Hiring activity climbs 11% in Apr-Jun; IT, financial services, BPO/ITeS drive demand: Survey

Overall recruitment activity witnessed an 11 per cent growth during April-June, as the job market began showing signs of recovery from the COVID-19 second wave, says a survey. According to the Indeed India Hiring Tracker, that maps quarterly job market activity to June 2021, hiring increased by 11 per cent over the previous quarter, with standout growth in Information Technology (61 %), financial services (48 %), and BPO/ITeS (47%).

This survey was conducted by Valuvox on behalf of Indeed among 1,500 employees and 1,200 businesses across nine cities in the month of June 2021.

"As businesses continue to find a rhythm of working through multiple pandemic challenges, the tracker reflects the resilience of India's labour market," Sashi Kumar, head of sales, Indeed India said.

Kumar further noted that "with hiring activity seeing a month-on-month increase, it was interesting to see businesses pivot their hiring priorities from operation roles to sales roles. It's also clear that paying attention to employee expectations will enable them to thrive, so ongoing conversations around wellbeing and hybrid work are vital."

According to the survey, receding COVID cases and partial lockdowns in the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22 allowed businesses to operate, focussing employers on roles driving sales and revenue -- a shift from the focus on operational roles to stabilise business operations in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2020-21.

The widespread impacts of the second wave resulted in understaffed teams and increased employee burnout.

As many as 76 % of the job seekers surveyed did not receive COVID-related benefits/compensation packages or mental health support.

Appraisal plans were also impacted. 70 % of employees said they did not receive any promotion or pay increase this quarter, with only 11% of employers promoting or offering salary increases, the survey said.

Employers and employees aren't on the same page when it comes to future work models. Employers preferred a hybrid work model (42 %) to remote work (35 %), while jobseekers favoured remote working (46 %) over a hybrid approach (29 %).

Moreover, 51 % of women compared to 29 % of men said they wanted to continue working from home, while 52 % of senior management preferred working from home, compared to 36 % of middle level and 31 % of junior level employees.

Jobseeker priorities also shifted, with 25 % saying salary was their primary focus, followed by career growth (19 %), learning opportunities/challenges/responsibilities (16 %), and company reputation (14 %), the survey said.

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