Campus hirings pick up, TCS to recruit 30,000

 As growth returns to the software industry, campus hiring is set to pick up after the lag experienced during the slowdown. The country’s top software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services , intends to step up the number of offers made to students on campus to 30,000 this year from about 20,000 last year as demand for IT and back office services bounces back, said Ajoy Mukherjee, global head (HR), TCS.


“Talent acquisition is going to be strong because the demand still seems to be good, and that has to be captured,” Mr Mukherjee told ET. The company has also increased its overall hiring from 30,000 to 50,000 to cater to the double-digit revenue growth it is witnessing and make up for the higher employee turnover. Employee attrition for the company went up by 1% on a trailing 12-month basis to 14.1% in the second quarter.

Most companies hired minimally from campuses last year because their major markets were in recession and clients were cutting down on tech spends. TCS, for instance, had to increase its intake of freshers through off-campus drives in the second quarter to fulfil the higher demand. “Off-campus drives are for freshers, primarily for students who have already passed out. So, yes, it is a bit of a challenge to get in touch with them. Campus recruitment is the best possible way to hire because it gives you maximum throughput,” said Mr Mukherjee.

While TCS visited 370 institutes for campus hiring last year, this year it will visit more campuses and also hire more.

The company is yet to decide on whether to offer higher salaries for those recruited from campuses. “It is very difficult to say. I perceive that for the industry there may be a slight change — maybe a marginal upward revision, but I am still collecting data and our talent-acquisition team is looking at it,” said Mr Mukherjee.

Since many freshers joined the firm in the third and fourth quarters of last year, when demand started showing an uptick, TCS has decided to tweak the appraisal cycle, making freshers eligible for promotion much earlier. Normally, promotions at the junior level are annual and are based on performance and experience. This time, they will become eligible for promotion during the quarter itself if they have the requisite experience, instead of having to wait till the year end, Mr Mukherjee said. The change will take effect from this quarter.

Source:Economic Times