HIRING TRENDS

VOLUME-VI I ISSUE 1 I JANUARY 2016 www.content.timesjobs.com

INSIDEP 6 TimesJobs in media

P 8 Our thought leaders of 2015

For TimesJobs.com articles, expert advice and tips, visit www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, Jobs & Career section

6th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

We bring you highlights of our surveys done through 2015, identifying trends in the HR

and recruitment space that are expected to become the ‘next big things’ in 2016

2016

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With ‘unconventional’ being the buzzword of 2015, TimesJobs.com too strived to break the mould. We identified three crucial pillars of the work world and

bucketed our surveys into HR, hiring and employee engagement. To begin our 6th anniversary edition, we bring you the highlights of our surveys done through

2015 which identified significant trends in the HR and recruitment space.

TOP WORKPLACE AND WORKFORCE

TRENDS 2015

NEW HIRING LANDSCAPE

From exploring unconventional recruitment channels to evolving strategies to suit future workforce generation, our hiring-related features captured many emerging insights.

nTALENT COMMUNITIES

TALENT communities are said to be the ‘next

big thing’ in hiring. For organisations, this is much like social recruiting. The biggest advantage of a talent community is that it helps in creating a robust talent pipeline and ensures better quality of candidates. In the TimesJobs.com study, 62 per cent of the surveyed organisations said they networked via talent communities. Others however found managing these communities a challenge.

n TALENT BENCHMARKING

CLOSE to 80 per cent organisations believe benchmarking improves the workplace and workforce quality while

90 per cent recognise it as an effective tool in recruiting and retaining talent, revealed our ‘Talent Benchmarking 2015’ survey. Benchmarking is an effective tool in recruiting and retaining staff since the process starts with business strategy and workforce planning, along with core competencies required to achieve success.

n THE GEN Z MODEL

THE ‘TimesJobs Hiring & Engaging Gen Z’ survey 2015 provided

an insight into what employers can do to recruit this newest workforce generation. The study suggested that employees of this generation of digital natives feel at home when they are online. It is thus crucial for HR managers and recruiters to bump up their online presence. The preferred online recruitment channels were job portals and social networking sites, according to the survey. However, job portals got the maximum vote (39%) as the most effective Gen Z hiring tool.

n CAMPUS CONNECT

CAMPUS recruitment, a favoured proposition for India Inc, is now generating more buzz as

funded startups eager to scale up make a beeline to institutes to vie for top talent along with established companies. The TimesJobs survey highlighted that nearly 70 per cent of startup see campus recruitment as a key recruitment channel for tapping quality talent. Also, 22 per cent said 10-20 per cent of their employees were hired from campus placement drives.

n MIDDLE LEVEL HIRING

AMID studies predicting extinction of middle manager positions, 80 per cent organisations

trashed this perception in a TimesJobs.com survey, saying middle management is a critical driver of business growth. Empowering middle managers by providing training, job rotation, learning opportunities and more authority was found to be the holistic solution to strengthen this level.

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n CREATIVITY PREVAILS

THE employee engagement study by TimesJobs.com revealed that nearly 74 per cent organisations do

not have engaged workforce. However, there are some companies that have managed to crack the code and have a fully engaged workforce. Nearly 26 per cent organisations claimed their workforce is highly engaged. It was found that contemporary tools such as webinars, gamification and code contests are playing a major role in engaging employees in the long run. Nearly 87 per cent organisations find these new-age tools effective in engaging talent.

n EMPLOYER BRANDING PERCEPTION GAP

This survey highlighted the gap between an

employee’s and employer’s perception of their organisation’s brand. While 74 per cent of employers think their branding strategies are successful, 67 per cent employees feel otherwise. Most employers said their branding strategy was leading to quality hires and improved retention. But only 42 per cent employees said they would recommend their company to a friend.

n UNDERSTANDING FUTURE HIRES

WHILE there is nothing new when

41 per cent candidates say they are actively seeking employment, what’s new is the way they are approaching job hunt. Our survey highlighted how the millennial workforce is picking employers, revealing that nearly 46 per cent decide about working for a company while researching about it and 77 per cent apply there only if the duties are clearly defined.

n DATA ANALYTICS AND HR

GLOBALLY, HR departments are

embracing the new world of data with predictive talent analytics. But HR in Indian companies are yet to move up the ladder in terms of using predictive models to decide on hiring. The TimesJobs.com survey showed that while 90 per cent companies say predictive analytics is the future of talent hunting, only 7 per cent are currently employing it to find the right hire.

ENGAGE THIS WAY

Engagement was at the core of business objectives in 2015 for majority of organisations. With an aim to offer solutions to this complex and challenging HR aspect, we touched upon the creativity and technology aspects.

HR LESSONS

Our core HR-related features not only provided useable information on evolving HR trends and processes but also shattered some of the prevalent misconceptions.

n GAME ON

BASIS the results of an employee engagement study which unveiled the significance of gamification as a tool, another

in-depth study on gamification revealed that more than 60 per cent organisations are using gaming practices. Of these 80 per cent acknowledge benefits of gamification in various organisational aspects. Of all of the organisations using gamification for engagement, 28 per cent said their retention rates have improved and productivity has gone up. About 69 per cent organisations started using gamification in the last six months and 21 per cent are using it for over a year now.

n CHANGING HR ECOSYSTEM

WE OFTEN talk about HR 2020 but are

organisations ready to embrace the changes? In our ‘HR Redefined’ study, TimesJobs.com explored what has changed in this business function through the years and where this role is headed. The study found that for nearly 40 per cent companies, recruitment remains the most critical HR responsibility. Besides, change management is also viewed as a crucial part of HR.

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n BUILDING COMMUNITIES

NEARLY 50 per cent of surveyed organisations said talent communities

were going to be a crucial part of their hiring strategy in the future. About 13 per cent said such tapping communities of potential employees can be a game-changer in recruitment. Nearly 60 per cent of the small and mid-sized companies that plan to revamp their talent sourcing strategy feel talent communities will be at the core of the recruitment plans in times ahead.

n GAMIFICATION

A GARTNER study estimates that over 50 per cent of organisations managing innovation processes will gamify aspects of their business by

2015. An added push by startups whose organisational strategies and service have an element of gamification is adding to the buzz around the trend. Besides being proclaimed as the next big thing in the hiring and engagement, 77 per cent of the surveyed organisations believe gamifiction has helped them build a stronger brand, according to the TimesJobs.com survey. The fact that over half of India Inc has success stories to share

from gamification practices, will this act as a motivator for others who are still apprehensive about playing the game?

TRENDS THAT WILL GATHER SPEED

TimesJobs.com studies and surveys done through the past year also identified emerging trends in human resource and recruitment that are set to become mainstream this year. Here is a low-down of the next big things

n MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

HIRING through mobile was up by 10-20 per cent in 2014-15 as compared to less than 10 per cent

in 2013-14, showed a TimesJobs survey. With almost the entire working population of India accessible on mobiles, 65 per cent of organisations said they have built a comprehensive mobile recruitment strategy. This is 10 per cent higher than 2014 and is expected to grow bigger in 2016 with the spread of smartphones and apps. Many companies are already embracing mobile technologies across multiple HR tasks like leave application/approval, accessing employees’ portal for policies/information, cab/hotel booking, service requests and so on.

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n COMPANY RATING PLATFORMS

IT’S no more family or friends who make the difference. About 39 per cent job seekers say the viewpoints, reviews and feedback

shared on company rating platforms matter the most while taking up a job. Social forums and family/friends stand at the second position with 23 per cent votes. Opinions of peers matter to 15 per cent job seekers. More than the organisation, it’s the job seekers who want to know if their values, backgrounds and skills match with that of the company they are interested to be part of. Technology will continue to significantly impact the way job-seekers accesses and assess information about a company and job offers. Organisations that want to attract top talent need to ensure that they reach out to them in the way they want to be reached..

n SPECIALIST HIRING

AS WORKPLACE and workforce evolve, change will be the only

constant. HR function will also change to keep pace with the changing work world dynamics. Organisations predict increased manpower requirement in HR domain with emphasis on specialists to cater to specific HR functions. About 57 per cent of surveyed organisations say headcount of HR staffers will increase in 2016. Of these companies, nearly 65 per cent estimate an increase of 5-10 per cent in the HR talent demand. Nearly 58 per cent of the organisations foresee greater demand for HR specialists in the times ahead, according to the TimesJobs.com study.

n PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS

INDUSTRY experts believe the future lies with predictive analytics. Nearly 86 per cent organisations said using big data models to pick candidates will give them a

competitive edge in talent hunting. So it seems when the world is taking notice and embracing predictive analytics, India Inc too is waking up to the fact that HR data is valuable and they must invest in resources to reap its benefits in the long run and improve the bottomline with high performers. Thus, nearly 56 per cent organisations plan to increase the investment on data analytics tool and resources by 10-20 per cent and 33 per cent plan to increase it by 20 per cent in the coming months. Even though most organisations are unanimous about predictive analysis being the key to talent hunting in the times to come, they will also need to focus on getting the right skill sets and people trained to analyse the data.

n CAMPUS HIRING

CAMPUSES as hiring grounds lost sheen among companies in the last few years over the issue of employability of students. But 2016 will see a renewed interest

among companies, especially startups, to find talent from campuses, as institutes strive hard to provide better training and industry exposure to the students. The TimesJobs.com Campus Recruitment study highlighted that for nearly 70 per cent of the surveyed organisations, hiring from institutes is going to be their key channel to tap fresh talent in 2016.

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MEDIA MENTIONS TimesJobs data and surveys found regular mention on TV, print and radio throughout 2015 -- from NDTV, CNBC and ET Now to Economic Times and RadioOne.

Heads Up show NDTV 1 September, 2015

Panel discussion CNBC, 30 March, 2015

TechGig Code Gladiators Times Now 27 June, 2015

Heads Up show NDTV 3 December, 2015

TimesJobs.com COO Vivek Madhukar was invited as a guest on Radio One’s popular morning show -- Good Morning Delhi -- where he spoke to RJ Priyanka about hiring trends and gave tips to candidates on making smarter career decisions.

Radio talk Radio One 20 April, 2015

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Economic Times Mumbai, 18 August, 2015

Economic Times New Delhi, 18 August, 2015

Economic Times New Delhi, 14 July, 2015

Economic Times Mumbai, 18 August, 2015

TimesJobs infographics became a regular feature on The Economic Times editions. Our press releases on hiring insights too were published in online and print media across India.

Economic Times Mumbai, 27 October, 2015

Afternoon Mumbai, 21 April, 2015

Disclaimer: Information provided in this newsletter shall not be reproduced, published, re-sold or otherwise distributed inany medium without the prior written permission of TimesJobs.com and a clear acknowledgement to TimesJobs.com.Contact: TJinsite, TimesJobs.com, Plot No 6, Sector 16A, Film City, Noida, 201301. Write in to editor@timesjobs.com

Copyright ©2016 Times Business Solutions (A division of Times Internet Ltd). All rights reserved.

n Challenge tech talent’s knowledge to engage and upgrade Tina Vas, vice president – global HR, Brillio

n Skilling tech talent in the right direction key to happy and engaged employees Lovleen Bhatia, co-founder and CEO, Edureka

n Talent communities help companies engage with the right people Keyuri Singh, VP-HR, Blue Star Infotech

n Companies need right parameters to differentiate performance from potential Dr Deepak Deshpande, senior VP-HR, Netmagic, an NTT Communications Company

n We use talent communities to nurture relationships Shiva Sundar, HR director-India, Akamai Technologies

n Gamification works for all types of job roles Mohit James, director-HR, L’Oreal India

n Gamification concepts: A game-changer in recruitment SV Nathan, senior director & chief

talent officer, and Vikas Gupta, director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited member firms in India

n Don’t leave your employer branding channel unattended Prashant Bhatnagar, VP- hiring & staffing, SapientNitro India

n Why employer branding matters now more than ever Ashu Malhotra, senior VP-HR, Jabong.com

nLack of robust tool biggest challenge in HR predictive analytics Kiran Aidhi, director-HR, Virtusa

n Gen Zers need collaborative work from Day 1 Aaron Green, vice president of HCM, Oracle APAC

n Gen Z causes disruption in organisations that have no precedent Abhijit Bhaduri, chief learning officer, Wipro

n Allow middle managers to take decisions and make mistakes Hari TN, head-HR, BigBasket.com

n Middle managers hold the key to improving business performance Jean-Michel Caye, Deborah Lovich and Vikram Bhalla, co-leaders of The Boston Consulting Group’s Global Leadership and Talent Enablement Center

n Predictive analytics: Don’t miss the big picture Mohit Gundecha, CEO, Jombay

n Job seekers look for dynamic experience Rajiv Ahuja, senior VP-operations, Convergys India, China and Malaysia

n Today’s candidates have changed the entire recruitment process Krishnaprasad N, country talent acquisition lead and recruiter, 3M India

n HR should create intellectual capital Dr TV Rao, chairman, TVRLS and member of IIM-A Society and Board

OUR THOUGHT LEADERS IN 2015

OUR sixth anniversary edition is a reflection of how ‘innovation’ was at the core of businesses across India and abroad in 2015 and how work world will

shape up in 2016 due to this thrust on innovation. Through this edition, we would also like to express our gratitude to our esteemed columnists and industry experts who shared valuable insights with our readers. We are thankful to our

readers for their continuous support. We will keep bringing you more insightful TJinsite editions with every passing year. Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous New Year! Thank You!Team TJinsite

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.

T.S. Eliot