India Inc has weathered many a storm during Covid-19: from supply chain disruptions to demand dips, steep increase in input costs to shortage of key raw materials. As most companies navigated unprecedented challenges on multiple fronts, realisation dawned also about the criticality of employee welfare in the survival of the business. And it was the human resources (HR) department that faced the greatest test on this front.
HR Guru Mayank Rautela offers practical advice.
'Skilled labour is different from immigration.' 'While any adverse immigration ruling will impact Indians, it may not necessarily affect the IT services industry.'
Call centres, once the engine room of India's BPO exports, are evolving too. Depending on the complexity, 30 to 50 per cent of voice and chat volumes are now handled by conversational AI.
Employee costs for Indian IT services players have touched an all-time high as salaries soar in their effort to retain talent. Engineer salaries are going through the roof. According to a news report, Infosys, which reported a 27.7 per cent attrition rate for the fourth quarter of FY22, plans to have an average salary hike of 12-13 per cent. High potential employees will get increases of 22-23 per cent.
'Citing an example of the pressure students face, she mentioned that one student shared how friends in college would say, "Don't come back without that multi-crore job," as they said their goodbyes.' 'But you have to understand that this is the end of the beginning, and it's not even the beginning of the end.'
rediffGURU Major Inderpaul Singh (retd) offers career guidance and helps students and individuals handle challenges in their professional lives.
As the job markets open up, top IT services firms may look at a tiered strategy in which they hire entry-level talents at higher salaries, amid a major technological shift, say HR analysts.
'You think: Did I fail the people I had to let go? Did I promise something I couldn't deliver? That day (when we had to sack 70 people) will stay with me.'
'GenAI programmes may not be large in terms of value, but have triggered a lot of new opportunities among clients.'
A Delhi court on Tuesday sent to 10-day judicial custody NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resources department head Amit Chakravarty, arrested in a case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that the news portal received money to spread pro-China propaganda.
'It's a debatable topic, and we will submit our comments to the RBI by June 15.'
Indian software firms have been retraining their workforce in emerging technology areas, also helping them get certified
'In India, managers and the leadership almost glorify overworking.'
Employers seek individuals who can prioritise tasks, solve problems, and work within deadlines, notes Ankit Aggarwal, founder and CEO, Unstop.
India Inc will see single-digit salary increases for the first time in six years and the salary increase projections may fall even further in the coming months, says a report by HR consultants Hewitt Associates.
Quiet vacationing is a valuable tool to manage stress and maintain well-being during busy periods. It's not a replacement for a full vacation but a way to cope with breaks.
Gen Z, don't shy away from expressing your ideas, and millennials, be receptive to new perspectives, suggests Sonica Aron, founder of the HR consultancy firm, Marching Sheep.
'It could take 12 months or more for hiring to get back on track.' 'New opportunities would come up and there will be demand for skillsets that can help dealing with the current situation.'
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
Indian firms selling SAAS products have got a bonanza as companies meet, manage and sell remotely. The top five firms - Zoho, Freshworks HighRadius, Druva, and Icertis - account for 33 per cent of the market share. Chennai, India's SAAS centre, alone generates $1 billion in annual revenue. Yuvraj Malik explains how these companies are planning their next phase of growth.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services firm, is planning to increase salaries by an average of 7-8 per cent for its offsite employees and 2-4 per cent for its onsite staffers in 2024-25. High performers can expect a raise of 12-15 per cent. The company, which had a headcount of 603,305 as of December 31, 2023, will be closely looking at the promotions and the process may also get pushed to the first quarter of FY25, revealed a source on condition of anonymity, because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
rediffGURU Ashwini Dasgupta offers tips on how to navigate job interviews.
Several technology companies are seeking to step up hiring from Tier-II and Tier-III cities of India in 2024 to tap into a vast talent pool of skilled professionals churned out by educational institutions and training centres in these regions. Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Mohali, Vadodara, Chandigarh, and Indore contribute around 12-15 per cent of the country's tech talent, hinting towards the strong talent availability in these regions, according to Randstad India, a talent management firm.
"We have seen reports about this outlet's ties to the People's Republic of China, but we can't comment yet on the veracity of those claims," State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at a news conference in Washington, DC on Tuesday.
Trouble started brewing after Cognizant announced that Ravi Kumar, former Infosys president, would take over as the Nasdaq-listed company's CEO.
Moving over 520,000 employees to a digital work model is no mean feat. Having done so, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is taking these learnings to help clients digitise their work models. Swiss Re is one such client. For the global information technology services firm with a headcount of 528,748 as of end-September, the shift to a single human resource (HR) platform started a few months before the pandemic started, when TCS moved its HR solutions to Microsoft's platform. Siva Ganesan, global head, Microsoft business unit, TCS, still remembers the early days when TCS embarked upon a move from an existing software platform to a digital medium for communications on a Microsoft Office platform.
To increase focus on hiring people from diverse skillset
Sanjeev Goel, business head, Manipal ProLearn, lists 10 courses that are currently most suitable for working professionals to upskill or reskill to ensure they remain of value in the job market and in future-ready organisations.
The Indian Navy on Monday unveiled a 15-year plan to boost maritime infrastructure even as Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said the force is working with the Army and the IAF to ensure tri-services jointness and integration to meet future challenges.
'There is a need for an innovation sandbox where the PSBs can collaborate and then they can do their own innovation on top of it.'
Fighter's distressing lack of thrills and sizzle reduces the exercise to an excuse for tedious amounts of Pakistan bashing, observes Sukanya Verma.
It was also learnt that Gautam Navlakha, a shareholder in NewsClick, remained involved in anti-Indian and unlawful activities such as actively supporting banned Naxal organisations and having anti-national nexus with Gulam Nabi Fai, an agent of Pakistan's ISI, it stated.
As artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to replace jobs, a new report from Microsoft has suggested that Indian employees are caught between a fear of losing jobs and an opportunity to reduce workload by delegating tasks to technology. Microsoft's Work Trend Index 2023 found that while 74 per cent of Indian employees are worried about AI replacing their jobs, 83 per cent would delegate as much work to it as possible, to help lessen their workloads. More than three in four Indian workers would be comfortable using AI not just for administrative tasks (86 per cent), but also for analytical work (88 per cent), and for the creative aspects of their role (87 per cent).
Many ethical, competent corporate leaders aspire to join public life today. However, the transition to politics is far from easy, observes Indrajit Gupta.
The ability to make smarter data-driven decisions will be a critical skill that every employer will be looking at in every prospective employee.
'AI may perform tasks, but deep expertise and specialisation remain uniquely human.'
The governor made it clear that the RBI is aware of what's happening and acts accordingly, but doesn't make a noise about that, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The procurement proposals were approved by the Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the ministry said.
Roles ranging from digital marketing to wealth management are some of the emerging roles, notes Sekhar Garisa, CEO, foundit, a job search app.
