Is your industry seeing a revival yet?

Some time last December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the improvement in economic indicators, said that the recovery process in India has been much faster than expected. From businesses to schools and higher educational institutions - the process of a return to the pre-Covid normal has well been set in motion. But is this also percolating to a change in mood on the ground level? Which are the sectors seeing a rebound?

LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence Index covered 1,700+ professionals from a range of sectors to see how optimistic they are about their employers’ future, and how their perception has changed over the last three months. Individuals working in corporate services and healthcare sectors were seen to be most upbeat about their organisations’ potential over the next six months. Since November, those in corporate services, software & IT and finance have also registered the highest increase in optimism levels on this front. 

What explains this?

Ishita Bandyopadhyay, MD, Aon’s Assessment Solutions, South East Asia & India, says business survival instincts have kicked in since the pandemic hit us in Q1 2020, reinforcing Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” theory. Organisations that were only looking at topline growth prior to COVID-19 have hit severe roadblocks and now financial prudence and cost focus have emerged as the survival mantras. 

As such, the corporate services sector is expecting a strong rebound due to factors including impending demand after a subdued 2020 and several state-led stimulus packages. The financial sector too has been at the centre of activity given the massive shift in savings and investment patterns and movement of funds to market due to the increase in savings.

How optimistic are employees about their own career prospects?

Confidence levels in terms of job security, financial and career outlook of workers in India declined over the last month, the index found. For around 27% of the respondents, the status of the pandemic was one factor, while nearly one in four said they were troubled over financial problems such as expenses and debt. Other factors proving to be a dampener included their organisation’s recent performance, job availability in the market and the likelihood of increasing their income. 

Within the cohort of respondents, however, millennials (25-39 years old) were seen to be relatively more upbeat than the other generations about their job security. Millennials scored +54, on a scale from -100 to +100, in terms of optimism about their job security. In comparison, the score for baby boomers (55+ years old) stood at +47, Gen X (40-54 years old) and Gen Z (under 25 years old), at +51.

As per an Aon survey, the impact on hiring for senior level positions has been impacted more adversely compared to hiring for entry level positions. “It is clear that in the short-medium term, with focus on business continuity, cost consciousness and technological evolution, roles that enable these will continue to be relatively more important to businesses while the high expense roles will have to take a back seat - except for those absolutely essential for business growth,” Bandyopadhyay said.

How can job seekers make the best of this environment? She suggests three areas to focus on:

• Learnability: With accelerated digitisation, firms feel more confident hiring people who demonstrate ability to learn and adapt in evolving technological contexts.
• Agility: Businesses enabling economic recovery and aligned to take advantage of digital acceleration should be a priority for any job seeker.
• Curiosity: Firms are looking for people who are flexible, open to experimenting in different roles, and adjusted to virtual engagements.

How do you feel about your employer’s prospects over the next six months? Let us know in the comments below.

Methodology 

LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index is based on a quantitative online survey that is distributed to members via email every two weeks. Roughly 1,000+ India-based members respond each wave. Members are randomly sampled and must be opted into research to participate. Students, stay-at-home partners & retirees are excluded from analysis so we’re able to get an accurate representation of those currently active in the workforce. We analyse data in aggregate and will always respect member privacy.

Data is weighted by engagement level, to ensure fair representation of various activity levels on the platform. The results represent the world as seen through the lens of LinkedIn’s membership; variances between LinkedIn’s membership & overall market population are not accounted for. 

Neil Basu from LinkedIn Market Research contributed to this article.