Start-ups no challenge in hiring fresh talent: TCS

Firm claims it has already hired 45,000 college students as of December 2015, despite the entry of start-ups in campuses

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said it managed to get fresh talent from universities despite start-ups offering competitive salaries. “It is true that the start-ups are going to the universities. But, so far, we have managed to get day-one slots and required number of talent,” said Ajoyendra Mukherjee, executive vice-president and head of global human resources.

In campus recruitments, day-one slot is reserved for premier recruiting agencies, so that the best students can participate. Fresh graduates prefer start-up jobs as they offer competitive salaries and a different work environment than traditional information technology companies.

TCS has already hired 45,000 students by December. It has recruited about 67,000 persons for the financial year out of its target of 75,000. During the last quarter, it added 22,118 persons. After adjusting with number of exits that took place within the period, net addition was 9,071 employees. The firm now has employee strength of 344,691, including on-site recruitments and its business process outsourcing arm.

For a company, whose year-on-year dollar revenue growth per quarter has been slippery — from 14.3 per cent in December 2014 to 5.5 per cent growth last quarter — an eight per cent plus rise in net employee strength in the same period indicates challenges.

TCS said it has been creating more platforms and introducing automation software that would substitute human workforce. It is winning deals based on these platforms, but they are still not significant to talk about, chief executive N Chandrasekaran said recently.

Besides, the company would continue to hire based on its project needs, emphasised Mukherjee, without indicating what could be the ultimate employee strength for the firm.