Job woes of campus placement cells are likely to continue. An Aon plc study says that companies are adopting a cautious approach to campus hiring with several organisations implementing hiring freezes and reducing hiring volumes. It may be recalled that campus hiring by IT/ITES firms was down to its lowest in last 20 years in 2023/24.

But internships, lateral hiring and hiring for niche qualifications such as Chartered Accountant (CA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) continues to grow, it pointed out. The study, that is based on responses of over 250 organisations surveyed campus recruitment practices, indicated that compensation trends of campus hires remain stagnant compared to 2023.

Business sentiment

Business sentiment looks positive for India, with 69 per cent of organisations expecting a high to moderate growth. The sectors driving this growth are financial institutions, life sciences and consumer goods, it added.

Hiring volume

The study further added that hiring volume for CAs and CFAs increased by 47 per cent in the fiscal year 2024, followed by interns at 46 per cent and lateral hiring at 40 per cent, while 38 per cent of MBA graduates and 30 per cent of diploma holders including those who have completed vocational courses saw the least increase compared to the fiscal year 2023.

“Campus hiring is a strategic opportunity for organisations to build a diverse, skilled and future-ready talent pipeline. However, the campus hiring market in India is undergoing a rapid transformation due to the changing expectations of the candidates, the evolving skill requirements of the organisations, and the impact of the global slowdown,” said Roopank Chaudhary, partner and Head of Reward Solutions in India for Aon. 

“Furthermore, there is a direct correlation between company culture and performance, and organisations therefore must have policies and frameworks in place to align culture with employee expectations to ensure stickiness of the new hires,” he added.

The compensation trends for campus hires ”remained largely stagnant” across the tiers and qualifications, with some pockets seeing a dip in total fixed pay. Organisations are instead focusing on performance incentivisation through variable pay, which ranges between 11-13 per cent. MBA graduates are typically seeing a combination of incentives with more than 90 per cent of organisations offering a joining bonus plus variable pay.

Companies are also increasingly looking to hire interns with more than 80 per cent of organisations surveyed stating that they are offering pre-placement interviews or pre-placement offers to promising candidates upon successful completion of an internship, with the highest prevalence for graduates of master’s in technology. However, early attrition is a cause of concern among MBA and bachelor’s in technology graduates, the top reason being competitive pay, it added.

‘Strong employee value proposition’

“While there is a clear focus on strategic hiring, companies must prioritise building a strong employee value proposition that aligns with the expectations of the new generation. Our study highlights that the main drivers of early attrition are external pay inequity, job mismatch, and work-life balance. Designing a compelling value proposition for new hires that includes both a competitive compensation and bonus package along with learning opportunities and career growth will help attract and retain top talent for organisations,” said Saachi Verma, senior consultant, Talent Solutions in India for Aon, and the study’s lead.

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