Inflation deflates hiring prospects

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Inflation may touch 10% by end MarchInflation up at 0.83% on higher food pricesHoarding drives food inflation by 16.32%Inflation a matter of concern: FM

: executive board’ and ‘career dialogues’ among others.

“The fact remains that we are going ahead with a radial greenfield expansion as we see in it a business opportunity in the near future, and strategic hiring around the project is very much on; there’s no question of pulling back. Further, we continue to infuse fresh talent from the premier B-schools, having taken 10 management trainees this year,” says Ghatak.

In contrast, consultants like Ma Foi, which saw a highly buoyant hiring trend with companies making aggressive additions to their staff strength, say now a calibrated approach to hiring is visible. Companies are still hiring, though the exuberant hiring approaches are no there.

Says E Balaji, CEO, Ma Foi Management Consultants Ltd, “Most companies have good communication practices where their top management communicates to employees frequently to give them a picture of where the organisation stands. Employees are also more knowledgeable compared to many other sectors. Thus, they are reasonably aware of these situations and many have toned down their expectations.”

In such a situation, HR managers have to be flexible and dynamic. “They have to align themselves to the company strategy and be continuously aware of the dynamism in expectations. They have to closely monitor skills and performance of the employees, maintaining apt information flow and transparency. Managing emotions in the open environment is also a key aspect,” says Tikekar.

Ceat’s Ghatak says the challenges are three-fold in the current environment: to attract and retain the best talent in difficult conditions; to optimise productivity; and to ensure that morale doesn’t drop.

According to experts, in such a situation, companies need to educate employees on managing their finances along with the other programmes like re-skilling or part-time higher studies.

Says Balaji, “We see three trends emerging. One is that companies are using this time as opportunity to stabilise their teams with a reduction in attrition levels. For example, there is a greater focus on performance and productivity enhancement through improved feedback and training approaches. The second trend is that companies are value hunting. Many companies are able to hire senior mid-management talent for 20% hikes compared to 70 to 80% hikes people got used to. The third trend is companies are hiring to prepare themselves for future opportunities.