Rituparna Chakraborty, Co Founder & Vice President, TeamLease Services comments on the potential of the temporary staffing industry in India.

Today the temporary staffing industry is going through a paradigm shift where the perception has changed from it being just the ‘contractual labour' to ‘plethora of opportunities.' Please elaborate.

Temporary staffing has come of age in our country; the most important change has been in the role of temps in organisations. They have undergone a sea change not only in terms of wages, benefits or recognition but also in social perception. A temp employee could hardly get any recognition earlier and this attitude refrained most of the candidates to take up a temp job. However, things are different today. Now, temps play a critical role in the organisation's success and are treated as partners to the organisation's growth. They are treated at par with regular employees and are given all benefits and privileges that are statutorily due to them. This has enabled organisation to attract better talent and in large numbers.

What is the potential of this industry in India? 

The Indian temp staffing market is fast maturing and employers are giving valuable skills due recognition and rewarding them well. With the organised sector recognising temping as a key people staffing strategy, temp staffing practices have evolved considerably. Not only are businesses narrowing the margin of difference between temp staff and permanent staff salaries, they are also rewarding the best sought after skills disproportionately. Now that salary increments are back, a 7.5% to 15% raise for temp staff, based on capabilities, is seen to be well in order to retain well-skilled people.

How, according to you, will the hiring patterns change in the coming years?

As the only temporary staffing company with a 200 plus retail training network, temps are well positioned to capture the higher salaries because of higher skills. Temporary hiring gains traction as compared to the previous year and zips ahead at 17% towards the last quarter, a rate of growth last seen half a decade ago. Salaries have risen across industries and cities, in general, but the spoils are not shared across the board – businesses have begun to incentivise smartly and cherry-pick to acquire and retain valuable talent.

The increase in hiring within sectors and opening up of different sectors to temporary hiring has their downside too.  Newer avenues for employees are increasing and as a result, the longevity of a temporary employee in industries like Agriculture / Agrochemicals, FMCG and Manufacturing & Allied Industries has gone down by up to three percentage points. The BFSI, Hospitality, IT and Telecommunication sectors experience a 1.5 to 4 percentage point drop. However, this is also an indication that temporary staffing is truly the springboard to permanent orbit.

How do you foresee the future of the temporary staffing industry in India?

Contract staffing is at its nascent stages in India and it is here to stay for sure as it contributes to the overall job creation and fuels economic growth by suitably enabling various industries with just in time manpower. It equally benefits prospective temp job seekers by providing them the much needed on the job training and a bridge to permanent employment. India's young population is its strength and attracts organisations from all over the world to invest in India.

Sheetal Srivastava