The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, conducted across 33 countries with almost 72,000 employers worldwide, released today, reveals :
-Hiring expectations are decidedly weaker in all countries surveyed compared to 12 months ago.
-Employers in 13 of the 33 countries expect to add to their workforces in Quarter 2 2009.
-Despite a 17-percentage point fall in the outlook, India ranks number one!!
-Employment prospects are most favorable in India, South Africa, Colombia, Peru, Poland, China, the Netherlands and Costa Rica.
-Hiring expectations are weakest in Singapore, Ireland, Spain, New Zealand, Taiwan, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Personally, I feel it tallies with the general sentiment of 'wait and watch' policy by most Indian companies, after a long period of denial!! Some of the reasons could be related to the
-poor demand from the international markets
-elections that are due in April/May -(New projects may be deferred till then)
-poor business confidence across the sectors
-finetuning of inhouse systems in place -so that they 'catch the next wave upwards'!
However, I feel the kind of talent that are being sought in India is significantly different & better than ever before! Elsewhere in the US, an associate of mine Jason Connors, CEO, AllSearch Professional Staffing, Inc. concurs:
" In 2005, the war for talent existed primarily due to the growth and expansion of companies. Employers’ need for top performers in 2009 is an even more critical component in the fight to survive. In order to get the most bang for their buck as an employer, to get the highest levels of production in tougher times and to get back to growing their companies, employers will thrive again only by finding and employing the best of the best. "
I reiterate, those companies that do have substantial reserves in the bank-are truly having a double whammy. Not only are the 'hitherto inaccessible talent" becoming suddenly available, but also their salary expectations are much lower.
Isn't it a great time for the private players in the infrastructure industry? Added to the lesser cost of steel, and other raw material, the costs of execution is much lesser than last year!!
Are we geared up for the challenges ahead?
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