Lack of right talent costs Indian economy Rs 53,000 cr

India is likely to lose Rs 53,000 crore (Rs 530 billion) from its economy as companies are unable to hire people with right talent for the job and are incurring high recruitment costs, says a study.

Done jointly by professional networking site LinkedIn and consultancy PwC, the study said: "If India was better at matching talent with the right opportunities, this could unlock as much as Rs 508 billion (Rs 50,800 crore) in increased productivity."

This is resulting in lost opportunity to generate Rs 508 billion in additional productivity, it added. The study further said: "Longer time taken to find the right candidates combined with the increased likelihood of mismatched talent leaving jobs sooner are costing Indian companies Rs 22.3 billion (Rs 2,230 crore) in avoidable recruitment cost..."

Together these costs are resulting in India "likely losing approximately Rs 530.31 billion from its economy", it noted.

The study which is based on analysis of 11 countries, has placed India at the bottom two with a score of 34, just above China (with a score of 23), in terms of talent adaptability.

Netherland emerged at the top on this parameter followed United Kingdom (2nd), Canada (3rd), Singapore (4th), United States (5th), Australia (6th), France (7th), Germany (8th) and Brazil (9th).

"Emerging markets such as India and China have lower scores because they have fewer mature sectors and their geographic size limits talent mobility," the study said.

PwC India leader People and Change Consulting Padmaja Alganandan said: "Factors such as low sector diversity, sub-optimal investment in personal skill building, policy hurdles and development rates have held down India's actual talent adaptability threshold.

"The loss, quantified for the first time underlines the importance we should be placing on driving flexibility, skills training and ensuring a more thoughtful approach to hiring."

As per LinkedIn India's Director, Talent Solutions, Irfan Abdulla "raising the level of talent adaptability in a market will go a long towards enabling economic success for everyone, from job-seekers to recruiters and the economy".

The analysis is based on interactions from LinkedIn's network of 277 million professionals, including 24 million in India.

This analysis was further cross referenced with information on 2,600 employers from PwC's Saratoga database, to understand which countries are better at aligning talent with opportunity.