Hiring in some pockets is going on and these are mainly being done for new skillsets. We have seen some improvement in hiring, but these are no ways signs of complete revival. Recruitment for engineers will come back in full-fledged mode if stability in major economies is achieved - Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO of CIEL HR Services, tells Bizz Buzz

Renewed Recruitment

• TCS saw headcount increasing in Q1
• While HCL Tech witnessed a fall
• Recruitment going on in new skillsets
• Some IT firms trying to build up their bench strength again

Bengaluru: Indian IT industry is yet to witness any full-fledged recovery in hiring though there are some signs of uptick. HR experts are of the opinion that headcount numbers of both TCS and HCL Tech indicate recruitment of staffers in some key technology domains that is no way a sign of bullishness in the market place.

“Hiring in some pockets is going on and these are mainly being done for new skillsets. We have seen some improvement in hiring, but these are no ways signs of complete revival. Recruitment for engineers will come back in full-fledged mode if stability in major economies is achieved,” Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO of CIEL HR Services, told Bizz Buzz.

In the first quarter ended June, headcount of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has shown an uptick after consecutive three quarters of contraction. The company added 5,452 employees on net basis to take its total employee strength to 6,06,998 duringQ1 of current financial year. Its attrition came down further to 12.1 per cent, down 40 basis points from the previous quarter.

The company also said that it would hire around 40,000 freshers in the ongoing fiscal year. “We have onboarded around 11,000 freshers this quarter. While it is difficult to say how many freshers will be hired, but it should be around 40,000 like previous years,” Milind Lakkad, Chief HR Officer of TCS, had said during the post results press conference.

However, another big IT services firm HCL Tech has shown a decline in its headcount owing to divestment in its certain businesses. Its total headcount declined in the June quarter owing to divestment of its JV (joint venture) with Street International Holdings by 8,080 employees to 219,401.

Such divergence in the hiring trend has given mixed message to the IT industry on the upcoming hiring trend.

“When we see the numbers, it is noticeable that TCS’ numbers are better than its peers. That is the reason that TCS has seen its headcount increasing in the first quarter. However, it seems like company specific and may not be a trend,” Mishra added.

Meanwhile, sources in the know also indicated that hiring has become a necessity now for the big IT firms as they have reduced their bench (number of reserved employees) significantly in the last financial year. “Current bench strength of many companies is not good enough if demand recovery happens and project execution speeds up. Many of these firms have reduced their bench strength a lot and they are hiring now for improving it,” said an industry source.