The Indian IT industry, dominated by companies like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro, is grappling with a problem: huge bench sizes. The bench refers to the number of employees who are not currently assigned to any project.
According to industry experts, the high bench sizes are dragging down the profitability of these companies. The salaries of the idle employees still need to be paid, which results in lower margins for the company. In addition, the high bench sizes are seen as a waste of resources, as the employees are not contributing to the company’s revenue.
The problem of high bench sizes is not new, but it has become more acute in recent years due to various factors such as automation, a slowdown in the industry, and the pandemic. Companies are reluctant to lay off employees, as this can damage the company’s reputation and also create a shortage of skilled workers when the market picks up.
To tackle the problem, companies are adopting various strategies such as reskilling and retraining the employees to make them more employable, encouraging them to take sabbaticals or pursue higher education, and using the bench to incubate new projects.
However, these strategies have not been entirely successful, and companies are still struggling to manage their bench sizes effectively. Some analysts have suggested that the Indian IT industry needs to adopt a more flexible workforce model, where employees can be hired and fired based on project requirements.
The high bench sizes are also raising questions about the overall health of the Indian IT industry. Some experts have suggested that the industry needs to shift its focus from traditional IT services to newer technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, which are expected to drive growth in the future.
