Top 5 Staffing Trends for Businesses to Bounce Back and Build Resilience Post-Covid

It all started suddenly. Yet, it will take a long time to truly be over. Maybe even the predicted third wave will slow the speed of returning to near-normalcy. In a short span of less than a year, Virus, Oxygen Concentrators, Vaccinations, have all become household words, and topics of heated discussions. Coronavirus, Novel Coronavirus, Covid-19, Covid, or the many other names it has been called, this pandemic has truly united the world akin to the Great Wars in the first half of the previous century.

Notwithstanding the impact of this pandemic on our lives, and the limitations of a hyper-globalized society, the Indian job market has quickly adapted itself to and evolved its own mechanisms to survive and, in pockets, grow. While standardization may not be the answer and is not going to replace Diversification anytime soon, a balanced ‘smart’ approach between the two extremes seems to have emerged. Job market purveyors – employers, jobseekers and the talent supply chain – have cherry picked job roles that don’t just enable them to tide over the imminent crisis but are worth rewarding handsomely with. The third wave may not be as severe as the first or even the second wave but, as far as the job markets are concerned, the preparation for the not-so-completely unknown adversary is nearly complete. It is time, therefore, for organizations across the country to evolve fast.

Staffing across industries needs to evolve beyond regular growth. Some organizations see the benefits in having a reasonable part of their staff, continuing to work from home, while others have had to adopt digital practices in a hurry. Things have changed, and they will remain changed for a long time to come. But the ‘new normal’ no longer seems to be a bad thing and the job market has gone on to prove that the most evolutionary progress generally takes place during periods of extreme stress.

During the study of the ‘Jobs and Salaries Primer 2021’ report, our annual report on the state and staffing industry trends, this belief has been further reinforced by data. There are many industry specific trends that the report highlights, some of which are imperative for businesses to understand and be ready for, to make their transition to the new order less painful. During this study, a few key insights came to light that we think is absolutely critical for businesses to bounce back quickly and build resilience for the future.

The data also shows the strength of businesses and the economy, where key skills are still valued highly, and the future roadmap is showing strong signs of preparation for recovery. Many industries are not reducing their hiring activities and outlook, while many job roles continue to have strong demand and increasing salaries. So, the report clearly indicates the cautious readiness of businesses for the turnaround. Things will get better, but as with any shakedown, the brave and the prepared will come out much stronger.

Here are the Top 5 Staffing Trends that all Businesses need to take note of while planning their future strategy for a post-Covid world:

  1. Remote working is here to stay and important for businesses to bounce back quickly. Top sectors benefiting from work from home and remote working are: Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, BPO & ITeS, E-Commerce & Tech Startups, Educational Services, Information Technology and Knowledge Services.
  2. Highly skilled workforce is becoming costlier hence highlighting the need to hire from cheaper locations. Top super-specialized profiles attract salary growth rates between 10% and 13%.
  3. ‘Smart’ Staffing is the way forward to balance long and short term business needs and ambitions. 8 out of 17 sectors continue a gradual progression towards recovery and to pre-Covid business activity levels with salary growth rates of 6% to 8%.
  4. Pay-parity gap is reducing making on-demand staffing more favourable. Top 3 sectors with pay-parity between salaries for permanent and temporary job profiles are: Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, Healthcare and Allied Industries & Information Technology and Knowledge Services
  5. Adopting technology solutions for managing end-to-end staffing requirements is becoming key for future resilience. With technology  becoming ubiquitous, and a necessary condition to operate during the pandemic, the IT function has grown in stature across businesses over the years. The hiring of Sales roles has gained momentum ever since the lockdowns were phased out.

Click here to read the full report covering all data points and insights

Author

Satish Rajan

Vice President - Marketing
TeamLease Services Limited

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