As businesses throughout the world ramp up their technology usage in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, India’s need for technology and software professionals has skyrocketed. However, hiring across sectors dropped during the middle of this year. Still, the tech job market bounced from the pandemic-induced downturn and many technology companies have been in full expansion mode. According to the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), the country’s demand for IT professionals has doubled in the last 14 months as most global corporations rush to digitize and automate their operations.
Tech Hiring Statistics in India
The present pool of digitally skilled workers in India is insufficient resulting in a talent shortage in the software services sector. Tech organizations are in a hire-or-poach mentality, resulting in sky-high pay, with some even hiring non-engineering graduates to fill the gap.
The tremendous need for tech skills isn’t limited to recent graduates. In May this year, the 0-3 year band group experienced a 22% increase. The mobility of senior professionals was particularly strong, with a double-digit rise in the 13-16 year (+11%), 8-12 year (+8%), and 16+ year (+10%) categories. Leadership hiring is booming, many tech-driven organizations are incorporating pioneered technologies and require a leader to drive engineering teams.
According to industry watchers, these recruiting trends are likely to continue for the next three years, with IT firms forecasting a skills shortage for at least the next two quarters. What firms are looking for now, are innovative ways to hire people, including non-engineers. As a tech head executive search firm, one of the most distinct trends Purple Quarter is noticing is the compensation metrics benchmarking. To allure Senior Tech talent, domestic firms rife with funding are matching compensation at par with that of Silicon Valley, offering lucrative packages, ESOPs now.
Post-Pandemic Tech Hiring Challenges
The pandemic had revolutionized the focus of an organization on customers and employee satisfaction. Furthermore, new abilities that are compatible with technologies are required for more efficient procedures. As workers require new skills to perform their current jobs, it becomes more challenging for HR leaders to quickly find the talent to meet the requirements. Indeed, organizations must ensure that they have the proper capabilities embedded in new-age technologies to adapt and take steps to ensure constant learning and reskilling of their employees with the relevant skillset.
However, the tech industry’s main difficulty would be obtaining and retaining qualified candidates, especially now that the job market is improving and voluntary employee churn is on the rise. Hiring the right talent by analyzing the skill sets and stability is now a long-term investment for tech-driven companies. The challenge will be enormous when it comes to an in-house tech leader search.
