Companies in India are shifting to hiring for specific tasks for a limited time frame as the pandemic prompts India’s formal sector to have a more fluid workforce to keep costs in check, reports LiveMint, citing recruitment firms. Firms noted there has been an increasing number of requests for task-based hiring from companies spanning sectors such as retail, logistics, healthcare and pharma, besides banking and finance. Firms noted there has been an increasing number of requests for task-based hiring from companies spanning sectors such as retail, logistics, healthcare and pharma, besides banking and finance. Vijay Sivaram, chief executive, Quess IT Staffing said, “Companies are driving outcome-based performance rather than looking at fixed-term employment; therefore task-based service requirements are increasingly growing.” According to Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and executive vice president, Teamlease and who was recently named to SIA’s Global Power 150 Women in Staffing, given the uncertainty, a few employers are exploring options to pick up gig workers for a few very short-duration or activity-based job roles.

While in temporary staffing, payment is still driven by the number of days an employee works on a monthly basis, in a task-based system, the focus is more on the outcome of the task being performed, a service fee which is determined mutually between the one offering the service and the one availing it.