TCS' 300,000-strong workforce to get 55,000 new members this year

Firm hired 2,000 employees locally in US last year; filed 11,000 H1-B visa applications for FY15

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) crossed the 300,000 mark at the end of 2013-14. But the country’s largest information technology (IT) services company doesn’t seem to be in a mood to let the momentum die down. It plans to add 55,000 employees to its rolls this financial year, thanks to a better demand environment.

The IT major’s total headcount for 2013-14 was 300,464, including recruits at onsite regions like the US, where it hired 2,000 people during the year. The company’s international hiring was 3,500 in the fourth quarter alone. Asked about US hiring, TCS’ executive vice-president and head of global human resources, Ajoy Mukherjee, did not comment on the likely number for this year but said more than 250 people would be hired from campuses in that country.

“We will start going to US job fests soon. Though I do not have the exact number for the US now, our campus hiring in the region will be more than 250 for 2014-15,” he said.

The company’s overall recruitment indication of 55,000 in 2014-15 looks similar to what it had said for last year, but Mukherjee believes the final number might vary, depending on the demand environment. “For 2013-14, we had started by saying we will hire 45,000, but we upped the numbers twice and ended up hiring more than 55,000 last year,” he added. The company hired 61,200 on a gross basis during 2013-14.

As Mukherjee said, the company’s hiring numbers reflect the demand environment. It is also reflected in the number of H1-B visa applications filed by TCS. For 2014-15, it has made 11,000 H1-B visa applications, higher than 9,000 filed last financial year. “We applied for a sufficient number of visas, anticipating there would be a lottery system for visa approvals. Last year, we had applied for a little more than 9,000 and were issued about 6,000. As of now, we have sufficient employees with H1-B visas. Also, we will continue to do onsite hiring and look to get business associates on board,” Mukherjee said.

According to him, the higher number for applications was also because of an increase in rejections in the L1 visa category. With demand coming back in the majority market, IT companies have been trying to ensure they do no fall short of talent with requisite visas. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in a statement last week that it had received around 172,500 applications for H-1B visa during the filing period that started on April 1 this year. The cap on the number of H-1B visas the US can issue in a year is 65,000 under the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degree exemption. The number of petitions filed this year is around 40 per cent more than that a year ago.

Though TCS has been continuously hiring, it has also managed to control its attrition level. For 2013-14, its attrition was a tad higher at 11.3 per cent, primarily because of people leaving its BPO operations. The company said this was normal. Mukherjee, however, wants to improve these numbers. “I think some attrition will always be there, based on employee performance and the opportunity in the market. But, at our employee base, even an 11 per cent attrition means almost 30,000 people. From a talent acquisition point, I need to ensure that we are able to retain the right candidates,” he added.

TCS looks at managing its huge employee base through high utilisation levels. For the March quarter, the company had a utilisation rate of 83.8 per cent, excluding trainees — 77.9 per cent if trainees were included. For the full fianancial year, the company managed to increase its utilisation level (including trainees) by almost five per cent.