'Rapid digital adoption, more capital flow leading to tech talent crunch'

The findings were made by Scaler, which released annual 'Hiring Trends Report 2022', capturing the current hiring trends and demands of the Indian IT industry

Scaler, a leading Bengaluru-based edtech startup for upskilling students and working professionals, has released annual Hiring Trends Report 2022, capturing the current hiring trends and demands of the Indian IT industry. The report, which surveyed 81 major IT product and services companies in India, revealed that 88 per cent of recruiters face increased challenges in hiring and retaining skilled employees across sectors. The already inflated tech recruitment market is creating new recruiting challenges due to increased opportunities and salaries. 

“Over the last six months, the attrition rate at India’s IT majors has spiked dramatically to touch a range of 20-30 per cent per annum," said Abhimanyu Saxena, co-founder, Scaler and InterviewBit.

The increasing proliferation of startups and global talent competition contributes to the existing challenges. India is now home to over 91 unicorn startups, and more than $39 billion has been invested in Indian startups in 2021 alone. On the other side, MNCs are aggressively setting up capability centres in India, which is expected to hit 500 by 2025 and effectively pull in thousands of skilled professionals every year. "If we fail to address this grave skill-gap issue now, the trend of high attrition rates and inflated salaries will only amplify in the coming years," said Saxena.

On the survey findings, Naren Krishna, Business Unit Head of Careers, Scaler and InterviewBit said due to the shortage of sufficient skilled talents, it has become increasingly harder for recruiters to secure talents who fit the bill for the openings. Krishna said the fundamental reform required to address this talent crunch is to scale up the quality of education offered by our institutions. "It is crucial for us to take a giant leap to bridge the skill gap amid the growing demand from industries for a skilled workforce to bring in a structural change in the employability landscape of the future," said Krishna.

72 per cent of recruiters witness increasing offer declines and no-shows in this competitive landscape. While 56 per cent of recruiters believe that there is a shortage of skilled and experienced candidates, 49 per cent are facing the challenge of inflated salary expectations because of the inflated talent market. Organisations across edtech, the internet, and IT offer an average increment of 50-75 per cent to their employees. While 40 per cent of MNCs are extending a 30-50 per cent hike, 25 per cent of MNCs have also witnessed an increment of up to or more than 100 per cent. 

It was recorded that according to 83.5 per cent of respondents, the average time taken to fulfil open positions has increased significantly, resulting in longer recruitment cycles. The number of open positions taking more than a month to be filled has also increased by 12 per cent. This increase in turn-around-time results in decreased organisational productivity, high hiring costs and increased stress on other employees.  

The survey also revealed that employee referrals and LinkedIn are the most common channels, with  about 90 per cent of recruiters utilising these platforms. Job listing platforms and recruitment consultants are also prominent channels, with  about 70 per cent of recruiters using them.

The in-house survey was conducted among 81 companies across size and sectors. These include edtech, IT services and staffing, product companies and telecom across startups, MNCs and  IT Service.

Infographics:

86% of hiring managers are finding it challenging to hire and retain talent.

56% of recruiters believe that there is a shortage of skilled and experienced candidates.