53% of Companies Hopeful of Business Recovery in the Next 3 Months: OLXPeople Employer Sentiment Survey

According to the BetterPlace Employer Sentiment Survey, almost all organisations are hopeful of business recovery by the end of this year. And more than 50% of employers expect businesses to bounce back in the next 3 months as opposed to 32% who estimate the recovery timeline to be 6 months.

About the BetterPlace Employer Sentiment Survey: The annual index collated by BetterPlace determines the hiring sentiment of organizations across sectors like BFSI, fin-tech, e-commerce, logistics, edu-tech, food-tech, hospitality, F B, IT & ITeS. The respondents primarily included business and human resource heads from Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Patna, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Goa, Kochi among others. Conducted in the month of  June 2020 and launched on July 1, 2020, the survey asked 200 respondents consisting of business and human resource heads, recruiters, TA leads, supply heads, founders among other profiles to complete a questionnaire. The findings of the survey have been collated from 143 valid responses received via e-mail.

The survey also goes on to state that nearly 40% of the respondents have been semi-operational since they’re into essential services. As for e-commerce and logistics, they were the quickest in resuming services since the lockdown.

Furthermore, 100% of e-commerce and IT firms expect to fully resume operations before October 2020 according to the findings of the survey. “Many businesses are expected to see a full recovery in their operations in the second quarter, especially those in e-commerce and ITeS sectors. Many e-commerce companies have already announced additional plans for hiring ahead of the festive season. And various ITeS companies expect to witness an increase in contractual hiring as their clientele in Europe see improved business conditions, ” said Tarun Sinha in his e-mail interview with a leading media outlet.

The survey also quizzed the respondents if the hiring of blue-collar and entry-level workers would pick up in their organisations given the upcoming festive season to which 85 percent of them said there may be an increase in the recruitment of blue-collar and entry-level staff. Of these, 40 percent were confident of witnessing a significant hiring surge in this segment in their organisations and around 12% of the organisations anticipated continuing the hiring freeze.

According to Mr. Sinha, Q2 of this fiscal year holds great promise for the jobs and hiring landscape as a result of the forthcoming festive season and the phased removal of lockdown.

“Some sectors which have already shown recovery and are further expected to boost hiring are edutech, insurance, finance, and e-commerce. Pharmaceuticals and medical research will be a continued focus as health and safety supported by science will take precedence, “ commented Tarun Sinha. “With unlock 1.0, there has already been a spurt in demand for pickers, packers, and delivery partners in urban India. Many brick and mortar stores are attempting to re-invent their business models to enable online presence aiming towards contactless delivery. This has and will lead to more demand for delivery executives. Leading retailers, e-commerce firms, and restaurants are preparing for a surge in home deliveries and online sales for six months as consumers are unlikely to step out.

As for white-collar jobs, manufacturing, hospitality, IT and ITeS sectors have witnessed a major slump while edutech, healthcare and companies in essential service business saw an increase in hiring.”

Employer Sentiment Survey: Other Key Findings

Blue-collar and entry-level employees make up more than 60% of the total workforce for 34.5% of the respondents. Likewise, 23.9% have 50%, 25% have 15.5%, and 26.1% have 10-20% blue-collar and entry-level employees working for them.

63% of respondents believe blue-collar workers will not be more expensive than before, although there might be a mild shortage when the demand surges in the next quarter.

More than half of the employers are considering including health and social security benefits for blue and entry-level workers.

For blue-collar and entry-level workers accepting a job offer in the post-COVID era, job security, health and social security benefits will take precedence over salary, learning, development and career advancement opportunities.

E-commerce and ITeS to lead the revival in hiring. Logistics, food tech companies to closely follow.

Hiring trend in Mumbai around Diwali: 86% expect hiring to spike with sectors like ITeS and logistics leading the charge.

Diwali Hiring trend (Bangalore): 90% expecting an increase. Leading sector — ITeS.

Diwali Hiring trend (Delhi/NCR): 76% expecting a rise. Leading sector — logistics.

86% of companies (BFSI) in Mumbai expected to witness an increase in hiring. Amongst these, 45% certain of increasing blue and entry-level recruitment while 14% are likely to continue hiring freeze.

The Head of BetterPlace also went on to state that although everybody has suffered at the hands of the pandemic, its full force was felt by none other than migrant workers. However, according to him, the impact on blue-collar gig workers has been mixed. “While essential services demanded a rise in the delivery staff, many discretionary service companies shut shops. The mixed impact is also due to the dip in food ordering and ride-hailing and a significant surge in groceries,“ he stated in his response to the interviewer.