Reliance Jio to aggressively hire amidst industry slowdown

The telecom major has already added 13,000 to its headcount in 2016, and is looking to add another 5000 in the coming times.

Demonetisation may have affected businesses across industries in various ways. However, what really came as a strong blow to the telecom industry, in particular, was the birth of Reliance Jio Infocomm. This telecom hero made a splashing entry into the market, igniting a brutal price war leaving the other players in the lurch. As a result, the industry witnessed a slump in hiring — up to 40 per cent — if data from executive search firms is to be believed.

Reports suggest that operators and recruiters feel the sector will continue to be cautious about adding to the staff count over the next six months to a year, to tide over severe financial stress. However, the story looks completely contrasting at Reliance Jio Infocomm’s end. “Nothing changed even after 8 November, as demonetisation has not affected the business in any way,” shared a senior executive from Reliance Jio Infocomm.

As the company looks to add capacities for its rapidly growing business and upcoming projects, it continues with its talent acquisition plans in alignment with that, as was the case before the demonetisation drive. “We are going ahead in full swing, with our infrastructural development as well as investment in our manpower,” mentioned a spokesperson close to the matter.

Reliance Jio Infocomm has already added 13,000 to its headcount this year for its fast-paced business expansion and is looking to add another 5000 in the coming times. “We are looking to hire around 5000–7000 sales support executives over the next three months,” the spokesperson shared. The hiring will take place across the country, mostly from engineering institutes.

With Reliance Jio taking up a large part of their market share, the other players in the telecom market feel the pressure to control costs and sustain their profit margins. Reliance Jio, on the other hand, is thinking ahead in terms of market disruption with further newer path-breaking digital products. In line with that, while other telecom operators believe the hiring will remain slow to moderate in the coming months, Jio is going aggressive on adding to its headcount to support its swift business expansion.

Another trend that this shift in business priorities will bring is that, while other players might only focus on hiring niche talent for areas like IoT, big data, etc. going slow on adding more capacities in general sales support teams, Reliance Jio will hire extensively in both specialised and general functions across all levels, as it looks to grow and sustain its fast-paced business.

Apart from adding to its workforce, the company is also working dedicatedly towards keeping its employees engaged. In addition to lucrative rewards and raises, Reliance Jio is working on a unique employee engagement programme, which would be launched soon.