India’s growth in flexi staffing penetration of the overall employment which was a paltry 0.4% in 2014, has grown 50% to 0.6%+ in 2019, while it still continues to be much lower than the world average of 1.7% in global flexi staffing penetration. In developed markets the same penetration range is 2-4%. India can only catch-up with the world with a potential 3X growth with an increase in penetration.

Further as technology increases the dynamism of talent requirement grows, putting pressure on companies to have more workforce on flexi jobs rather than permanent assignments.

Growth of flexi staffing in India has been constantly 2X of the GDP at around 14%+, with leading companies growing 3X of the GDP, a clear indicator of the massive flexi staffing growth potential.

The present market size of the temporary/flexi staffing market is pegged approximately at 3.3million workers (as per the ISF recent report by IMRB). The workforce market is growing at 11-15% CAGR with leading companies growing over 22% CAGR. Temporary workers / Flexi workers in India were estimated 0.4% penetration of total workforce in 2014 and have grown to approx. 0.6% by 2019. This shows a marked improvement in the penetration of flexi jobs, as more and more clients rely on talent through Flexi staffing companies across job roles in the organised sectors. Recruiters are becoming more conscious of financial turmoil prevalent in the market and to keep the company’s financial risk low are now moving from benching permanent employees to temporary employees to meet their staffing requirements. With the help of forecasting technologies and staffing companies, recruiters are now becoming more acceptable to choosing employees on a temporary or contractual basis. By using this approach, companies will be able to downsize their bench and the consequent challenges on the financial health of their organization and its ability to withstand turmoil, if any. The flexi nature of work is also being considered with the benefit of giving employees the freedom to work from home with flexible hours to complete their jobs. More freedom with flexi staffing gives the employee reduced transit time resulting in more personal and functional time thereby increasing their productivity. On a stronger note, employees opting to work on a temporary contract also have the benefit of choosing projects that interest them with timelines that suit them and have the option of negotiating a package that benefits them.

One of the main benefits of temporary employees is learning and development. Temporary employees get a chance to learn on the job and develop their skills. This is a good opportunity for them to start migrating into a new line of work. It will also allow them to fill the missing gap of experience that is needed for the next job. Recruiters and business heads are keen to see productivity in their organization. Aside from on-the-job training, temporary employees could benefit from working from remote locations, flexible work timings, project based payment, reduced commutes and the benefit of prioritising their personal interests to name a few. The bigger benefit for employees would be to engage in multiple projects and prioritise their work with the intention of planning a vacation, travel, up-skilling or any other personal commitments. Formal flexi staffing companies adhere to all labour laws and provide the associate employees not only projects to work on with leading brands but also they render benefits like Offer Letters, salary and benefits through banking networks, statutory and social benefits besides hosts of reward and recognition.