India’s top IT companies aim at hiring freshers for FY22; A look at some of the top recruiting trends in the year 2021 as hiring in most companies resume

There is some encouraging news coming in from India’s top IT firms, as they open up the recruitment drive and collectively plan to hire at least 91,000 freshers as part of the campus placements for the next fiscal year.

Things looked particularly bleak for the students who were caught in the midst of the mayhem caused by the Covid -19 pandemic. As most campuses went empty, classes stalled, and so the students caught between the uncertainty of when, how & if their schedules would resume.

TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies, and Wipro have announced to open their recruitment process, as demands have picked up post – lockdown.

TCS has announced the biggest target of recruitment with at least 40,000 college graduates; Infosys is second with 24,000 freshers, followed by HCL planning to hire 15,000 freshers and Wipro with 12,000 students.

It is interesting to note that TCS has maintained the number of freshers hired both for this year and the next with approximately 40,000 freshers.

On the other hand, Infosys is looking to increase its current hirings from 15,000 to 24,000 college graduates in the next financial year.

HCL plans to hire 15,000 in the country and approximately 1500 – 2000 people on-site in the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2022.

Wipro is said to expect a talent war to unfold in the next few months in the IT sector as most companies have stepped up the hiring in the last few months, as demand has increased and hence more opportunities.

 

Top emerging trends that are set to shape up the hiring process in 2021

As economies open up and businesses worldwide pick up, demand for talent has gained momentum again. 

It is also good to note that the recruitment process is undergoing an inevitable change as most processes due to the Covid – 19 pandemics.

Hence it is crucial to know and understand some of the key points that will shape the hiring process trend in 2021 and adapt t the same.

 

Key Driving Factors

1. Virtual hiring of remote workers 
2. Internal mobility and upskilling programs for existing staff

Trends

1. Less recruiting and building on existing talent – Internal mobility has become one of the key points since the onset of Covid -19. It has never increased as high as it has in the current context. It jumped to and increased by nearly 20%. 

The HR will be focused like never before on internal mobility and will have the mandate to create a rigorous internal mobility program – they will catalog employees current skills and tie them with job opportunities internally, enable Learning and Development, upskilling, that will help fill any gaps both in terms of qualification and the opportunities and demands within the organization.

 

2. Virtual Recruiting: Covid -19 has upped virtual recruiting. Most talented professionals believe that this will be the new norm and standard practice in the coming time.

 

From the companies perspective – they are now creating an – end – to – end virtual recruiting process; it has helped them reduce the costs and save on time.

Most companies are now in the process of adapting to the hybrid workforce of onsite and remote employees; the hiring process will be focused on a hybrid hiring process that combines both virtual and in-person elements.

 

From the employees’ perspective – For Freshers, the above practice means that almost all hirings will be virtual and unless the hiring is complete, only then will they actually step into the office.

Executive Hirings – will probably have a combination of virtual process in the early stage of the hiring process and one – one – one meeting for the last and final stages.

 

3. Workplace Planning and consolidation: It will become increasingly important for companies and recruiters to plan and consolidate diverse talent pools, increased productivity, and retain essential talent. 

From the companies’ perspective -firms would be aiming to consolidate and improve on their existing talent pool that meets the current needs and demands of the business today. They will have to up their game when it comes to identifying key positions and functions critical to business and tie the same with the organization’s current talent pool.

 

From the employees’ perspective -the employees will have to face and reskill or upskill – not to meet redundancy in their roles. They will have to be quick to identify where and how they can bring about change, possibly combining functions that are closely knit together to become one role within the organization. The essential aspect here will be adaptability, flexibility, and quick learning.

 

4. Building new skills to align with the business needs – Companies today face the biggest challenge of cutting costs and maintaining profitability.

Of course, this perhaps is not a welcoming scenario for the employees and those looking out for job opportunities. However, this is a reality that needs to be faced both by the firms and the employees.

 

From the companies’ perspective – this is perhaps the only time that the companies have had to face in the current context where there has been a need to reshuffle and reinvent the wheel completely. For businesses to sustain, they must register profits and costs reduced. Hence, while the same can happen by remote working, cutting down on office costs, and more, it also means that the roles of many will become redundant or perhaps a combing of positions that serve within the corporate structure.

 

From the perspective of the Employees – The corporate environment could become more competitive even as employees vie for their position on the corporate ladder. Cutting into roles and combining skillsets to form a newer skill set that is most appropriate in the company’s current business environment is something that the companies will aim for. 

Hence, it would be prudent for the employees to identify the newer skillsets that are most suitable.

 

Yes, Covid -19 has brought in an unprecedented change; it shook the very foundation and our mode of working; however, instead of looking at what was, we need to focus on what is – and realign ourselves with what is needed today rather than what was needed yesterday.

It would be wise to equip ourselves with the knowledge and skills required today rather than wait for things to go back to the previous. This is the only way to move forward with confidence and realign ourselves with what is in demand in the job market.