ManpowerGroup In the news

As the global expert on labor market and employment trends, ManpowerGroup is frequently sought after by national and global media outlets for its expert insights into forces evolving the world of work. Here are a few recent samples of media articles and interviews featuring ManpowerGroup’s unique perspective.

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2022 News Releases

IT layoffs: How social media is helping sacked employees get back on their feet again

Dec 25, 2022 | Business Today

In India, while several tech firms have fired Indian employees, the exact number is not known. Hardeep Singh, Country Manager of outplacement services firm Right Management, says the actual number may be in multiples of what is publicly known because many companies are doing it discreetly through services such as theirs.

Nov 27, 2022 | Deccan Herald

The layoffs by tech giants and startups are proving to be a boon to the IT sector, which has been coping with record attrition levels in the past two years. “Voluntary attrition has come down in the last two months as reality is hitting staffers about (the virtue of) sticking to present jobs. Salary levels and offers are pretty rational right now. Most of the layoffs have happened as companies adjust wage inflation. I think attrition numbers should come down in the third quarter for IT firms,” said Supaul Chanda, Vice-President of technology recruitment firm Experis India of ManpowerGroup.

Nov 22, 2022 | Rest of World

Over the last few months, layoffs and a global investment crunch have rocked India’s start-up ecosystem. Somdeep Deb, Vice President of consulting services at Right Management India, highlights how job cuts can have long-term implications, especially if they're not thought through.

Nov 16, 2022 | Rest of World

Catch Somdeep Deb, Vice President Consulting services, Right Management India, talk about the next step in the global tech layoff saga and why this has been a rising trend. In the South Asia Newsletter by Rest of World, he can be quoted saying, "Probably the organizations could not anticipate that the boom of the pandemic [would] go down so fast. I think, now, the message has gone to these organizations that probably they need to conserve cash better."

Nov 8, 2022 | The Economic Times

According to staffing agencies, there is a considerable need for IT expertise, including product managers and developers, data scientists, digital marketing specialists,and UI and UX designers. Many companies are interested in acquiring the talent that Twitter let go. Alok Kumar, Director- Sales and Global Accounts, Manpower, states "Redeployment of such candidates will be comparatively easy as they are part of a renowned microblogging social media platform".

Nov 4, 2022 | Financial Express

The World Economic Forum 2021 Future of Jobs report revealed that five million jobs may be replaced with artificial intelligence, whereas, over 97 million new roles are anticipated to emerge. “Companies are now expected to choose cost-effectiveness over demand-based hiring. This will create more opportunities for freshers,” Supaul Chanda, Vice President, Experis, a subsidiary of ManpowerGroup, said. He further explained that there seems to be emergence of skill consolidations.

Oct 30, 2022 | Business Today

The practice of moonlighting has been around for ages and will likely continue. But there has been a baseline shift due to the pandemic’s hybrid/remote work paradigm and its inherent flexibility. “The employer may seek disclosure”, adds Sanju Ballurkar, President at Experis IT, a subsidiary of staffing firm ManpowerGroup. “If you are generating serious remuneration from it and it takes up a majority of your time on the weekend, you should have very good reason why you don’t want to disclose it.”

Sep 23, 2022 | Business Today

The first Covid-free festive season in two years is creating an estimated 5-6 lakhs seasonal jobs in the country during August-December. “Retailers are expecting a big boost in their sales both online and offline. We are expecting to see an increase of around 20-25% jobs compared to last year’s festive period. The estimated numbers of new jobs would be around 5 to 6 lakhs in these festive months,” said staffing firm Manpower’s Sr. Director, Alok Kumar.

Aug 26, 2022 | The Economic Times

Auto companies focus on skilling in-house talent for their electric vehicle (EV) divisions as demand for talent outstrips supply in this space. “It is a simple demand-supply game. Availability of talent is much less than the demand and hence companies face stiff competition in getting the right talent,” said Alok Kumar, Sr. Director at Manpower, a subsidiary of ManpowerGroup.

Aug 9, 2022 | The Economic Times

Hiring in the IT industry is likely to pick up momentum despite a slight dip in the last few months and is expected to surpass the 2021 numbers, said executives at staffing and recruitment firms. According to Sanju Ballurkar, President of Experis at ManpowerGroup India, there was no slowdown in hiring of IT talent with experience ranging from 2 to 15 years. A combination of reasons, including geopolitical realignments, a stronger dollar against the rupee and growth in domestic IT demand are helping fuel IT demand in India.

July 29, 2022 | The Economic Times

A record high number of temp jobs is likely to be created this festive season. “Companies are in a rush to strengthen manpower as they expect a big boost in their sales both online and offline as this festive season will be the first in the last three years where most of the population is vaccinated, Covid-induced restrictions are lifted, mobility has improved and the fear of pandemic has tapered down.” Said Alok Kumar, Senior Director, Manpower.

July 22, 2022 | The Economic Times

In the new normal, the layoff story is part of the resume. A candidate stating that she or he has been handed the pink slip for business reasons is acceptable to recruiters, and is even seen as courageous, compared to pre-pandemic times, said staffing experts and talent acquisition heads that ET spoke to. "We are seeing such gaps in the resume across sectors like hospitality, manufacturing, retail, to name a few,” said Hardeep Singh, president, Right Management India, a subsidiary of the Manpower Group. There are more consumer-facing profiles depicting a gap in their resume as compared to back-office staff at the mid-level — managerial positions and above, said Singh.

July 29, 2022 | Mint

Cash-strapped companies are resisting demands by blue-collar contract workers for better pay, healthcare and living quarters to shift from one state to another, forcing recruiters to look further afield for festive season hires. According to Alok Kumar, senior director, Manpower, a subsidiary of ManpowerGroup, "This year, offline stores are expecting customers now that most are vaccinated. But getting people to the jobs is a challenge, since many migrant workers have moved back to their home towns and do not want to come back to the large cities."

May 24, 2022 | ET HR World

The job market frenzy of the last few months is likely to see some tapering off in the coming quarters—partly because of the natural cooling-off process, as well as factors such as inflationary pressures, the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict, and rising interest rates. According to Alok Kumar, Senior Director, ManpowerGroup India, "We've started seeing job losses in startups; some new listings have not taken off as expected. This is a sentiment-driven market. Sectors like IT product, tech will grow but some others may see some slowing down."

May 16, 2022 | ET HR World

Often in a social setup, people form small groups of the same interests, and don’t want others to join it, developing a 'clique'. It appears harmless in wider circles, but at the organisational level, where the demography isn’t ever-changing, it becomes critical as cliques start hampering social bonding. Commenting on this, Hardeep Singh, President, Right Management India, a part of ManpowerGroup India, says "To address the clique culture, an environment of trust and safety within the organisation would play a huge part. Having said that, any change must begin from the top, and the middle and bottom levels will follow suit. The top management must make a genuine effort to engage with and understand the employees’ issues."

May 21, 2022 | ET HR World

Any unforeseen global calamity can jeopardise your monthly salary. And if you are living from paycheque to paycheque, as most junior employees do who haven't accumulated significant savings, you are in deep crisis. Prashant Pandey, President, Rotostat Services, a part of ManpowerGroup India, shares his thoughts- advocating the idea of companies storing an emergency fund for employees. "Organisations do in any case create provisions for unforeseen business expenses like bad debts. A similar head can be created in the financial books of organisations that have small amounts accumulated over a period of time. However, this will require some maturity at the leadership level, and will also depend on the financial health of the business."

May 30, 2022 | ET HR World

According to research published by The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14 per cent of workplace coffee-break chat is actually gossip and about 66 per cent of general conversations between employees are related to social topics concerning other people. Talking about the two sides of gossip, Hardeep Singh, President of Right Management India, says gossip has a bright and a dark side to it. On the one hand, it could help make humans connect and communicate, but also affect a person's identity. “There is a bright side and a dark side to gossip. While Gossip can help foster communities and deploy social norms, it could also damage and infringe on esteem for individuals. It does satiate an innate need for many humans around bonding, venting, and power to name a few. However, in the event gossip starts to leverage second-hand noise in the absence of data and transparency, it could lead to damage of perception.” Read more on his thoughts on office gossip by clicking on the article here!

May 31, 2022 | Mint

Indian start-ups are dialling outplacement firms to help retrenched employees secure a job. “The pandemic had a catastrophic impact on the economy, which led to a significant rise in demand for outplacement service, driven by employers who chose to be sensitive towards the damage it did to outgoing employees," said Hardeep Singh, President of Right Management India Pvt. Ltd, the consulting arm of recruitment firm ManpowerGroup.

May 19, 2022 | Mint

Recruitment firms note that given the right profile, many potential hires would prefer to stay in smaller towns rather than be swayed by bigger brands and shift to large metros. “The tech world moves fast in terms of versions and variations; the preferred workforce would always be a relevant one. If relevant work does not flow into these locations and brands, then these engineers would find themselves in trouble," said Supaul Chanda, Vice-President of technology recruitment firm Experis (of ManpowerGroup)

Apr 22, 2022 | Money Control

Recruitment experts said non-compete clauses in its offer letters are standard agreements that employees are asked to sign before they join. The only reason it is making news now is that it is being enforced, which was not the case earlier, said Supaul Chanda, Vice President at Experis India, a part of staffing firm ManpowerGroup.

Apr 9, 2022 | Mint

The continuing spat is dampening the morale of BharatPe’s employees, some of whom are actively looking for jobs. “With this spat going so public, it will be morale busting for employees and we can see the impact already with many making their profiles available on job boards," said Supaul Chanda, Vice President of technology recruitment firm Experis (of ManpowerGroup).

Mar 30, 2022 | Deccan Herald

Staffing demand is on the rise, and companies specialising in providing staffing solutions are also seeing a surge in demand. "We are witnessing increased demand by 25-30% compared to the last quarter," Alok Kumar, Sr. Director for sales, account management and global accounts at ManpowerGroup India told the publication.

Mar 19, 2022 | The Times of India

Come April and it will be time for many in the IT and tech workforce to return to office. The catch? Alok Kumar, Sr. Director at headhunting firm ManpowerGroup India, said the future of work will have both the models of WFH and WFO. “So far, companies are treading cautiously and approaching this issue softly by way of continuous communication, emphasizing the need of coming back to office, building the organization culture and values,” he said.

Mar 29, 2022 | ET HR World

Sandeep Gulati, Group Managing Director, ManpowerGroup Services India, believes that India will soon reach the point of a four-day work week and organisations will compensate for this loss of working hours either through salary revision or longer working hours.

Feb 26, 2022 | Business Today

Agreeing that emotional intelligence, stress management abilities and interpersonal communication skills are among the top soft skills employers look for in candidates, Hardeep Singh, President of Right Management India, part of ManpowerGroup India, says, "Once these skill sets are in place the chance of having friction among employees will reduce and consequently bring down the stress level at the workplace.”

Feb 28, 2022 | Mint

‘Infant mortality’ is happening mainly in client-facing roles in technology, startup and consumer industries. “Not all are seeing the newly recruited head back to the previous employer. There is still a lot of demand for full-stack engineers and cloud experts and they can get a job with another firm. There are bidding wars between firms, but the bubble will last for another 2 to 3 quarters at most," said Supaul Chanda, Vice-President of technology recruitment firm Experis (of ManpowerGroup).

Feb 8, 2022 | Business Today

If the first wave of the pandemic brought hitherto the largely unaddressed issue of mental health in corporate India to the fore, the second wave showed how crucial family’s health is to the employees’ overall well-being. The impact is evident with the definition of employee wellness expanding to include both factors now. Staffing and recruitment firm Manpower’s Sr. Director of Sales & Global Accounts, Alok Kumar says health benefits have become one of the selling points for employers when they talk about the company to the candidate. “Earlier, even employees did not take much interest in it beyond whether the family is covered. Now, they are looking at the specifics and whether their parents and spouse’s parents are also covered.”

Feb 13, 2022 | Business Today

The impact of the Pandemic is evident with the definition of employee wellness expanding to include both good mental health and family wellness now. Staffing and recruitment firm Manpower's Sr. Director of Sales & Global Accounts, Alok Kumar, says health benefits have become one of the selling points for employers when they talk about the company to the candidate. "Earlier, even employees did not take much interest in it beyond whether the family is covered. Now, they are looking at the specifics and whether their parents and spouse's parents are also covered."

Jan 3, 2022 | The Financial Express

Despite IT being a major employer in 2022, companies in sectors like telecommunication, communications, media, manufacturing and even restaurants and hotels will look at hiring serious tech talent this year. Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup India, said the boost in hiring outlook reflects employers’ sustained confidence in achieving a post-pandemic recovery.

Feb 2, 2022 | Business Today

Budget 2022 gives blue-collar jobs much-needed push. “I’m very bullish about jobs being created by the logistics sector, which will come by way of the announcement for the logistics parks through the PPP model. So, job creation control will be divided between the government and private players. Housing and MSME is another area,” says staffing firm Manpower’s Sr. Director of Sales & Global Accounts, Alok Kumar. He says the digital banking push will also create many subsidiary and parallel jobs by private firms apart from what the government plans to create.

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