Creating an Extended Tech Workforce in India: The complete process
- Why work with Indian tech talent?
- Common Challenges and Pitfalls to Consider
- How to get started?
- Market guides & reports
The struggle for tech talent has been a constant theme and a critical battleground for enterprises in this decade. The technology talent landscape has got disrupted as traditional sectors like banking and retail digitize their businesses and create new demand for tech talent. With the large-scale digitization across the board, the demand for a variety of specialized skills and technology stacks also develops and evolves, as certain skills become obsolete while others become increasingly important for business growth.
As a result, enterprises, large and micro alike, struggle to find, acquire and retain tech talent. Unable to find skills, scale, and quality within their own borders, they deploy IT outsourcing and offshore development firms for talent and capability expansion.
Especially for small businesses and early-stage startups relying on technology, hiring specialist tech skills like Data Scientists, Engineers, and ML specialists is a huge challenge with the existing demand-supply ratio in Singapore.
India, with its surplus of tech talent, could be the solution to the talent predicament of global enterprises. In 2022, companies worldwide multiplied their Indian headcount, hiring programmers, testers, project managers, designers, copywriters, UX/UI specialists, and several other tech roles on a permanent, contract, or contract-to-hire model. And despite the layoffs making headlines in 2023, India is the preferred destination for talent expansion of a multitude of global enterprises.
Top 3 reasons for Offshore Tech Talent Expansion in India: (Why work with Indian Tech Talent?)
1. The scale of talent
The sheer volume of active and accessible tech talent in India makes it an attractive base for talent expansion. The Indian tech talent market is comprised of 2.1 Mn STEM Graduates and 1.4 Mn Employable IT talent pool. The growing number of graduates and the maturing talent ecosystem in the country is further contributing to the expansion of the digital talent pool.
The demand-supply gap for tech talent in India currently stands at a relatively low 21.1%, compared to other major economies like USA, China and UK, according to the NASSCOM report. In fact, the large pool of techies has triggered the entry of multinationals setting up their offshore development teams in India. The combined talent installed in Indian GCC/GICs of global enterprises has increased twofold from 7.5 lakhs to 15 lakhs between FY2015 and FY2023.
2. Niche skills on a budget
India has always had the appeal as a cost-effective tech talent hub for global enterprises. However, there has been a shift in this perception with the growth of high-caliber and abundant specialized talent in the country. IT outsourcing is not solely motivated by cost advantages anymore, but to access a rich talent pool of specialized, niche skillsets. Nevertheless, the average salaries for trained and ready-to-deploy talent in India are much lower, when compared to local tech salaries in Singapore. Salary movements and ranges vary based on the demand for the skillset.
However, the abundance of specialized and niche skills makes India an economical tech talent center. Salary offers for a Java Developer in India range from ₹3 – 4 Lacs for entry-level talent, ₹5 – 7 for mid-level developers, and up to ₹6 – 10 Lacs for senior specialists.
The current talent churn because of the layoffs and the lowering hiring action in big tech enterprises have also increased access to talent on the move, enabling smaller enterprises to absorb talent at comparatively lower costs.
3. Exceptional expertise:
With the changing demands and the constant shifts, companies need talent with the skillsets streamlined to the digital transformation waves. Indians are widely regarded as people with an innate talent for solving problems and coming up with innovative ideas in challenging markets. Reliability, solid work ethic, and professionalism are some qualities commonly associated with techies in India. Developments in professional infrastructure and new educational structures are further fueling the growth of a technically sound and industry-ready talent pool in India.
With the contract or contract-to-hire models, enterprises can install a remote development team in India and harness the tech capabilities of Indian professionals, who consistently demonstrate a track record of delivering outstanding outcomes.
Common Challenges and Pitfalls to Consider:
The convergence of digital transformation, a global economic slowdown, and geo-political instability has created a challenging terrain for businesses. By setting up offshore tech teams in India, businesses can stay open and maintain their competitive edge in these challenging economic times.
A favorable legal environment creates naturally conducive conditions for IT outsourcing in India. However, there are also certain challenges and pitfalls you should know if you’re considering talent expansion in India. Data security concerns, cultural differences, and divergent value orientations are some obstacles to overcome to ensure secure and efficient operations of an offshore team. Another challenge is to find an offshore firm that conducts talent mapping, sourcing, migration and management of the contract and contract-to-hire workforce for your enterprise.
Here are the additional business services required to effectively set up a team in India:
- Asset allocation and management
- Office operational management
- Regulatory Compliance
- Payroll Management
- Insurance, Medical Benefits, and Pension Funds allocation
- Grievance Handling and Addressal
Creating staffing partnerships with reliable and flexible offshore firms in India can help you avail these services at a commercial advantage while having data security and proper culture and value orientation as well.
How to get started? (Facilitating seamless Talent Expansion to India):
The crux of the solution lies in finding the right talent partner to facilitate seamless management of the enterprise division in India. Organizations have trust issues when hiring an offshore partner in a foreign country, and rightly so. How do you find an offshore company that:
- Stays compliant with international security standards
- Can scale up a team of qualified professionals in India
- Gives proper attention to your requirements
- Fits your budget
If you are opting for offshore resources for the first time, you need a specialist staffing firm that understands your vision and goals for your outsourcing development team in India. They should further help you walk through the process with a well-structured and cooperative servicing model.
That’s how Xpheno partners with marquee multinational and SME clients across sectors to assemble offshore teams of tech and specialized skills in India. Based on their talent expansion project, we help them recruit skilled tech and non-tech specialists, retain talent with advanced tactics, and keep their workforce dynamic and future-proof by adding new tech stacks. Our team of talent specialists access deep talent pools spread across India to build IT and Engineering teams within a 15-30 days staffing cycle.
Throughout our staffing partnership, we prioritize confidentiality, data protection, compliance with regulations, and the intellectual property rights of our customers. Understanding the business objectives, values, and goals of our clients helps ensure enterprise culture and value alignment of the offshore team. We offer several IT Staffing models of engagement according to the diverse needs and goals of our customers.
Drop us a note here if you are looking to expand your talent base in India. Our team will promptly reach out to you with relevant market insights.
Businesses around the world have understood the need for outsourcing IT Services. India with its conducive legal climate and high-quality talent emerges as a top destination for IT talent expansion. Startups and firms that create strong partnerships with offshore firms can swiftly expand their capabilities and scale their business.
