According to the newest information launched by the Reserve Bank of India, a collective of private and non-private sector banks employed a complete of 123,000 staff final fiscal yr, marking the very best annual internet headcount addition in the previous 10 years.
Private banks are main the way in which in aggressive hiring, notably in buyer interface, lending, assurance, and expertise capabilities. Their goal is to broaden their department community into tier 3 and rural areas.
Compared to FY22, internet headcount addition in FY23 noticed a exceptional 61% surge, ensuing in a 7.4% year-on-year improve in complete worker depend, reaching 1.76 million. The banking sector witnessed its highest-ever annual internet addition in FY11, with 125,000 new hires, adopted by 124,000 in FY12.
Specialist staffing agency Xpheno performed an unique examine for ET and located that the highest 15 non-public banks, together with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, IDFC First Bank, Bandhan Bank, and AU Bank, added a mean of 350 staff every working day of 2023.
“If we add the replacement hiring count, the onboards per day moves up to nearly 600 per working day,” defined Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno. “This level of talent action could well create the record for highest annual net headcount additions this fiscal,” Kamath said.
Banking officials anticipate that net staff additions this year will surpass the record high set in FY11.
Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank, noted a slight shift among private banks from excessive reliance on digital platforms to traditional branch expansion. The rebound in retail credit, housing demand, and increased credit intensity in the economy have generated a significant demand for manpower in the banking sector.
“Banks are on a roll as credit score depth of the financial system has picked up sharply,” added Barua.
Rajkamal Vempati, HR head at Axis Bank, stated that all banks are capitalizing on growth opportunities in emerging and rural India. After the fintech boom, banks are now focusing on expanding their presence in semi-urban and rural areas and SMEs are a key growth segment, he said.
There is a high demand for relationship managers, customer interface personnel, and branch network staff. Axis Bank aims to increase its manpower by 7-8% in the current fiscal year.
The intense competition for talent among major players has led to high attrition rates, resulting in a frequent need to fill vacancies. According to Xpheno data, the average attrition rate for the top 15 private banks over the last 12 months stands at 11%. This attrition-triggered replacement hiring counts for 70,000 positions.
Read From ET | Banks record hiring
“Record excessive attrition numbers are prompting many banks to create a bench,” acknowledged Barua.
HDFC, ICICI, and Bandhan Bank have disclosed their quarterly hiring numbers, revealing a mixed internet addition of almost 40,000 staff in the primary half of the fiscal yr, as per Xpheno’s information. Private banks’ aggressive hiring spree coincides with state-run banks moderating their expertise consumption.
Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, defined that personal banks are implementing new methods for bodily department enlargement, whereas their public sector counterparts are specializing in digitization.
