Work-ex of employees only advantage for cos hiring start-up talent

IT companies need to rework hiring strategy to make most of talent pool

IT services are most relevant in present times with the requirement for Big Data in every sector. That explains why a lot of early-stage companies are entering it. With a churn in both start-ups and IT companies, TechEela’s Veena Mani caught up with Aditya Mishra, the CEO of CIEL HR Services, to understand this situation from the HR perspective.

Veena Mani: 2022 has not been particularly good for IT companies and start-ups- both in their own ways. Start-ups are bleeding and are laying off employees, and IT companies seem to have peaked out. Do traditional IT companies have the appetite to absorb these employees laid off by start-ups, or those who now fear technology start-ups are not stable for them to stay?

Aditya Mishra: The lay-off situation has been blown out of proportion. If you look at the numbers for the sector itself, only 5 to 7% of people have lost their jobs. These people will find jobs at IT services and IT product companies. Even pharma, banking, and financial services companies will hire them for work on automation, etc.

Veena Mani: But can traditional IT companies or other companies that need IT skills afford to hire talent from the start-up space, be it someone who has been laid-off or continue to work there but want to move.

Aditya Mishra: Companies must fit them in a slightly different role. This is primarily because of salary issues. It will be difficult for IT companies to absorb people from start-ups due to the salary structure. For example, someone with two years of experience as an Android developer at a start-up would be earning Rs 25 lakh, but at a traditional IT firm, a person with the same experience and skills would be making Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. The job role also will be different between traditional IT companies and start-ups. A person with two years of experience will not fit into the system. They need someone with eight years of experience in a functional role. Now a new source of talent is available for them, but they must think differently. This essentially means that companies will have to rework and realign their strategy to hire talent.

Veena Mani: Now, let us talk about skills. Start-ups are an excellent place to learn a lot. How would it work out for IT companies or product-based companies to hire start-up talent?

Aditya Mishra: The kind of compensation being offered to people is attractive for them to work at start-ups, and they are looking for people with experience. Having said that shortage of talent is real. When a mid-sized IT company is trying to hire, or a non-IT company wants to hire IT professionals, that is where the dearth is. Many people looking for jobs do not have the skills required by companies. That is where there is a demand and supply gap. Many start-ups do not have the time to train. They want trained people as part of their workforce. Legacy companies have the infrastructure to do that. So, experience is the only thing companies can look forward to when they hire talent from start-ups.

Veena Mani: Is it a favorable situation for companies looking for techies by poaching those from early-stage companies?

Aditya Mishra: Services companies cannot match the salaries start-ups offer. Business economics will not support it. Because people would have been laid-off, they might want to operate at a lesser cost. Otherwise, in many cases, they will not be able to match the salaries of tech employees. But in the case of operations, supply chains, etc., employees will have good opportunities in the logistics sector.

Listen to the Full Interview

WRITTEN BY

Veena Mani

Veena Mani is an Editor at Techeela. She has been a journalist with leading media houses like Business Standard and Deccan Herald writing on start-ups, tech among other sectors.
0

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *