The Great Resignation has come to an end; now comes prudence and steadiness

A number of unexpected incidents this year have put Indian corporation’s capacity to manage people to the test. The hiring freeze, the effort to bring employees back to work, the rewriting of HR regulations to accommodate gig workers, and a new perspective on moonlighting have caused the top corporations across industries to reconsider their workforce plans.
“With a multigenerational workforce, purpose and flexibility at work will be critical aspects for hiring employees,” C. Jayakumar, executive vice president and head of corporate HR for Larsen & Toubro Ltd., said.
Jayakumar believes that hybrid work will continue to exist, and that employee experience and “employee well-being will receive fresh attention.”
The following year is projected to be one of consolidation, with recruiting stabilising, the hybrid workspace idea tilting with more employees in their offices, and retention policies implying more training courses and benefits than cash in hand.
2023 will be a year of opportunity, with a continued high need for people, but the Great Resignation will not occur “Alok Kumar, senior director of global sales at recruiting agency Manpower, agreed.
The term “Great Resignation” was used to characterise employees who switched jobs in significant numbers amid a rush of offers and counter-offers as corporations went on a recruiting spree following a two-year pause caused by covid. However, bank sheets got stretched after the first half of the year, inflows of global money stopped up, and corporations discovered they had overhired.
According to Kumar, this will make employers “conservative” about hiring in the following year. He expects India to become a talent centre for the European market, which is experiencing a “manpower constraint,” as recruiters receive requests for Indian talent from European markets.
While industries such as IT, IT-enabled services, and startups are rethinking their employment plans, autos, manufacturing, and retail will increase personnel need as consumer consumption recovers.
The emphasis will be on talent development and career cushioning, with individuals being taught to handle with rapid changes in technology at work. “Companies will give larger variable incentives and stock options during compensation conversations,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO of Ciel HR Services.
The gig economy will grow significantly in the coming year, since even competent workers want to work only a few hours each week.
Sumit Sabharwal, CEO of TeamLease HRtech Ltd, predicts that corporations would embrace human capital management systems with work suites and payroll suites to manage gig workers as easily as full-time employees.
As a consequence, more users will be able to log in remotely, but only particular profiles will be able to do so.
While 2022 witnessed polar opposite trends such as quiet resigning against hustle culture, 2023 is predicted to be a stabiliser with an emphasis on keeping teams lean, upskilling them, and retaining them through stock options, retention bonuses, and clawbacks in senior positions.
“With the dynamic global landscape, leadership talent acquisition and mobilisation of talented workers will take central stage. “Organizations must continue to prioritise reskilling and multi-skilling their workforce,” said Jayakumar of L&T.