Global capability centres (GCCs) of multinational corporations in India have intensified their talent search in the current fiscal year, despite the fact that recessionary pressures and macroeconomic headwinds have slowed recruiting in the West, according to industry leaders.
This fiscal year, the in-house units of global companies in India across industries such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), pharmaceuticals, retail, energy, automotive and telecom are expected to make 500,000 gross hires, including attrition refills, according to data from the specialist staffing firm Xpheno.
They seek to satisfy the demand for talent resulting from the emergence of new GCCs and the expansion of existing centres.
Based on current active openings and ongoing recruiting negotiations, it is anticipated that net headcount growth for FY24 will exceed 200,000, compared to 150,000 net additions in each of the two preceding fiscal years.
"Recruitment conversations with GCCs have accelerated in the current fiscal year as they seek to restore hiring volumes and velocity," said Kamal Karanth, cofounder and CEO of Xpheno. "With projected attrition remaining high in the 18% to 22% range, replacement hiring action will remain high during this fiscal."
According to top executives at Citi, PwC, EY, and Grant Thornton, India is a preferred destination due to a combination of factors, including the extensive availability of skilled professionals, particularly in the fields of technology, digital, analytics, and artificial intelligence, and a favourable cost environment.
EY estimates that the current GCC headcount in the country is approximately 2 million.
This number is projected to reach 4.5 million by 2030.
"India has the largest talent pool for the skill sets that GCCs are seeking," said Arindam Sen, partner and supervisor of the GCC practise for EY India. "Also, the entire GCC ecosystem has developed and matured in India over the years, making significant quantities of skilled talent available. In addition to this, government incentives and infrastructure development in key cities, including tier II cities, have created a favourable environment for global in-house centres."
According to Xpheno data, the BFSI GCCs will continue to lead recruiting activity, contributing 25% of net additions.
Citigroup, which recently exited its consumer banking business in India, is among those considering a hiring frenzy. Sara Wechter, head of human resources, stated that Citi Solution Centres (CSCs) in India will acquire at least 5,000 employees over the next two years, bringing the total headcount to over 32,000 from the current 27,000. The emphasis will be on specialised skills in areas such as engineering, technology, analytics, artificial intelligence, cloud, and risk, among others.
"India is favoured by GCCs because of its robust engineering and technology arbitrage, as well as its mature startup ecosystem," said Jaspreet Singh, a partner at Grant Thornton Bharat. The emphasis on innovation and cost-effectiveness increases the desirability.
In the next two to three years, PwC India intends to double the number of employees at its Regional Delivery Centre, according to Shirin Sehgal, deputy people officer.
In the past two years, the number of employees at our Regional Delivery Centre has increased and now accounts for close to 10 percent of our total workforce, she said. "We have expanded our service offerings to include more in-demand skill sets, such as digital transformation, cyber, forensics, analytics, cloud, and emerging technologies such as GenAI."
According to Xpheno data, retail GCCs are poised to match up or potentially surpass BFSI GCCs in terms of net headcount additions, given the optimistic outlook for the second half.
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