview of the mechanics of hiring, job growth, job creation, salaries and their drivers in our quarterly report, this progressive outcome has been further reinforced by data.

The intent to hire trend shows an impressive intent in sectors like Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals and FMCG with a remarkable intent of 92% and 79%, respectively. Electric Vehicle & Infrastructure, Construction & Real Estate, and Textile are some of the sectors that show a moderate intent to hire with a growth range from 4%-5%.

Employment outlook by job level and function

High job opportunities and demand witnessed growth in metro as well as non-metro cities. Junior level and entry level professionals ruled the roost in the hiring marketplace. The demand for entry level talent recorded the best every year.

Manufacturing firms are looking to scale in a post-pandemic world and are staffing their frontlines with young talent. Junior level talent (57%) commands the best demand hierarchically and is closely followed by entry-level talent (51%).

Festive season hiring demonstrated a high demand for young talents to be deployed in sales and marketing. These two are, moreover, the most focused functions companies are boiling down on. The hiring intent for sales topped the most with an impressive 95% high, followed by marketing and Information Technology at 79% and 77%, respectively.

Engineering and Blue Collar (both at 67%) have relatively significant hiring intent as well, and the healthy quantum of hiring in these functions indicates the thrust manufacturing firms are putting on operations.

Intend to hire by business size

The manufacturing industry is vital for global populations’ health and national security, and supply has increased and faced new challenges along the way. Driven by rising demand for increasing asset utilisation in manufacturing industries, large manufacturing firms witness hiring intent of 65% by a massive margin as they ramp up to cater to festive hiring demand and optimise production capacities. Small as well as medium-sized businesses lagged behind large firms by 41% and 39%, respectively.

Attrition trends

The Manufacturing industry seems to be doing a good job retaining talent, except for Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals. All other sectors sit pretty with low single-digit attrition rates.

Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals witnessed a 3.42% increase and Manufacturing, Engineering & Infrastructure witnessed (1.62%) the highest increases in their attrition rates during the Jul-Sep 2022-23 quarter.

Some of the positive indicators to sum up from the employment outlook Q3 report include the following:

• India’s intent to hire for October – December 2022 is at 65%, an increase of 4% from last quarter.
• Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, FMCG, Agricultural & Agrochemical, Manufacturing & Engineering, and Electric Vehicle & Infrastructure sector are the top sectors with high intent to hire.
• Metro and Tier-1 cities lead the hiring spree with the highest Intent to hire of 91%.
• Mumbai (93%), Bangalore (90%), and Chennai (83%) are among the top cities looking to hire.
• The hiring intent for Junior level roles sees the highest intent to hire of 57%, followed by entry level positions at 51%.
• Sales (95%), Marketing (79%), and IT (77%) talent continue to be the highest in demand, followed by the demand for engineering and blue-collar roles.
• Notable double-digit attrition is observed in the Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Sector.

Despite an inconsistent global economic scenario, the majority of employers remain optimistic about their hiring intent and market demand amid pandemic and geopolitical conflicts.

Do grab the latest copy of TeamLease Employment Outlook Report Q3 FY23 (Manufacturing and Allied Industries Edition)

Why was the National Logistics Policy Launched? What are the challenges faced by the businesses?

One could reasonably speculate that India’s logistics have advanced greatly and caught up to international norms as a result of the third-party logistics (3PL) revolution and its accompanying Same Day/Next Day delivery services. Quite the opposite is true.

Indian companies are currently facing a struggle on the logistics front. In India, the cost to carry one metric ton of goods by air is ₹18, by road it is₹ 3.6, and by rail it is merely ₹1.6 per metric ton per kilometer, hence it stands to reason that a sizable portion of India’s goods are transported by rail.

But the reality is about 71% of India’s trade is conducted via roadways, whereas just 17.5 % is transported via rail, and a similarly small percentage is conducted via waterways. If you’re wondering why, it’s because India simply doesn’t have enough rails or trains to handle the volume of goods being transported.

Moreover, in India, passenger and freight trains share the same tracks, with the latter being given lower priority. There will consequently be holdups because of this Thirdly, you should always go with multi-modal transport for last-mile and first-mile shipments when sending anything by train.

Most businesses in India prefer to use road transport, where they simply reload trucks to get from A to B, rather than dealing with the complexities of the country’s complex logistics system, which involves more than 20 government agencies, 37 export promotion councils, 500 certifications, and 10,000 commodities.

How’s National Logistics Policy going to help in employment and employability?

In India’s logistics industry, qualified workers are in short supply. The Logistics Skill Council predicts that by 2022, the logistics industry will have increased to 2.2 Crore employees. Still, closing significant knowledge gaps in the logistics industry is essential if we’re going to satisfy this demand. Some professions, like truck drivers, find it difficult to attract and keep employees. This is because people have a negative connotation toward these occupations, and they are paid less than average. Further, workers have few options for making up for the salary they lose while in training. Training programmes don’t always cater to the needs of individual jobs. Coupled with the industry’s high turnover, this reduces the financial motivation for businesses to invest in staff training. Telematics, warehouse automation, mechatronics, etc., are just a few examples of the specific talents that will be necessary in the logistics industry as technology advances.

Employment: The combined efforts of the federal, state, and private sectors, according to experts, may produce massive job and entrepreneurship prospects for thousands of individuals. More than 2.2 crore people in India rely on the logistics industry for their livelihood; with this strategy in place, a large influx of new workers is anticipated.

Employability: The supply chain’s back-end operations and planning are where India is really starting to shine as a global powerhouse. So, it’s a great chance to be at the forefront of providing skilled labour to meet the demands of international supply chains.

This can only be accomplished if both the national and state governments are equipped to the teeth with state-of-the-art technology.

The Department of Personnel Training (DoPT) is responsible for the training of government officials; hence, they have developed the Integrated Government Online Training (IGoT) platform to create mandatory certificate courses with evaluation. It’s an online school for civil servants across the country.

The National Logistics Policy of India is touted to be a policy that is going to transform the logistical landscape of the country and is expected to be the next big step in making India ‘Atma Nirbhar’. Will this big step help India Inc. reach the $5 trillion mark? Only time can tell.

Outcomes 

As per the report on Workforce Formalisation, nearly half, 43% of all employers treat formalisation as a priority, and employers across sectors are split right down the middle on the question of priority accorded to formalization. Employers of large organizations report being greatly inclined towards prioritizing adopting formalization. An overwhelming proportion of this group (80%) has already initiated major steps in ensuring a formalised workforce. 

The FMCG sector is still respected by many and is considered the best place to work. The challenges faced by the FMCG sector today contribute to higher staff turnover, as talent chooses to move to other industries. This can be addressed by addressing the key areas: Absence of social security, lack of employee engagement, low wages, frequent business change, restructuring, and lack of leave and medical benefits. Good training and upskilling is a key to retaining talent and reducing attrition.

Healthcare organizations must manage the transition of current employees to new and different ways of working. They must also consider the needs of a future workforce that can deliver health outcomes in a health care system fundamentally different from today. Healthcare would adhere to statutory compliance as a step towards workforce formalization.

Way Ahead

As per the report on Workforce Formalisation, 61% of the employers in these three sectors expect attrition reduction to be the topmost business benefit as a consequence of formalization. In our recent webinar on ‘Formalisation of Workforce for Productive Outcomes, one of the speakers spoke a few things about how soon organizations will implement formalisation.

Firstly, how companies can train their employees to develop the right skill set. Further, provide them with skill badges and make them feel recognised and part of the system. Secondly, to provide insurance plans to gig workers in remote areas. Also, there was also a discussion about the Ayushman Bharat Scheme launched by the government.

Organizations should not look at this as a cost-saving or a CSR activity but rather ensure employees feel a sense of belongingness. A stable workforce performs better. The USP has to be the safety of employees at all levels. Formalising the workforce entails not only treating the employees with social security benefits but also having a reward and recognition programme.

Formalisation of the Workforce will also lead to a boost in productivity as well as the economy. The composition of People, Process and Technology should be evolving as a support to more formal employment.

The Wheel of Reinventing Continues

Flexible sourcing provides opportunities to explore alternative practice models and partnerships, enables the transition to flexible work structures and methods, and ensures that organizations have the right skills at the right time to respond. This enables companies to find the right mix by focusing on personal availability.

56% Employers are priortising Workforce Formalisation with Third Party Payroll, where 64% have initiated major steps and 67% are planning to implement within a year.

Workforce formalisation will be an immense change for businesses and will not only reduce attrition, enhance productivity, optimize workforce but also make them realise that the benefits of third party payroll outsourcing could be an important step for their overall success.

Click here to download your copy of the Report on Formalisation of Workforce.

How will ONDC work and how will it ensure a democratized and decentralized network?

Any ONDC-compatible app can be used by buyers to contact merchants on the platform. Through these partnerships, retailers will manage all shipping and handling. Services like ledgers and payment processors will be available to vendors through ONDC as well.

In order to avoid any confusion, when it comes to e-commerce platforms, ONDC India  is neither a replacement nor a rival. It is an open-source platform that is unbiased and establishes protocols for cataloging, vendor matching, and price discovery.  It does not follow a platform-centric model; thus, the Indian government hopes it will unify the Indian online market without any bias. We already have companies like Paytm Mall, PhonePe, Ekart (Flipkart’s logistics arm), and Dunzo figuring out how to integrate their offerings with ONDC, while others like ITC, Unilever, Dabur, Nivea, Shopify, Google, Meesho, and Snapdeal have shown interest. Since ONDC is not an app, an aggregator, or a competitor, they have expressed interest and are cooperating with ONDC. 

There won’t even be a dedicated app for ONDC. ONDC India is expected to be the next UPI of the e-commerce industry. The way UPI has favorably influenced the Indian payments industry, ONDC is likely to mirror its success. The central government and other specialists in the commerce business are exuding a great deal of optimism and belief. However, before emerging as a winner, any effective concept must overcome numerous challenges and issues.

How will ONDC help in creating jobs?

Because ONDC is neither a platform nor an intrinsic source of new employment opportunities, it will be up to the participants or players themselves to drive development through the expansion of the network. Third-party logistics providers, for instance, will likely play a significant role in getting products to customers. Between 30-50% more delivery positions are predicted to be created by the end of the current fiscal year because of the ONDC initiative. 

Furthermore, ONDC will greatly increase the need for 3PL as many large e-commerce enterprises and retailers are considering making the transfer from captive logistics to 3PL. The third-party logistics industry is expected to play a significant role in the supply chain operations of e-commerce, quick commerce, and conventional stores. It is estimated that 8 lakh people will enter the 3PL sector by the end of the current fiscal year.

Apart from this, jobs will be created from the integration side of things. ONDC will expand its network through four integration channels, and the jobs expected to be created will be as follows:

• Connecting buyers to the network: Jobs such as building Web Apps, and mobile applications and developing a buyer interface
• Connect Sellers to the network: Jobs to develop a seller interface and a catalog team to develop a crisp detail page for buyers to know more about the product/service they want to buy/use. 
• ONDC Gateway: Jobs in maintaining the ONDC gateway, a network application that will notify all seller-side applications of a search request from a buyer-side application based on a set of criteria like domain or location, are also to be anticipated.
• Technology Services: Gainful employment creating and supplying software and other technological add-ons for the remaining three integration channels.

Conclusion:

The retail and e-commerce market in India is poised to develop into a colossal sector as a result of the country’s rapidly expanding consumer base. ONDC India will democratize and decentralize the e-commerce and retail sector, with small and medium-sized enterprises having a bright outlook. Changes in lifestyle and habits are a direct result of increased ethnic variety. Online shopping as a whole will continue to expand as a result of the ONDC initiative. As mentioned earlier, the job market for delivery and tech would increase significantly. There will be an increase in demand for gig work as well. 

How’s the retail sector changing in India?

With the evolution of retailing in India, Retail brands are moving towards omnichannel and want to have more touchpoints with the customers. An omnichannel approach allows businesses to meet the demands of modern

consumers in every way. With the advent of omnichannel retailing, consumers now have multiple options for making purchases, including conducting research online and making a purchase in-store, making a purchase while in-store using a mobile device, and making a purchase while in-store using a mobile device and then purchasing a different variant of the same product online. It’s perfect for those who have trouble making decisions, are constantly on the go, appreciate high-tech gadgets, shop at malls, and surf the web late at night.

It’s a huge advantage for businesses to be able to keep tabs on their customers’ every move and have a 360-degree view. Brands can learn from customers’ complaints on one channel and their purchases on another by consolidating data from all channels. Customers’ desire for individualised care is met as a result of the company’s ability to proactively anticipate their requirements and meet them in a manner that is both timely and convenient. Customers appreciate the feeling of being appreciated and cared for in this way.

There is a greater demand than ever before for omnichannel retail. Due to the surge of online sales after the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become a vital component of any profitable retail and e-commerce enterprise.

Phygital refers to the trend of businesses merging the digital and physical worlds in an effort to create loyal customers.

An omnichannel approach that takes into account phygital channels is an excellent way to meet the needs of today’s consumers. 

This financial hurdle may discourage brands who are hesitant to integrate phygital channels and omnichannel into their strategy, despite the enormous economic gains that can be realised by offering omnichannel experiences for customers and visitors.

It is expected that the adoption of the omnichannel strategy in retail will significantly increase the percentage of shoppers who make a purchase. Simply put, the more the number of conversion platforms you provide that work together, the greater your overall conversion rate will be. This will lead to gains in not only client retention but also brand lifetime value. If implemented properly, omnichannel retailing can significantly reduce overhead costs.

How would this growth in retail translate to jobs?

• With the festive season around the corner, hiring across e-commerce and retail is expected to grow by 30-40%, and according to our estimates, e-commerce businesses will add more than 5 lakh temporary jobs. Hiring is particularly strong in quick commerce, QSRs, retail stores, and FMCG.
• As per our estimates around 2 Lakh jobs are expected to be added by the end of this fiscal year in the retail sector alone
• With evolution of retailing in India, the omnichannel retailing is also evolving, allied industries, for example, 3PL, will employ a lot more to contain the demand. The total number is estimated to reach 8 Lakh by the end of 2022
• FOS (feet on street) and in-store promoters will be in high demand. In the retail industry, hiring for customer-facing roles in sales and commercial operations, as well as other departments, is picking up steam on the basis of increased demand and an optimistic forecast for the impending festive season.

Even though the retail industry has had a number of difficulties over the past two years, the pandemic has presented an opportunity for a long-overdue significant retail reset, which may inspire many stores to find a more secure and profitable footing. As a result of technological advancements, the retail industry has shifted its focus from products and locations to customers. Businesses are now better able to share information about discounts and inventories across all of their stores.

With the retail sector growing at an incredible rate, jobs in this sector and allied sectors are going to evolve, and niche roles catering to different segments in the market will come into the picture.

The future of Evolution of Retailing in India has seen its share of struggles and triumphs, but a new era is about to begin.