Tech turns to flexi staffing to keep its bench from idling

India’s IT industry is renewing a push towards flexi staffing, with more companies reducing bench strength, or those employees who are not on projects.

The $177 billion technology services industry is expected to employ 7,20,000 flexi staff — people recruited for a short duration and not on company rolls — in three years, according to estimates by staffing firms.

The sector reported nearly 5,00,000 flexi staff at the end of December 2018. That is expected to increase 44% by 2021, driven by increasing demand for digital technology skills, a waning bench and cost-efficiency mandates, according to the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF).