The Hindu Business Line : Mid-size cos back to lateral hiring

Bangalore, Sept. 9 Medium-size IT companies that were the first to down curtains on lateral hiring last year because of a sizeable bench and rising salary costs are now back to recruiting.

According to key HR consultants, lateral hiring is back because the ‘market has improved.’ Mr Rishi Das, CEO, CareerNet, a Bangalore-based recruitment firm, sees a big recruitment cycle beginning in mid-size companies.

Improving market

“The mid-caps did see a stock rally and there is confidence in the Indian market,” says a Mumbai-based IT recruiter. According to HR sources, companies such as Aricent, Logica and captives such as Goldman Sachs and BankAm are hiring between 200 and 300 people.

Dr Pallab Bandyopadhyay, Vice-President and Head, HR, Asia Pac, Perot Systems, says it has been hiring at a steady pace and has to currently fill 300-400 positions.

It is looking at filling at least 100-150 positions a month. Mr E. Balaji, CEO and Director, Ma Foi Consultants, says companies that had put hiring on hold are now looking at filling critical positions, but the ‘peak is yet to come.’

Campus hirings on hold

Interestingly, most of the recruitments currently are in the laterals (those between five years and 10 years’ experience) even as companies are putting campus hirings on hold.

This is because they are yet to absorb last-year’s hires apart from being restricted by an advisory from Nasscom, which has suggested that IT companies should stay away from campuses until they have honoured all last year’s offers. Mr Das says that this year, campus recruitment would be active in the last semester and not 18 months ahead of graduating, as it happened earlier.

On the salary front, laterals who could demand between 50 per cent and 100 per cent jump can now at best expect a 15-20 per cent rise when they change jobs, says Mr Das.