This article focuses on the growing trend of temporary staffing in the Indian companies. It explores the reasons for which increasing number of companies, especially in the new economy sector, are opting for temporary staffing. The article also looks at the trend from the employees point of view and the possible hindrances involved with the growth of temporary staffing trend.
Recently,
a leading national business daily reported that there are
1,20,0001,30,000 temporary employees working at about 500
companies in India. The number of "temps" (as temporary
workers are commonly referred to), which was 50,000 about
a year back, has more than doubled in a year. The report also
indicated that the salaries of permanent and temporary employees
are almost at par in companies across the country. According
to the estimates of the Human Resource staffing firms, the
numbers are likely to grow manifold in the coming years. Sectors
like IT (Information Technology), ITES and BPO (Information
Technology Enabled Services and Business Process Outsourcing),
BFSI (Banking, Financial Service and Insurance) and Telecom,
which have been traditional employers of temps, are likely
to add more of such manpower to their resources. Along with
them, manufacturing and consumer durables companies are also
evincing more interest in recruiting temps.
Temporary
staffing practices in companies engage human resources for
employment needs which are nonpermanent in nature. This is
a contractual arrangement, based on a threeparty relationship
involving the staffing firm, client and employee (commonly
referred to as associate). The staffing firm and client work
under an agreement, where the associate provides services
to the client. Temporary workers are employed by staffing
companies and they work on specific projects or for specified
periods of time with the client organizations. The employee
may be relocated from one client site to another depending
on the requirement. The salary and benefits of the associates
are met by the temporary staffing company, while it in turn
receives payment from the client. The duration of employment,
the compensation packages and all employmentrelated terms
and conditions are specific to the organizations which employ
"temps". Initial practices in organized temporary
staffing industry go back to 1970s in the US, UK, France and
Netherlands. Throughout the 1990s, there has been substantial
growth in this sector in the traditional markets of North
America and Western Europe. |
