The IT-ITeS (IT-enabled services) sector tops flexi-staff adoption with around 12 out of every 100 employees being contractual or flexi staff, according to the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), the apex body of the domestic flexi staffing industry.
The sector’s flexi workforce is expected to grow to 720,000 by 2021 from half a million in 2018, according to ISF.
To be sure, the move toward contract hires has been a trend across industries, but it has become more visible in IT of late because of a rise in project-based work.
In tune with global IT spending, which is expected to remain flattish this year, clients are increasingly moving to project-based work instead of long-term contracts, wherever possible.
However, this is a double-edged sword as it also impacts the margins in the short-term due to the higher costs. the Infosys report cited above said, engaging temporary workers strategically is one of the key approaches to addressing the talent needs of today. “As enterprises progress in their digital journeys, the winners will be those who utilize multiple hiring sources and reskill workers in a culture of lifelong learning,” U.B. Pravin Rao, chief operating officer, Infosys, said in the report.