Professional staffing services in India in 2024: Outlook and social impact

In the hypercompetitive marketplace, the importance of recruiting top talent cannot be stressed enough. In any organisation, the job of sourcing and hiring the right talent rests on the shoulders of HR teams.

The HR teams need to perform the balancing act of matching job vacancies with the right talent. What makes their task complicated is the fact that the hiring needs of a company are never constant; they keep changing based on the variations in their business needs.

HR teams need to ensure that the right candidates are available when an employee takes off, overtime costs increase, more staff is required for a short-time project or ad-hoc employees are required. HR may not have the time to meet all the varying needs of the organisation.

Enter professional staffing services

These services promise to take care of all the recruitment needs of an organisation.

What are professional staffing services?

Professional staffing services are agencies that help employers connect with the right candidates to provide a seamless fit for both parties. They bridge the gap between employers looking for specialised talent and candidates looking for significant job opportunities.

These services are not restricted to just recruitment. They go beyond recruitment and are responsible for all activities from the time a candidate is recruited to when he or she leaves the job. In a nutshell, staffing services include the recruitment process, employee orientation, training, retention and termination.

Staffing agencies usually have a supply of talent and help businesses meet their varying hiring demands.

How does a professional staffing agency work?

These agencies help businesses hire candidates for different types of jobs:

Temporary hiring: This refers to hiring candidates for a fixed tenure.

Temp-to-hire: This is a process of hiring a candidate for a temporary assignment for a fixed tenure, during which time the employer assesses the suitability of the candidate for permanent hiring.

Direct hiring: Here the requirement is for hiring candidates for permanent positions; the staffing agency acts as the recruiter.

The agency works with the client to understand their requirements and scouts for candidates based on the needs of the organisation. The client provides information like job responsibilities, number of candidates required, duration of hiring, salary or hourly wage, etc.

The agency may have candidates who are readily available in its talent pool and can recruit them. In case they do not have ready candidates, the staffing agency will advertise the vacancy on job boards and other portals.

Once it receives applications, the agency will filter the candidates and conduct assessments and interviews to select the most suitable candidates. These candidates are then introduced to the hiring manager of the company.

After the right candidate is found, he or she is hired as an employee of the agency. However, direct hires are recruited as employees of the company and not the agency.

In the case of temporary hiring and temp-to-hire, the duration of employment is determined by the company. The salaries and benefits are provided by the professional staffing agency.

The staffing agency manages all the paperwork required to complete the process.

Benefits of professional staffing services

Access to a large talent pool

A professional staffing agency has all the resources to find the right candidates for your organisation. Often, they have a ready pool of talent options with diverse skill sets. They also have expanded professional networks through which you can access a wide database of qualified and skilled professionals.

Staffing agencies find the right talent through referrals, social networking, company events and expansive talent hunts.

Speeds up the hiring process

If open positions remain unfulfilled for a long time due to a lack of the right talent, it impacts the company's bottom line. Likewise, a wrong choice of candidates can impact the productivity, efficiency and morale of your teams. Therefore, you need to have faster recruitment processes to be able to fill the vacancies at the earliest.

A staffing agency speeds up the hiring process because it can help you find the right talent much faster than your in-house teams. This is because staffing agencies have a readily available talent pool or can access talent through their tried-and-tested hiring strategies.

Minimises hiring costs

The entire process of hiring a new employee is not only time-consuming but also an expensive one. And if there is a bad hire, it could add to your costs.

A professional staffing agency reduces your hiring expenses by taking over the end-to-end hiring process. This brings down your need to have in-house teams and systems for recruitment. Effectively, it minimises all expenses related to hiring, including having a permanent team for hiring.

Makes the process of hiring top talent seamless

Finding the right candidate and hiring them can be stressful. Professional staffing agencies take away this stress from you and provide you with top talent.

This happens because staffing companies can look beyond polished resumes, scripted answers and references to assess the true potential of a candidate. Also, since the staffing agency has an idea of your organisational culture, it can find candidates who can fit in well.

You can benefit from the expertise of recruiters

Professional staffing services have domain experts who can whet candidates with domain knowledge and the required skill sets. Besides, these agencies are knowledgeable about the latest hiring trends and technologies and use the latest tools and techniques for recruitment.

Helps you to scale your business

Working with a professional staffing agency helps you scale your business up or down, depending on the needs of your business. You can hire candidates temporarily, as and when required, without a need to maintain employees who might be needed ad hoc. This is especially handy when you need to manage seasonal products. The workforce required varies according to the demand for the products.

Professional staffing services in India

In India, professional staffing services have not gained traction yet. However, they are making their presence felt. Data shows that the staffing industry in India has grown by 20–25 percent year-on-year. And trends indicate that it is likely to continue at a faster pace in the coming years.

The growth of staffing agencies has been fuelled by factors such as the introduction of GST (Goods and Services Tax), demonetisation, real estate (Regulation and Development Act), etc. These initiatives have opened the market for new entrants in the staffing sector.

The encouraging signs for the professional staffing sector in India are the increased reliance of employers on flexible staffing options and relaxations in the regulatory environment.

In 2024, professional staffing services in India will be shaped by the following factors:

Key factors shaping professional staffing services in India in 2024

The dynamic nature of the Indian job market has influenced the professional staffing industry in more ways than one. Some of the major factors that are reshaping the industry include:

Skill and talent gaps

In India, 39 per cent of employers have indicated that attracting and hiring top talent is a challenge. The fact is that 90 per cent of the jobs are skill-based while only two per cent of the population is enrolled in vocational training. This mismatch has created huge skill gaps with which recruiters in India are grappling.

Skill gaps have prompted employers to look at contingent staffing as a way to address this issue. This indicates that professional staffing agencies have to work on strategies to address skill or talent gaps in hiring and provide reliable solutions to businesses.

Gig economy

The gig economy is on the rise in India. A recent survey by Flexing It indicates that in the next five years, about one-third of 500 organisations surveyed are likely to rely on 50 per cent of flexible talent. This indicates that professional staffing agencies will need to up their act to meet these growing demands.

Digital staffing platforms

With businesses looking for flexible hiring options, platforms like Upwork and Fiverr have become popular in recent years. This presents competition to traditional staffing agencies in India. Professional staging services will need to build a digital presence and diversify their offerings to attract clients.

Investment in technology

Technological advancements have made an emphatic presence in the recruitment ecosystem. AI (Artificial Intelligence)-powered automation tools have transformed how traditional recruitment works. AI has automated several processes to boost efficiency and speed. AI also offers data-based insights to recruiters to facilitate better decision-making.

Staffing agencies need to leverage the power of technology to offer better recruitment solutions to businesses.

Candidate experience

Candidate experience has become a focus area in the recruitment process. Professional staffing agencies need to prioritise candidate experience in their hiring process to attract top talent.

The needs of the candidates vary according to their age and demographics. Therefore, staffing agencies need to create hiring strategies tailored to the generational needs of candidates.

Social impact of professional staffing in India

The staffing industry in India is worth USD 16 billion, according to ISF (Indian Staffing Federation). Sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, e-commerce, retail and banking are relying on professional staffing services to meet their staffing needs, ISF has said. These agencies have brought opportunities for freshers, with the demand for technical skills and graduates having increased in the job market.

In conclusion

In the words of Lohit Bhatia, the President of ISF, “The growing trust in flexible employment model in India underscores the positive perception and reliability that comes with this format of employment, providing social security, continual employment opportunities, and upskilling for a significant number of workers.” Careernet is a leading professional staffing agency that provides customised staffing solutions for businesses.

Resources:

• group.teamlease.com
• economictimes.indiatimes.com