India Inc buoyant on hiring,growth: Regus

Indian firms are optimistic about economic growth in the second half of current fiscal and plans to recruit people because of its robust performance during the April-September period of 2011.

Although,overall,global business confidence index has dropped by 11 points. All top 14 countries showed a decrease in confidence ranging from the US,which is down 29 points,to Australia,4 points down. The only exceptions are India (up 11 points),Brazil (up 7 points),and Germany (up 4 points).

“The report finds that six months on from a rosy start to 2011,the global outlook has suffered a clear reverse.

However,Indian business sentiment and activity continues to be hugely positive,and businesses are actively investing in their most valuable asset: people power,” Regus Regional VP (South Asia) Madhusudan Thakur said.

The survey,conducted among 12,800 business respondents globally during September 2011,revealed that more than half of Indian companies have reported a growth in revenue and profit in the first half of 2011-12.

Overall,70 per cent of Indian companies surveyed plan to increase the headcount in the next two years in order to fuel growth,compared to global average of 64 per cent. In particular,businesses single out freelance and remote staff as the groups of workers they are most likely to hire.

“With the OECD and ILO reporting that more than 22million new jobs a year need to be created to return to pre-crisis levels of employment,freelance and remote working are becoming an increasingly popular solution to increase headcount while remaining flexible and rapidly scalable,” Regus Regional VP (South Asia) Madhusudan Thakur said.

Nevertheless,over half of companies (64 per cent) surveyed globally intend to recruit new staff over the next two years. Besides,49 per cent of respondent plan to hire more freelance staff and 40 per cent of firms surveyed will employ more remote workers in 2011-2012 indicating a clear move toward more flexible working practices.

Freelance staff will be particularly sought after in developing economies such as Mexico (76 per cent),Brazil (59 per cent),South Africa (57 per cent) and India (53 per cent) signalling that emerging economies have learnt from mature economies mistakes in the previous recession and are opting to maintain operations lean and rapidly scalable as they grow.

Further,Indian graduates can expect plenty of opportunities over the next 2 years,as 81 per cent of companies plan surveyed plan to hire freshers.

The survey said that 63 per cent of Indian companies have reported growth in revenue and 59 per cent have registered a rise in profit. Globally,51 per cent of respondent have posted a revenue growth another 42 per cent have registered an increase in profit.