Small IT firms get professional in recruitment

BASELINE/ Human resource practices streamlined to compete with biggies

Even as the demand for IT professionals is getting higher by the day, more SME IT companies are realising the fact that a candidate is a perishable commodity.

In taking the necessary measures to keep the talent pool interested in them, the entire hiring procedure among SME IT companies in Bangalore is coming of age.

A candidates' general preference for IT powerhouses of the country has made the task all the more tough for these SME IT companies. Their desire not to miss out on the right talent has also put a lot of pressure on HR consulting firms.

Tier II companies in Bangalore, especially those that have 100-1,000 people, hire anywhere between 40,000-45,000 people every year, according to Gautam Sinha, CEO of TVA Infotech, an HR consultancy and recruitment firm in Banglore. TVA works with some of the big names in the industry as also IT SMEs.

"Every month, the IT sector hires between 3,500 to 4,500 people. From this pool, the bigger players pick up nearly 50-60 per cent. Therefore the smaller companies are facing a problem. Nearly 6,500 to 7,000 people also change jobs every month in the IT industry resulting in an increase in the demand for talent," says Sinha.

With this background, consultants and recruiters like TVA feel that if the entire process of hiring exceeds a week, it will directly result in higher costs.

"Resume sent to companies cannot be kept for over 20 days and they need to get training on improving cycle time for hiring. Many companies are realising this fact and are fine-tuning their procedures."

However, the strategy for a product company is different . These companies are most likely to go for one offer for every 20 interviews that are conducted. As the needs are specific, product companies are not willing to dilute this any further and also offer a 40 per cent hike in salary if the candidate comes with a three year experience.

On improving the cycle for hiring, Sinha feels the problem mainly exists among those SME IT companies that are into services. "The rate of offer ranges from one out of five interviews to one in 25. These companies lose talented individuals as they are not able to understand the importance of tightening the hiring procedure," he added.

A company like Aditi, which is into product development outsourcing and is about 350-strong, feels the need to improve its cycle times. While it agrees with the abundant talent pool that is available, its requirements are specific and hence the offers made are currently much lesser than a services company.

"Today, the supply side has increased significantly. IT powerhouses can afford to offer 125-160 jobs after meeting 1,500 people. This is not typical for a company like Aditi on a year-on-year basis. We may go for 10-15 offers after meeting 1,500 people. Currently, our conversion rates are about 1-2 per cent. It would be good if this can go up to 10 per cent," says Srinivas Chakravarthy, vice president, people department, Aditi Technologies.