Lateral hiring and digital skills hot HR trends, as per Nasscom

CHENNAI, INDIA: To assess the effect of the continuously changing business environment on hiring trends and the outlook for FY2015, National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) organized the two-day annual HR Summit 2014 and on the side-lines, NASSCOM also announced the findings of a recently conducted HR survey.

The survey was aimed at identifying the HR priorities of the industry, defining its operational metrics and showcase technology as a key differentiator for the segment. Echoing the upbeat mood of the industry NASSCOM also announced the annual rankings of top 20 IT-BPM employers in India, for Financial Year 2013-14. Tata Consultancy Services has emerged as the largest recruiter over the last year, followed by Infosys and Cognizant Technology Solutions.

According to the survey, driven by the improving global economic climate and gradual rise in the technology spend, the Indian IT-BPM industry will increase its net hiring by approximately six per cent over last year. With a renewed focus on skills over building capacity, SMEs are expected to drive hiring with 7-8 per cent growth in headcount.

Industry is now focusing more on lateral hiring as there is a higher demand for niche technology skills and domain-specific capabilities. Digital skills that pan across analytics, cloud, mobile and analytics are the key skills in demand by the industry.

R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM expressed "The future of the industry is in its talent with niche skills as they can match their capabilities with the strategic goals of their potential employer. The industry is also putting in place multiple solutions to address niche skill set requirements and is actively engaging with employees to build a strong entrepreneurial culture. NASSCOM through the Sector Skill Council has published detailed job roles for the industry and the skills and competencies required in these role".

BVR Mohan Reddy, Vice Chairman, NASSCOM said "The role of HR leaders is rapidly changing as technology disruptions are creating new opportunities for the industry. HR is gaining more prominence as a ‘strategic business partner' for the industry with HR transforming to meet new and dynamic business priorities while preparing for the future and developing next level of leadership".

Technology for HR function will prove to be a boon as technology solutions are expected to bring in clarity in HR processes resulting in increased employee satisfaction. It is expected that for half of the firms, more than 50 per cent of HR processes will be automated. Digital technology will play a significant role to improve the talent hunting process resulting in finding right candidate in reasonable time span. This will witness a rapid shift to non-traditional hiring methods such as online job portals, social media and referrals. New digital channels specifically online portals, social and digital media, like Facebook and LinkedIn are driving recruitment processes.