Standard Chartered Bank- a UK-based major global foreign player announced that it is planning to increase its headcount in India by 2,500 people during the current year to 20,000.
The bank is planning to increase up to $750 million through issue of Indian Depository Receipts (IDR) currently it employs 17,500 people in India.
Standard Chartered's India chief executive officer Neeraj Swaroop told reporters that, "We hire people to meet our growth needs. In 2010, we will hire around 2,500 people for India business. The number was similar last year."
At present the bank employs 75,000 people globally. The bank is looking to increase its branch network in the nation and has applied for the same. It is still waiting for approval from the regulatory.
"The number of branches that we can open is driven by the RBI license. We would be opening 100 new ATMs by August this year and take the total number to 350," Swaroop said.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Barclays bank to offer 140 jobs in India
Barclays, one of Britain's biggest banks will outsource 140 jobs from Northampton, UK, to India.
Although bank will have to follow strict banking regulations and pay heavier taxes levied by Labor government - so far endorsed by the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition — as a result of the global economic storm.
John Varley, Barclays chief executive, in an interview said London will be damaged by imposing taxes on the bank. Barclay is already having operations in India and is on move of expanding operations. It has launched a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) banking service outside India, including Britain.
Barclays who battered the international meltdown better than rivals like Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, is likely to reduce outgoings. Vikki Williams, head of Card Fraud Operations, was quoted as saying, "Clearly there are some cost savings involved, but our main driving force is to create a global centre of excellence in India."
The task of collection of dues will be carried out by determined call centre agent in India, who will call customers in the UK continuously demanding payments.
Although bank will have to follow strict banking regulations and pay heavier taxes levied by Labor government - so far endorsed by the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition — as a result of the global economic storm.
John Varley, Barclays chief executive, in an interview said London will be damaged by imposing taxes on the bank. Barclay is already having operations in India and is on move of expanding operations. It has launched a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) banking service outside India, including Britain.
Barclays who battered the international meltdown better than rivals like Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, is likely to reduce outgoings. Vikki Williams, head of Card Fraud Operations, was quoted as saying, "Clearly there are some cost savings involved, but our main driving force is to create a global centre of excellence in India."
The task of collection of dues will be carried out by determined call centre agent in India, who will call customers in the UK continuously demanding payments.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Hiring in IT/BPO is on increase
After a long break the business in India has started showing signs of normalcy, companies are getting projects from foreign clients, therefore the information technology/business process outsourcing (IT/BPO) sector has also speed up its hiring process after a gap of almost of two years.
For instance India’s second-largest software services company, Infosys Technologies will be hiring around 30,000 this financial year. Another India’s largest IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), have plans to hire 30,000 (almost 38,000, if one were to include its subsidiares). Then HCL Technologies is planning to hire 5,000 freshers in 2010, compared with the 2,000 it hired in calendar year 2009. In the last quarter, the gross hiring of employees was 7,136, taking the headcount to 58,129.
HCL Tech CFO Anil Chanana said, “We have been doing more of lateral hiring than just freshers. However, going forward, we have decided to rely more on freshers, train them and use them. So, we will be increasingly using freshers in our business.”
Even the mid-size IT/BPO companies have also speed up their hiring process. For instance, Mumbai-based Patni Computers is planning to increase its headcount by 2,500-3,000 employees in 2010 and the normal ratio of engineering to non-engineering graduates is 2:1. Now company is expecting an upswing in the hiring of IMS, BPO and application development.
According to Rajesh Padmanabhan, EVP and Global Head – HR, Patni, “We are anticipating positive hiring, based on our business outlook and we plan to hire 2,500-3,000 employees in 2010. With the economy getting into recovery mode, we will also witness a reduction in bench levels and enhancement in utilization levels this year.”
Nasdaq-listed BPO Company EXL Service is looking for people with at least one year of experience. Although, 10-20 per cent of total hired are the fresh college graduates. The BPO is hiring 200–300 people per month and its headcount was 10,700 as on December 31. A company spokesperson said, “Most of these fresh hires are through direct campus placements. Most of the hiring of people without any experience takes place through campus placement. EXL participates in annual campus placement of a few colleges in Delhi University, IITs and IIMs.”
There is a warning, although the gross numbers of hiring might look good but the net recruitment numbers at both large and mid-size IT firms give a different picture. They are nowhere close to the numbers posted in financial year 2007-08.
For instance, according to software body Nasscom, the IT/BPO sector had hired 3,75,000 (net) employees in FY08. But in FY09, the number fell to 2,26,000, which further came down to 90,000 in FY10 (when the impact of the global recession hit IT companies the most).
Whereas for FY11, Nasscom have predicted a net hiring in the IT/BPO sector to touch 1,50,000. It has not raised these figures. Sangeeta Gupta, Vice President, Nasscom said, “We are hopeful the numbers will go up, but it is too early to predict. We are yet to see an immediate impact of hiring up tick among the mid-cap firms.”
“While the IT industry is hiring, these numbers are not comparable to 2007. This is also evident in the salary hikes announced so far. While there is a hike, it is more to do with retaining the talent within,” explains Rajesh AR, VP, TeamLease Services.
In fact increase in hiring means a revival of the sector, as addition of one employee to the sector creates four more indirect jobs. Thus, the multiplier effect is big, explains Alok Shende, principal analyst and founder-director of consulting firm Ascentius. But this hiring cannot be considered close to the historic peak. Moreover, the net wages have reduced as the entry-level wages are low, says Shende.
According to Rajesh of TeamLease the volume of hiring is at present restricted to the larger IT companies, who have been able to win large deals. He says, “We are yet to see a hiring uptick among the mid-cap firms. Besides, the hiring this time reflects the kind of work these firms are attracting. It is no more about body-shopping work and hence most of the hiring we have is for mid-level managers with four years and above experience.”
On the other hand V Suresh, Business Head, Naukri says the hiring levels cannot be compared to 2007. Even the salary hikes are not up to the level of 2007. Apart from the bench strength (employees without project work) among the firms is very low). But utilization across firms has touched a high. Suresh says, “But, yes, the momentum is positive. Even for us, the homepage inventory, mailer, pop-ins and logins have increased. These are the activities that firms conduct on our site to attract talent.”
For instance India’s second-largest software services company, Infosys Technologies will be hiring around 30,000 this financial year. Another India’s largest IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), have plans to hire 30,000 (almost 38,000, if one were to include its subsidiares). Then HCL Technologies is planning to hire 5,000 freshers in 2010, compared with the 2,000 it hired in calendar year 2009. In the last quarter, the gross hiring of employees was 7,136, taking the headcount to 58,129.
HCL Tech CFO Anil Chanana said, “We have been doing more of lateral hiring than just freshers. However, going forward, we have decided to rely more on freshers, train them and use them. So, we will be increasingly using freshers in our business.”
Even the mid-size IT/BPO companies have also speed up their hiring process. For instance, Mumbai-based Patni Computers is planning to increase its headcount by 2,500-3,000 employees in 2010 and the normal ratio of engineering to non-engineering graduates is 2:1. Now company is expecting an upswing in the hiring of IMS, BPO and application development.
According to Rajesh Padmanabhan, EVP and Global Head – HR, Patni, “We are anticipating positive hiring, based on our business outlook and we plan to hire 2,500-3,000 employees in 2010. With the economy getting into recovery mode, we will also witness a reduction in bench levels and enhancement in utilization levels this year.”
Nasdaq-listed BPO Company EXL Service is looking for people with at least one year of experience. Although, 10-20 per cent of total hired are the fresh college graduates. The BPO is hiring 200–300 people per month and its headcount was 10,700 as on December 31. A company spokesperson said, “Most of these fresh hires are through direct campus placements. Most of the hiring of people without any experience takes place through campus placement. EXL participates in annual campus placement of a few colleges in Delhi University, IITs and IIMs.”
There is a warning, although the gross numbers of hiring might look good but the net recruitment numbers at both large and mid-size IT firms give a different picture. They are nowhere close to the numbers posted in financial year 2007-08.
For instance, according to software body Nasscom, the IT/BPO sector had hired 3,75,000 (net) employees in FY08. But in FY09, the number fell to 2,26,000, which further came down to 90,000 in FY10 (when the impact of the global recession hit IT companies the most).
Whereas for FY11, Nasscom have predicted a net hiring in the IT/BPO sector to touch 1,50,000. It has not raised these figures. Sangeeta Gupta, Vice President, Nasscom said, “We are hopeful the numbers will go up, but it is too early to predict. We are yet to see an immediate impact of hiring up tick among the mid-cap firms.”
“While the IT industry is hiring, these numbers are not comparable to 2007. This is also evident in the salary hikes announced so far. While there is a hike, it is more to do with retaining the talent within,” explains Rajesh AR, VP, TeamLease Services.
In fact increase in hiring means a revival of the sector, as addition of one employee to the sector creates four more indirect jobs. Thus, the multiplier effect is big, explains Alok Shende, principal analyst and founder-director of consulting firm Ascentius. But this hiring cannot be considered close to the historic peak. Moreover, the net wages have reduced as the entry-level wages are low, says Shende.
According to Rajesh of TeamLease the volume of hiring is at present restricted to the larger IT companies, who have been able to win large deals. He says, “We are yet to see a hiring uptick among the mid-cap firms. Besides, the hiring this time reflects the kind of work these firms are attracting. It is no more about body-shopping work and hence most of the hiring we have is for mid-level managers with four years and above experience.”
On the other hand V Suresh, Business Head, Naukri says the hiring levels cannot be compared to 2007. Even the salary hikes are not up to the level of 2007. Apart from the bench strength (employees without project work) among the firms is very low). But utilization across firms has touched a high. Suresh says, “But, yes, the momentum is positive. Even for us, the homepage inventory, mailer, pop-ins and logins have increased. These are the activities that firms conduct on our site to attract talent.”
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