Author: Liji Narayan | HRKatha

Are health and wellbeing important to talent recruitment and retention? This was the question posed to respondents of a survey by International SOS. A whopping 82 per cent of the respondents from across 82 countries answered ‘yes’. Nearly three-fourth of these respondents feel mental health will significantly impact their organisation in the next one year. A good 77 per cent agreed that “safeguarding the physical and mental wellbeing of employees is a board-level concern”. Indeed, the employment relationship is constantly changing. First, there was the wave of resignations, which was followed by quiet quitting. In fact, three in five organisations…

Are tech skills in demand? Definitely, if the latest survey report by GiGroup Holding is to be believed. Among e-commerce organisations, a significant 64 per cent are looking to hire women possessing tech skills. A good 54 per cent of the e-commerce firms seeking freshers will also prefer to hire candidates with tech skills as per the survey. The retail space demands freshers, while the e-commerce organisations seek experience. What is common to both the sectors is the fact that both are seeking candidates with tech skills. However, on the whole, lesser number of e-commerce firms will be hiring freshers…

The retail workers of Apple in Maryland became the first to unionise in the US, in June 2022. Now, the employees of the Apple store in Towson, Maryland, have voted to go on strike. The date for the same is yet to be officially announced. The workers, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (AIM) wish to draw attention to the lack of work-life balance for the employees due to unpredictable schedules. They have also been unhappy about the low wages, which are unable to keep up with the rising cost of living. Recently, the US Labour…

We may keep comforting ourselves that things are improving for women at work, but surveys throw up discouraging data year after year. Women have faced subtle prejudices at work for ages now. Microaggressions keep them from fully enjoying their professional life. They are definitely not faring very well at work. Any improvement in their status at as professionals, if at all, is negligible and limited to a few rare and lucky ones. This year’s Women @ Work 2024 report by Deloitte does indicate some progress in terms of a reduction in the number of women who admit to having experienced…

As per the Deloitte Women @ Work 2024 report, 76 per cent of women working for Gender Equality Leaders—let us refer to them as GELs here—are highly loyal towards their employers, while only 26 per cent of those working for Gender Equality Lagging Organisations (we can refer to them as GELOs) show strong loyalty towards their employers. So who are these Gender Equality Leaders? Well, GELs are organisations where women feel confident about reporting non-inclusive behaviours they encounter, without worrying about retaliation. These are workplaces where women feel supported by their employers in their efforts to balance their work responsibilities…

From 40 per cent in 2023, to 43 per cent in 2024—that is the only improvement there has been in the percentage of women, worldwide, who admit that their employers provide them adequate mental health support. That is hardly any improvement to get excited about. This year, about a quarter of women—from across Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, the UK, and the US—admit to feeling burnt out, reveals the Deloitte Women@ Work 2024 report. Last year, a little over a third felt burnt out and in 2022, nearly half felt burnt out. When it comes to…

It is projected that in five years the Indian Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) sector will not only expand rapidly but also attain a milestone of $ 38.71 billion. Brands in this space are scaling up their operations amidst a demand surge, but what about compliance? What about those working in this space? Are they happy? If they are, why is the attrition rate so high in this sector? Why is the employee turnover 10 to 40 per cent per month on average? According to a Teamlease report, about 75 per cent of the workforce serves a short tenure of less…

Awign, the Indian work-as-a-service platform, has been acquired by Mynavi Corporation in an all-cash deal. This is probably the first-ever cross-border deal of this scale in the HR tech sector in the past 20 years. With this partnership, some of Awign’s early investors, such as Capria, Lumis, MSDF, Amicus Capital and Pankaj Bansal will no longer be present in the scene. Mynavi, a Japanese HR tech platform brings market exposure and access to a diverse demographic, reinforcing Awign’s position in India’s work-fulfillment sector. Moreover, this partnership and the patient capital will further enable Awign to focus on long-term strategic growth…

The regular office goers have received better hikes at the tech multinational Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reportedly granted pay hikes to its employees based on various factors, including their regular physical presence in the office. This update follows the company’s decision to require employees to work from the office five days a week, a move implemented months ago. In February this year, TCS did ask its employees to return to office. Not just that, the company had warned employees of repercussions if they failed to comply with the mandate by March. It had also linked increments and variable payouts with…

There was a significant 46 per cent growth in hiring for machine learning engineers’ roles in India, while hiring for full-stack AI scientist roles went up by 23 per cent in January 2024. As per the Naukri Jobspeak report, the demand for data scientists and other traditional AI roles was also good. However, growth in information technology (IT) jobs was a mere one per cent in January 2024 compared to December 2023. In terms of year-on-year data, the hiring in the IT sector was 19 per cent lower than in January 2023. In the healthcare space, hiring went up by…

A touch away from unlimited information and ever so comfortable with technology, members of Gen Z are aptly referred to as the ‘digital natives’. Surrounded by social media, handheld devices and gadgets galore, this generation became part of the workforce in 2019 or thereabouts. We already know that they consider non-salary benefits as more important than their compensation. Many global surveys have revealed this. A recent report gives us more insights. Does Gen Z think AI needs to be feared? Does Gen Z see artificial intelligence (AI) as a threat? Apparently not, according to a recent report, which says that…

Which is the most sought-after sector for students of business schools and other undergraduates when it comes to taking up jobs? Consulting, says a report by Unstop. However, technology is the sector that engineering students make a beeline for. Here are some more interesting revelations from the report: The top three sectors preferred by women students from business schools in India are fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)/ fast-moving consumer durables (FMCD) and consulting (tied at numner one), followed by e-commerce and technology. The male students from business schools prefer consulting, FMCG/FMCD and banking and financial services and insurance (BFSI)/fintech in that…

Feedback is necessary and it is welcomed by most youngsters at work today. At least that is what a survey by Unstop reveals. Gone are the days when employees were scared to receive feedback, worried that their performance would be criticised or not up-to-the mark. Today’s crop of young employees prefer being given feedback. In fact, they fear the lack of on-the-job training and actively seek feedback. On being asked how often they would wish to receive feedback, 51 per cent of all students opted for monthly feedback. While b-schoolers were open to quarterly feedback as a second option, e-school…

Is there a mismatch between talent and role? Clearly, there is. Why else are talented youngsters failing to find the right role? That too, when the job seekers/students as well as the recruiters/HR accept that skill set is the primary consideration during hiring. There seems to be a gap in the way students and HRs view curricula effectiveness. While a very encouraging 91 per cent of students feel their college curricula adequately prepare them for a job, a significant 66 per cent of the recruits feel that skill gap is a major hurdle when it comes to campus hiring. A…

The India Employment Report 2024 suggests five important missions that India should take on in earnest. One is to make production and growth more employment-intensive. It also recommends improving the quality of jobs. Additionally, the country needs to overcome labour market inequalities, and take steps to make systems for skills training and active labour market policies more effective. The fifth suggestion is to bridge the deficits in knowledge on labour market patterns and youth employment. So how can India improve the quality of jobs? The Report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development puts forward…

At a time when seven per cent of campuses posted achieving 100 per cent placement, a significant 79 per cent of students feel that better opportunities can come their way off campus. In fact, 88 per cent e-school students, 67 per cent b-school students and 88% arts, science and commerce students share this sentiment. The truth is, students are not happy with the outcomes of campus placement drives. Recruiters are not happy either. Both feel hiring platforms give better results than campus hiring drives. On the other hand, most of the university partners (88 per cent) feel that students are…

Leverage Edu has onboarded 50 return-to-work mothers. This return-to-work initiative is part of Leverage Edu’s commitment to building an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace. The initiative recognises the unique skills, drive and perspectives that women bring to the workplace after taking time away for child birth and child care, during one of the most important phases in their lives. The company acknowledges that giving birth to a child makes women more strong and ambitious. It instils in them “the power to capture the whole world”. Leverage wishes “to be enablers to these rockstar women and provide them the rocket thrust…

When it comes to countrywise hiring expectations for April through June 2024, the highest is for India, with 36 per cent, followed by the US at 34 per cent, China at 32 per cent and Costa Rica at 32 per cent. About 41 per cent of employers, worldwide, expect hiring to increase, while 19 per cent anticipate a decrease. While 37 per cent report no change, three per cent are not sure about hiring, says the latest edition of the Manpower Group global employment outlook report for 2024. The hiring expectations for the Netherlands stands at 32 per cent, for…

An alarming 76 per cent of workers would contemplate leaving their company because their relationship with work is unhealthy, while only 22 per cent of workers with a healthy work relationship will consider quitting their job. This was revealed in HP’s Work Relationship Index. This global study covered 15,624 respondents in total, of which 12,012 were knowledge workers, 3,612 were IT decision makers and 1,204 were business leaders. The survey reveals that only a mere 27 per cent of knowledge workers admit to enjoying a healthy relationship with work. Why is this a concern? Well, strained relationships with work spell…

With International Women’s Day around the corner, suddenly there are more conversations around women and their rights. True, the day is meant to focus on subjects pertaining to women, including gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence against women. However, there are gaps, or rather, chasms in terms of the mismatch between the goals that are much talked about and ultimately achieved. In the corporate world, such a gap continues to exist in gender pay. Unfortunately, some of the recent survey reports reflect the hopelessness that has set in among working women, globally, regarding the same. Most women do not see…

The Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) has announced 9,000 vacancies for technicians. While 7,900 vacancies are for Technician Grade III signal, the rest are for Technican Grade I signal. Interested candidates who are not less than 18 years of age and not more than 36 years old can apply before 8 April 2024, for Technician Grade I signal. For Technican Grade III, the candidates have to be in the age group of 18 to 33. General candidates are required to pay an application fee of Rs 500, while the fee for those belonging to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) or Economically Backward…

About 60 per cent Indian accounts professionals agree that they are “overhwhelmed by the pace of change of technology impacting their job”. Only 29 per cent feel they are not overwhelmed by the same, as per a recent report. Another interesting revelation made by the report is that a whopping 78 per cent of the respondents said they will demand a pay hike in 2024. However, 57 per cent of the accounts professionals, globally, are sure that they will have to move out of their current organisation in order to get a better pay. Accounts professionals in North America seem…

January 2024 was witness to seven per cent growth in marketing and communications jobs, compared to the previous month, says a report. In fact, there has been a 12 per cent increase over the past six months. This growth can be attributed to a surge in demand for digital marketing and analytics professionals. This surge is highest in Delhi/NCR stands, where the increase has been five per cent in the last one month, says the report. There has been a seven per cent increase in demand for legal professionals over the past month. This surge in demand has been evident…

X is trying to uphold its commitment to battling child sexual exploitation (CSE) online. As part of this, X will hire 100 people for its content-moderation team. As part of their responsibilities, the moderators will also be looking into matters related to fraud and spam, and offer relevant support to customers. The company was recently criticised for the way it handles explicit content and has been under the scanner for some time now. Linda Yaccarino, CEO, X, is expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the end of this month, that is, 31 January, where she will reveal…

A significant 59 per cent of organisations from across over 48 countries and over 50 industries, benefitted from hiring gig workers. As per the Mercer Mettl Talent-Acquisition Insights 2024 report, these organisations admitted to hiring one or more freelancers or contract workers last year. Freelancers have played a major role in the rapidly-evolving nature of work, providing firms with much- sought-after agility and cost-effectiveness in fulfilling the demands of their projects. The report highlights how the gig economy has come to be an essential part of modern workforce strategies. It also reveals how more organisations and employers across the globe…

If you think job sites are not as significant any more, there is news for you. A good 65 per cent organisations continue to rely on job sites, such as LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, Glassdoor and others, for effective hiring. These sites score high in terms of their reach and target audience. Are job sites the only source of reliable hiring? Not really. About 11 per cent of the over 7,500 human resource leaders from across 48 countries and over 50 industries who were part of the Mercer Mettle survey admitted to depending on referral programmes. About seven per cent said…