The IT industry is increasing flexi, or contract, staffing as their businesses become more volatile, according to the Times of India. IT firms state that flexi staffing allows them more flexibility because if their business fails, then it is easier to let go of staff.  Indian staffing firm Quess Corp stated that it has hired more than 1,000 people every month via flexi staff for the past three months and added that they have seen 60% to 70% growth for flexi staff this year. Times of India adds that IT hiring in India has recently undergone a transformation due to automation.

Rituparna Chakraborty, executive VP at Indian staffing firm Teamlease, said the last time a surge of this order for flexi staffing happened was in 2007-08, at the height of the global financial crisis. "With flexi staffing, you can quickly get the desired candidate and deploy them," Chakraborty said. Chakraborty added that the bench models of IT companies ­under which full-time employees are kept on standby in the expectation that a project will come are difficult to sustain.

Meanwhile, recruiters state that many employees are also voluntarily signing up as freelancers since it usually means a jump in salary. However, former Infosys board member and HR head Mohandas Pai said that a large part of the good mid-level talent in India would still be uncomfortable to work on contracts. "Hence there is a limit to how much contract staffing will grow," Pai said.