The long-term solution to get ahead of the curve in terms of an evolving technology landscape is to invest in young graduates - giving them the platform and providing them the capability support.

The buoyancy is evident in the Indian IT industry given the sound financial results! The financial optimism in the IT industry coincided with the announcement of recruitment for freshers and experienced professionals.

The resurrection of business growth in the sector is an inspiring credential of adaptability, resilience, and transformation in the face of challenges. With continuous evolution in the past year, technology organisations across the globe have shed their policies and processes overnight in order to thrive in what is referred to as the ‘new normal’. This is not only a testament to the perseverance of the IT companies, but also to their clients who collaborated as a unified team and helped to bring about this massive change.

How will hiring resurrect itself?

The answer lies in the very way IT companies turned around their businesses.

Broadly, there are two types of hiring:

• Campus/off-campus hiring of freshers

• Experienced hiring

At DXC, we proactively adapted talent acquisition quickly, productively, and efficiently. The manifestation of the new normal in our three-pronged hiring strategy is as follows:

1) Campus: In a way, we were the first movers in this category since we turned to meeting the potential employees virtually and training the placement officers at various engineering colleges. This ensured a deeper engagement and meaningful relationships with the campus talent, as also the enablers, which led to accelerated fresher hiring. Our entire hiring process of tests and interviews was virtual and full compliance with online security protocols.

2) Experienced Hiring: We invested in equitable hiring of legacy as well as ‘new age’ skills such as analytics, cloud, and mobility. We did this through a thorough analysis of our existing and predicted demands. We looked at experienced hiring as a source of organic growth as well. While, traditionally, organic capability building contributes to enhancing skills in freshers, we invested in lateral hiring of legacy skills for two reasons:

• Servicing current requirement

• Building skills on a pre-established technology base amongst the laterals through cross-skilling, up-skilling and multi-skilling

When an organisation’s hiring strategy complements its goal to create a competent, best-in-class and motivated workforce, it usually pays off. At DXC, a balanced recruitment focus ensured that we were prepared while the world gradually returned to a pre-COVID state. While a huge part of our approach would remain, the way we interact with our customers would undergo certain changes once the current restrictions are removed.

The role of technology in enabling ‘hiring without a glitch’ in the scenario that prevailed in 2020 must be reiterated. Online assessments, gamified qualification tests, code running evaluations and virtual interviews were all an integral part of how the art of hiring the right talent was completely redefined. Industry bulletin boards were abuzz with how technology was the catalyst in evolving the recruiting landscape.

The youth are our future and this is a reality at DXC. We firmly believe that soon, building skills in freshers and providing them with diverse opportunities is the most productive way to move forward and grow. The energy, passion, and enthusiasm amongst these young engineers; ready to take on any challenge, always inspires our faith in their capabilities. The long-term solution to get ahead of the curve in terms of an evolving technology landscape is to invest in young graduates and provide them the capability support. At the opportune moment, they will certainly take the steering wheel. There is a lot to learn from the younger workforce and a lot that they can contribute, when given the right opportunities.