Flexi staffing as a workforce strategy has gained momentum globally in recent years. Allowing companies to hire staff on a short-term and project basis, it offers cost-effectiveness and efficiency to the company and flexibility to the individual to work on multiple projects at the same time. The non-binding or short-term nature of contracts allows employees to shift between roles, take up multiple projects, and work on their skill sets in the interim. In the Financial Year (FY) 2022-23 the flexi staffing industry registered a 14 per cent year-on-year growth as 1.77 lakh new flexi jobs were added. This, however, is lower than the nearly 2.3 lakh jobs that were added in the flexi industry in 2021-22, resulting in an approximately 22 per cent growth. By March 2023, the total flexi workforce employed by members of the ISF reached 14.4 lakh.
According to the ISF’s Annual Flexi Staffing Industry Employment Trend Report 2023, a slowdown in flexi employment in the second half of 2022-23 was primarily due to the decline in employment in the IT sector, a result of the global slowdown and higher interest rates. It is important to note that a large share of growth in flexi staffing before 2022 was in the Information Technology & Informational Technology Enabled Services (IT & ITeS) industry, a consequence first, of the extensive digital connectivity and second, of tech firms’ investments in automation procedures. Interestingly, the notable 14 per cent growth in new flexi jobs in 2022-23, in spite of the year-on-year decline in FY 2022-23 is a clear sign of a positive shift in the economy. Increased employment opportunities due to the flexi staffing industry are also a testament to the industry’s ability to support the economy at a time when jobs and employment are at an all-time low.