Shamik Paul

Bangalore, Aug. 14 Hiring blues? Not any more for the Indian IT service providers. With employee referrals catching up really fast, companies have finally spotted the silver lining.

In recent times, hiring through employee referrals has increased manifold for some of the IT companies, and this has not only reduced hiring costs, but also ensured better quality of new hires.

For Tata Consultancy Services, nearly 32 per cent of experienced professionals were hired through the “Bring your Buddy” scheme in the last fiscal, compared with 18 per cent in FY08.

Infosys Technologies Ltd said 45 per cent of its lateral hiring is through employee referral. For Wipro Ltd, it would like to take its employee referral to 25 per cent of its total lateral hiring from its present 20 per cent.

Satyam Computer Services Ltd said employee referrals have caught on in a big way, and has become one of the major channels of sourcing of resources.

This has not only brought down the advertisement costs, but has also brought down the overall cost of hiring considerably, said Mr Rajan Kanagasabai, Head HR Sourcing, Satyam.

Cost is just one aspect says Mr Joseph John, Vice President-Human Resources India & Middle East IT Businesses, Wipro.

The other significant benefit is enhanced quality of new hires. “Our experience shows that candidates referred by our own employees are a better fit to requirements and stay longer with the company,” he added.

Mr John said employee referral may reduce the cost of hiring if it brings down the dependence on recruiting through the placement consultants. If it reduces direct recruitment (through Wipro’s career site or job sites), it may not reduce hiring costs.

While the employee referral channel significantly optimises the cost of talent acquisition, TCS has found people recruited through employee referrals to be high performers, said Mr Ajoy Mukherjee, Vice-President & Head, Global HR, TCS.

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