India Inc. predicts an uptick in hiring activities in the year 2020: TimesJobs survey

A majority (82%) of India Inc. hiring managers to feel that the year 2020 is going to be a positive year for the recruitment industry. As per TimesJobs survey titled ‘Decoding the Hiring Trends of 2020’, the IT, Healthcare, BPO, Retail, and FMCG sectors will pose maximum talent demand this year.

TimesJobs conducted this survey among 1,754 HR professionals belonging to diverse industry verticals to understand the hiring sentiments of the coming year.
Around 64% of the surveyed professionals said that companies will focus on hiring multi-faceted candidates to balance the cost of hire. Further, 45% of respondents said that companies would retain a ‘high performer-low salary’ employee in case of layoffs.

Marketing and R&D professionals will be most sought in 2020
TimesJobs survey reveals that Marketing, Sales and R&D professionals will be most sought this year across different sectors. The demand for professionals in IT support, Customer Services and Operations will be on the rise in IT, FMCG, BPO and Healthcare sectors. Profiles for Administration, Legal and Production domains could see a dip in talent demand this year.

“In the new decade, companies will seek new ways to remain competitive and hence emphasis will be on hiring employees with niche talent who can devise creative solutions to meet the company’s objectives. The hiring perspectives and mechanism will evolve in alignment with the changes in the industries. Hence, organizations will have to exhibit greater agility to stay ahead of the curve”, said Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig.

Companies will prefer experienced professionals in 2020
A majority (42%) of the respondents claimed that companies will hire experienced professionals over fresh graduates. Professionals having work experience more than 5 years will be most sought after, as per 34% of respondents. About 29% of professionals said that candidates with work experience of 2-3 years will be hired most this year.

Management graduates will be most in demand
As per 25% of respondents, organisations will prefer hiring professionals from a management background in the Year 2020. About 19% of respondents said that professionals from the Engineering background will be most-in, followed by the hiring of professionals from the Computer Application pedigree.

Key Highlights of the Survey:
Top 5 sectors that will witness an uptick in hiring in 2020:
• IT
• Healthcare
• BPO
• Retail
• Manufacturing

IT sector
Hiring activities in the IT sector will increase: 20-30%
Most favorable quarter for hiring in the IT sector: April to June
Top 3 functional domain in which professionals will be hired:
• IT Support Department
• R&D Department
• Marketing & Sales Department

Healthcare sector
Hiring activities in the Healthcare sector will increase: 20-30%
Most favorable quarter for the Healthcare sector: April to June
Top 3 functional domain in which professionals will be hired:
• Marketing & Sales Department
• R&D Department
• IT Support Department

BPO sector
Hiring activities in BPO sector will increase: 10-20%
Most favorable quarter for hiring in the BPO sector: January to March
Top 3 functional domain in which professionals will be hired:
• Customer Service Department
• Marketing and Sales Department
• IT Support Department

Retail sector
Hiring activities in Retail sector will increase: 20-30%
Most favourable quarter for Retail hiring in the sector: July to September
Top 3 functional domain in which professionals will be hired:
• Marketing and Sales Department
• Operations Department
• Distribution Department

Manufacturing sector
Hiring activities in the Manufacturing sector will increase up to 40%
Most favorable quarter for hiring in the Manufacturing sector: April to June
Top 3 functional domain in which professionals will be hired:
• Distribution Department
• Production Department
• Purchasing Department

FMCG sector
Hiring activities in FMCG sector will increase: 10-20%
Hiring activities in FMCG sector will Increase: April to June
Top 3 functional domain in which professionals will be hired:
• Marketing and Sales Department
• Research and Development Department
• Customer Service Department