61% employers prefer flexible work concept

New Delhi: India's workforce has definitely been affected due to the restrictions amid virus spread, but employers are keen to maintain flexible working arrangement even post- Covid-19. Although remote working arrangements were previously not as widely popular in India, now, 93 per cent of employers have embraced the option and 61 per cent intend to continue with them. In this context, India is ahead of Indonesia (47%), Vietnam (55%) and Greater China (47%), according to a latest report on 'Talent in Asia 2020' by RGF International Recruitment. The report is based on the comprehensive analysis of over 4,600 survey responses about hiring trends across 11 Asian countries and markets.

Sachin Kulshrestha, Managing Director, RGF Professional Recruitment India, said: "Covid-19 brought a huge disruption to the Indian workforce, but it also brings a great opportunity. Companies keeping pace with the fast-changing digital world have leveraged their distributed workforces to experiment with new approaches to communication and productivity. How companies pivot and manage work structure in the post-pandemic period will be instrumental in establishing a strong employer brand to remain attractive to new talent."

The aim of this research was to better understand the needs, demands and expectations of both candidates and employers in Asia. Employers in India are also quickly adopting digital solutions to overcome telecommuting limitations, with 63 per cent doing more frequent video calls to keep staff motivated, and 48 per cent of companies choosing to accelerate online interviews. Remote working options have not seen a huge decrease in productivity, with only 14 per cent of employers reporting less than 50 per cent productivity, while 14 per cent have reported higher than usual productivity rates.

These numbers are good news for companies that plan to continue flexible work arrangements, and also for employees in India who consider flexible working hours (66%) and remote working (65%) to be the two most important factors for work-life balance. However, work-life balance comes in at fourth place as an overall motivating factor when employees are looking for a job, with opportunities for career advancement being the most crucial driving factor to 50 per cent. This is a significant difference from 2019, where salary and compensation came out on top (64%). This is especially prominent amongst Gen Z and Gen Y employees, where 55% voted it the top factor, compared to their Gen X and Baby Boomer colleagues (43%).

Unsurprisingly then, the number one reason cited by Gen Z and Gen Y employees for a change of job is wanting to expand their knowledge and skills (27%), which came in second place for Gen X & Baby Boomers (24%). Of course, competitive compensation is still a large motivator for changing jobs.

In fact, 47% of employees considered it part of their top three reasons to consider a new employer - but employers should note that the average expectation of a pay rise across India has risen significantly in the last year, from 21% in 2019 to 38% in 2020.