‘Hired, on my terms'

Many youngsters, including tech professionals, today prefer to take a break after, say, four-five years in an industry. While they cite the boredom factor, of being stuck in one place or company, they don't seem to be afraid of taking the break.

IT professionals, particularly, choose to operate as independent consultants and benefit from the flexibility the move brings in terms of type of work and work-life balance.

There is no dearth of independent consultants in India and elsewhere. But do these consultants make money at all, especially after earning a decent package when they had a job on hand? Is it easy to find an interim assignment just to keep oneself going?

Answers to these would have been a ‘No' some years ago but not any more. There are quite a few portals today that help professionals choose a project they would like to work on and plan their work-life balance accordingly.

Aditya Garg, for instance, is a testing program manager with 16 years' experience. This programmer turned independent consultant registered with B2B portal StaffOnContract.com.

“Today, I am able to choose the projects that I would prefer to work on, the location and package. Earlier, I used to become restless when the project on hand neared completion; I would circulate my CV on job portals and grab the first offer that came my way. Now, I am able to plan at least four weeks in advance on my next project. There are plenty of such interim placement offers and I can work on a project of my choice instead of being compelled to be a part of a team and work on the assigned project,” says Garg.

Industry insiders say that this temp-staffing concept has caught on in recent years. “Contract staffing has seen tremendous growth in India in recent times. It is growing at 17 per cent quarter on quarter and across verticals such as manufacturing, IT, services, infrastructure and hospitality. Temp-staffing is emerging as a viable concept,” says Chetan Indap, Founder and CEO of StaffOnContract. Indap himself has worked in the IT industry for over 20 years before turning independent consultant.

He maintains that permanent staffing would continue as a key staffing model, while admitting to the change/shift to temp-staffing. “The job market is hot and every candidate with sound technical knowledge has not less than three-four offers today. But temp-staffing continues to remain unorganised. While there is a digital marketplace for permanent jobs, it is not so for interim hires,” avers Indap.

Citing reports and surveys, he says “contract staffing is one area where recovery and placement opportunities appear to be very real.

The entire staffing industry in 2011 is projected at $113 billion and contract staffing at $88 billion of that total. Although only 1.5 per cent of all employees in the US are contract or contingent workers, that number is witnessing an upward momentum.”

In India, the staffing industry has added 5 lakh jobs over the last 15 months through its clients. Here is where the industry sees the big shift, a clear trend of hiring temporary before moving to full time — a ‘try it before you buy it' mentality, says Indap.

Industry estimates show that contract staffing in the IT space has been up by 19 per cent in 2010. The demand might intensify for experienced professionals, but where is the talent pool?

Garg says that the StaffOnContract portal helps independent consultants while Ravindra Lohar, MD of 2Soft Solutions, perceives that this digital marketplace has thrown a window of opportunity to smaller companies that can now ensure that the bench/resources are most optimally utilised. “At a time when the industry is voicing concerns about rising costs, temp-hiring ensures a clear 22 per cent benefit for the hirer and the opportunity to deliver in the case of contracted employee is also high,” Indap justifies.

Will contracting growth continue? Should companies consider contracting? Time will tell….

> lnr@thehindu.co.in

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