With the world going on an unending lockdown, the economies have been majorly affected due to the closure of businesses. Employers and employees both have been put in a difficult situation as it is a constant struggle between keeping the business afloat and not draining out of funds. All the industries that could take to working from home have sailed with it but the industries (Like infrastructure, Construction, etc) that couldn’t adopt working from home due to the nature of their work have gone on a standstill until the lockdown lifts up. There is a high risk that the end-of-year worldwide unemployment figure will be much higher than an initial ILO projection of 25 million people. Most of the companies have asked their employees to go an unpaid leave until the scenarios become clearer so as to keep their teams intact and not get into hiring new employees once the pandemic situation gets better for good.
As per a PTI report, hiring activity during March has declined by 18 per cent compared to the same month in 2019 following the nationwide lockdown to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, with major impact in cities like Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad, according to Naukri JobSpeak Index. The Naukri JobSpeak is a monthly Index which calculates and records hiring activity based on the job listings on Naukri.com website month-on-month.The decline in hiring activity is led by industries like hotel, restaurants, travel, airlines (56 per cent), retail (50 per cent), auto and ancillary (38 per cent), pharmaceutical (26 per cent), insurance (11 per cent), accounting and finance (10 per cent), IT-software (9 per cent) and BFSI (9 per cent).
What the employers are trying to avoid is the added cost of hiring new employees and saving in time on the legalities that comes with it. But the question is, will putting a halt on the hiring help in sustainability of the organisation. Or would the halt add in more pressure on the current employees to produce a result which is not as productive as the need of the hour.
Recruitments and hiring are an integral part of any organisation as there is no business without any resources and as there is a solution to every problem, there is one to this as well. Hiring new resources in a way that is economical and beneficial to the employers is only and only Contractual Staffing.
Contractual staffing is a co-employment association between a Client Company, Vendor Company and the Employee. The Vendor Company assumes accountability for obligations related to Recruitment, Human Resources, Payroll & Benefits, Statutory Compliance, Employment Taxes and Employee Services. Benefits of Contract staffing include, Focusing on Core Competencies, Cost Control, Swift Deployment of Resources, Less Payroll and Accounting Costs, Statutory Compliance as per law, Retain and Attract Talent. With Contractual Staffing Service one can hire skilled talent for specific short-term projects. It requires a candidate to sign and agree to terms of a contract before they begin working. Contractual work is usually for a specified amount of time and ends after completion of a project or assignment. Some employers prefer to hire contractual workers if their workload fluctuates or if they want in more manpower for their company and are impressed with the candidate’s performance. The workers are often paid a lump sum upon project completion, but some receive payments during the course of the assignment, too.
Currently, India has the third largest contract staffing workforce in the world, after China and the US. The Government of India continues to be the biggest employer of temporary workforce amounting to nearly 15 million. There are several benefits because of which organisations in India should start resorting to contract staffing:
- Focus on core business: If the recruitment requirement is outsourced to an agency of staffing company, the organisation can focus on its core business rather than spending time hiring people and managing the entire operation involved in the process.
- Reduction in administrative overheads: Contractual Staffing allows the organisation, the proficiency needed for the precise time-frame of a particular job and, save money and workforce sources.
- No liabilities associated with permanent employment: Contract staffing provides organisations with flexibility and also saves them with the liabilities associated with permanent employees like life insurance, provident fund, leave management, reimbursements etc. Contract staffing companies take care of all the things related to an employee life cycle so the employers don’t have to focus on other aspects.
- Faster turnaround time of overall recruitment process: Contract staffing agencies have an existing talent pool which can be useful to quickly close an open position. Recruitment Agencies have the tools, resources and connections which help them to find the most appropriate talent that suits an organisation’s need. Finding high-skill talent can be in a short span of time and within a specified budget can be very challenging however staffing companies can easily source such candidates from the existing talent pool that they have.
Ambitious individuals get to explore new employment prospects and experience through a contractual job. They are never tied down by a job or an organization. Moreover, there is immense flexibility. Contract employees considers their bosses as clients and not employer. With every new contract, a worker gets to negotiate salary and working conditions, like working from home etc. Since contracts are renewed occasionally, there are opportunities to ask for additional employment incentives. It also promotes skill development because as a contractor, one would be offering a specialized service that can be used across different industries. The hidden benefit is that, one would get to work with various industries, and as a result, learn while they work. This sort of broad experience can strengthen one’s résumé and help establish a large professional network. Financial benefits are also another positive. Though they may have a less predictable income, it is possible to make what a full-time employee earns, and even more. Being on a contract basis means one stands a higher chance of receiving the pay desired and deserved.
If the motive is to hire employees with the right skills who have diverse exposure in a variety of workplaces and technologies making them flexible in adaptability and increasing efficiency without paying a hefty amount then Contractual staffing is our way to go !!
Author : Urvi Singhal