Many Indians are quitting permanent jobs to move into more attractive temporary roles. As many as 15% new recruits of temp staffing firm Teamlease are permanent employees switching to temporary jobs, company officials say. Adecco India, another such firm, also says the trend is catching on.
The development suggests that for the first time, the Indian workforce is putting opportunity ahead of security. The carrots - better career profile, money and organisation brand.
Ruchika Upneja, 26, is a financial analyst at Microsoft's corporate office in Gurgaon. Four months ago, she quit her permanent job at an Indian manufacturing company to move into this temp job that is "a better opportunity in terms of career profile, money and brand". Upneja says she has three years of experience and perhaps it will take her another three years to reach some kind of a leadership role. "It hardly matters to me whether it is a temp or permanent job. My objective is two-fold - a good profile and building my CV."
Adecco has placed permanent employees from banking MNCs, consulting and tax credit companies, and software services firms into temp roles. While the company did not divulge names, it said employees are placed at various levels - from software testing to project managers, senior analysts and director (technology).
"A shift such as this can give the employee exposure to new growth areas, experience of working on cutting-edge technology and an opportunity to get absorbed as a permanent employee eventually," says Sudhakar Balakrishnan, managing director & CEO of Adecco India. In most cases, employees get a higher pay packet for shifting, but that does not seem to be the biggest incentive.
A permanent job holds the promise of security, but employees are rising above that as they now believe they have 'employment security'. They are confident that after an exit -- voluntarily or forced -- they can get the next job easily. This was not the case earlier.
Also, young employees in India have a higher risk appetite in terms of job movement. What exactly do employees lose when they leave permanent jobs? Nothing much, it seems.
Much Ado aboutJob Security
"The only difference is in a permanent job you are engaged in an activity that is continuous in nature. The statutory dues a temp and a permanent employee are eligible for are exactly the same be it minimum wages or their coverage under social security," says Rituparna Chakraborty, senior vice-president at TeamLease Services, a staffing company.
Job security seems to be a misnomer too. Irrespective of whether an employee is on a temp or permanent assignment, he/she cannot be indiscriminately fired from their job. "One can be let to go based on the terms agreed in the contract or appointment letter and by providing adequate notice," says Chakraborty. As a result, employees are more concerned about career progression and acquiring relevant experience on their CVs than hankering after job security.
Shivanshu Sharma, 30, has been working with Hewlett-Packard in the National Capital Region in a temp role for three months now. He moved from a secure job at another IT services company to HP India; the pull factor being a leadership role. "I found this opportunity and exposure to be very good. I am handling different vendors in my current role that is invaluable experience to my seven-year career."
In Mumbai, Susan Mascarenhas recently quit her job in a media company to move into the role of project manager (marketing) at a payment gateway company as a temp. It was a well thought-out decision. "I don't think there are any perks attached to a permanent job," she says. Her current organisation has an equal number of temp and permanent staff.
According to Adecco's Balakrishnan, "Such movements are being seen in IT, engineering, technical staffing of large engineering companies. The trend is also common in oil and gas." Employees from tier-II companies are most likely to move to temp role, he adds.
Says E Balaji, MD and CEO of Ma Foi Randstad, a staffing and search firm: "This is a also reflection of the temp industry maturing. About 12-13 years ago, no one would want to work in a temp role. They preferred to be without a job."
The temp staffing industry in India is less than 15 years old, but has more than 600,000 on its rolls currently. Has a permanent job ceased to matter completely? Not yet. When she moves into a managerial role, Upneja will think of getting a permanent role. "In my earlier role, it would have taken me 10 years to reach managerial levels. Through the temp route, I have fast-tracked my career," she says.
No comments:
Post a Comment