Human Resource Community

 In order to solve the issue of organisations finding it difficult to properly respond to tier-1 questions from employees owing to a variety of factors, EY and Microsoft have teamed up to develop an intelligent payroll chatbot for the next-generation payroll platform. The EY intelligent payroll chatbot will modernise payroll employee care, automate payroll administrator controls, and offer strategic insights for workforce development using the azure openAI service and EY payroll experience. Using proof-of-concept data, the chatbot will increase KPIs for first-contact resolution and employee satisfaction by over 50%. The EY intelligent payroll chatbot will be included in the EY employee experience web and mobile applications, which provide employees with compliant payslips, tax documents, and insights in 49 different languages and 159 different countries. In order to formalise EY’s best practises for tax and payroll intelligence, Microsoft and EY will also work together more closely to develop new AI tax applications and LLMs. In order to formalise EY’s cutting-edge strategies for tax and payroll intelligence, EY and Microsoft will continue to create LLMs and new AI Tax applications. EY is dedicated to enhancing the client experience through the use of new age technology and generative AI. Microsoft is thrilled to be a part of this partnership, which makes use of the Azure Open AI Service to deliver cutting-edge regulatory compliance solutions that benefit from the most advanced AI models available. The EY intelligent payroll chatbot uses LLMs to comprehend the ontological structure of a payslip for an employee, and azure openAI services assists EY in ethically integrating the most recent generative AI into their products.

In a fourth round of layoffs, the EdTech unicorn Unacademy has cut 12% of its workforce. Softbank is the platform’s backer. It provides test preparation services. According to reports, Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal informed the staff via an internal memo that the most recent round of layoffs was necessary in order to make the company profitable. A severance payment equivalent to the notice period and an additional month’s pay will be given to the laid-off employees. If they have worked for the company for a minimum of a year, they will additionally get an accelerated vesting of a year. Relevel, an ed-tech platform run by Unacademy, lay off 20% of its staff in January of this year. Those who persisted at the time were to be moved to other Unacademy Group departments. At the time, the company was concentrating more on testing new products as well as a new app called NextLevel. The Bengaluru-based Unacademy let go 350 employees in November of last year after realising that, despite significant cost cuts and managing redundancies, it had not been able to run as a lean organisation or help speed up to the desired level. About 600 employees were asked to leave in April 2022, and another 150 were urged to do the same in June 2022.

It’s expected that Air India would announce an increase in employee compensation. The anticipated raises are most likely to range between 8% and 10% and will affect a variety of workers, including pilots and cabin crew. This action is being taken as industry competitiveness is rising. Also, the initial set of pay raises might start to take effect in the coming months, starting with pilots. Also, there will be salary adjustments for other officers and cabin crew. Additionally, it is anticipated that this action will create parity between Indian and foreign pilots. According to reports, there is a boom in demand for aviation services, which has caused airlines to anticipate growth and raised the need for pilots and cabin crew. Airlines have raised pay as a result of the industry’s pilot scarcity in an effort to keep talent on board and prevent them from defecting to rival organisations. In addition, the airlines are worried about the competition and are working to keep their qualified personnel. Further complicating matters for Indian airlines are the alluring recruitment prospects provided by Middle Eastern airlines. In the upcoming 24 months, Indian airlines are expected to purchase between 1500 and 1700 aircraft, according to a report by aviation consultancy firm CAPA. According to the report, Indian airlines now fly more than 700 commercial aircraft and have ambitions to buy over 1000 more.

One of the biggest media and entertainment companies worldwide, Disney, is about to start a challenging road of cost-cutting and restructuring. The COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent economic repercussions have had an influence on the company, along with many others in the sector. Because of this, Disney CEO Robert Iger announced in February that the company would be cutting 7,000 jobs in order to save billions of dollars. Three rounds of job cuts are anticipated, with the first round of notifications taking place this week. The areas most impacted by the layoffs will be the media and distribution segment, ESPN, and the parks and resorts division, according to CNBC. Although it was difficult to make the choice to let go of so many people, the company believes that doing so will enable it to develop a more streamlined and productive business strategy. As Disney continues to develop the structures and operations that will help it succeed in the future, Iger’s email emphasised that there would be challenges ahead for those who stay with the firm. In this challenging time, he did, however, also ask for patience and cooperation. A larger trend in the media sector is reflected in the cost-cutting initiatives being taken by Disney. In order to cut costs and stay viable, legacy media giants like Warner Bros. Discovery have also had to reduce their employees. It is hoped that by taking these steps, companies like Disney would be able to deal with the economic downturn and come out stronger on the other side.

A total of 19,000 jobs, or around 2.5% of its workforce, will be cut at the multinational Technology company Accenture, according to the company’s statement. The move is part of cost-cutting measures, which will also include “streamlining how we operate, consolidating office space, and moving forward with our next compressed transformation – transforming our corporate functions,” according to Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture, who has explained to the staff that the company aims to be the most tech, data, and AI driven, efficient, and agile enterprise in the world. The Company has realized that it can “operate with fewer Accenture Leaders (managing directors) in some parts of the company and still drive our growth,” and these departures will take place by the end of 2023, according to Sweet’s mail. Employees in non-billable corporate functions will be most affected by layoffs. For the severance of the impacted employees, the business has set aside $1.2 billion. The IT major has also lowered its expectations for annual profits and revenue. As opposed to the earlier projection of 8% to 11%, Accenture now anticipates its annual revenue growth to be in the range of 8% to 10% in local currency. Accenture’s projected earnings per share has been reduced from its previous estimate of $11.20 to $11.52 to between $10.84 and $11.06. Yet, the company has declared a $1.12 per share quarterly cash dividend. Accenture announced new orders of $22.1 billion in the most recent quarter, of which consultancy orders accounted for $10.7 billion and managed services orders for $11.4 billion. According to Sweet, the company will keep making investments in its operations and staff to take advantage of growth prospects while also finding ways to reduce expenses through the fiscal year 2024 and beyond. Additionally, she reassured that Accenture announced record Q2 sales and anticipates rapid expansion. It is significant to note that Accenture’s third-quarter prediction fell short of what Wall Street had anticipated. The US Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, which was followed by this announcement. Source: Reuters

For its general cadre employees, office staff, and unskilled workers, Air India, which was acquired by the Tata group in January 2022, has announced a second round of voluntary retirement schemes (VRS). Employees must be older than 40 and have at least five years of continuous service to be eligible for the offer. At the moment, Air India employs about 11,000 people, both flying and non-flying personnel. 2,100 of these workers are qualified to take advantage of the voluntary retirement offer. This is the second phase of the VRS scheme; the first phase, which covered the categories of cabin crew, clerical workers, and unskilled workers, was adopted in June 2022. The voluntary retirement offer was then accepted by around 1,500 employees, or 43% of those who qualified. According to Air India’s top human resources officer, Suresh Dutt Tripathi, requests from workers to offer the additional benefit of voluntary retirement to other permanent employees have been received. As a result, the airline has opted to start the second phase of the VRS scheme. Employees will get an ex gratia amount as a one-time benefit if they apply for voluntary retirement before April 30. The ex gratia payment will be increased by Rs 1,000,000 for those who submit their applications by March 31. The Vihaan.AI transformation plan, which Air India launched in September 2022, intends to accomplish a number of objectives over a five-year period. The plan’s goal is to place Air India on a course for consistent development, financial success, and market leadership. Air India permitted its voluntarily retired cabin crew employees to extend their tenure till January of the next year as of November last year in response to a shortage of cabin crew.

According to Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the government aims to increase the capacity for manufacturing electronics to Rs 24 lakh crore by 2025–26, which will also help generate over 10 lakh employment. Addressing at a gathering in Bengaluru, the minister said the country is presently at an inflection point – the most exciting age in its history – and the present generation of students is the luckiest generation in the independent India’s history. According to an official statement, the Narendra Modi government’s goal is to boost electronics manufacturing capacity to Rs 24 lakh crore by 2025–26, which will also help to create over 10 lakh jobs. He stated that there are more than 90,000 startups, including 110 unicorns, in which young Indians are playing a key part. According to the minister, at least 15 lakh young Indians from Karnataka would receive training in future-ready skills that are relevant to the industry. Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated the day is marked as “Spoorti Dina” or Inspiration Day, and that the occasion could not be more suited to discuss opportunities in IndiaTechade with students. Rajeev Chandrasekhar was remembering the well-known Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar, or “Appu,” on his birthday. Chandrasekhar responded to a question on the Silicon Valley Bank crisis and the Indian government’s role in easing startup entrepreneurs’ problems by saying, “The Indian banking system is much more resilient and stronger in comparison to any other country’s banking system. Startups should therefore opt for Indian banks as their preferred banking partners.”

By the end of the first quarter of FY 2023–24, CLXNS, a digital-first debt resolution platform, expects to have hired over 700 employees. Almost 160 people work with the company at the moment, about 125 of them started in April 2022. The finance startup’s workforce will increase to more than 800 workers as a result of the new recruitment. CLXNS plans to hire people in a variety of fields, including marketing, data analytics, and product, engineering, and design. According to a statement, it is eager to hire mid-level talent with technology skills as well as seasoned professionals for critical leadership roles. The future-looking objective of CLXNS is to develop scalable, digital-first debt resolution systems with high levels of compliance and governance, with the aid of the recently hired employees and the company’s clear focus on investing extensively in its tech capabilities. “The current market scenario is unstable, but we strongly feel that there is no right or wrong time for hiring talent,” stated Manavjeet Singh, MD & CEO of CLXNS. “We believe India’s credit growth story has just started and is guaranteed to see a massive boom. And therefore, we foresee an enormous growth in ethical debt resolution opportunities,” he added. “At CLXNS, our sole aim is to build a scalable, digital-first debt resolution company. Simultaneously, we wish to emerge as a talent powerhouse in the industry with expertise in tech capabilities. We are confident that with the new talent addition, we will be able to reach one step closer to our goals of expanding our footprints pan India and serving our customers better,” he stated.

As it invests in people and productive capacity in the nation, Deloitte in India has hired close to 50,000 professionals over the previous three years, nearly doubling the workforce, the audit firm said on Friday. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP stated in a statement that it concentrated on developing skills to deliver technology-driven growth. The completion of a pilot project to help solve the problem of stubble burning in North India was also announced. According to the statement, Deloitte has hired around 50,000 professionals in India during the past three years. “The organisation plans to continue to invest in people and productive capacities in India, with a focus on innovative approaches to support education, digital skills development, and training opportunities.” At the US-India CEO Conference, which was held here on Friday, Punit Renjen, retired Deloitte Global CEO Emeritus, emphasised the potential of India and the significance of skilling and nature-based solutions. “I believe, this is India’s century, and the country has a unique opportunity to lead the world in addressing some of the critical issues that we face. India’s future innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders will need new skills to help them meet these challenges,” he said. In India, Deloitte is still offering educational opportunities. In partnership with The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Deloitte AI Academy develops and reskills workforces to bridge the technology talent gap. Deloitte’s StepUp programme educates third-year engineering college students on industry-specific skills and cutting-edge technologies. Deloitte intends to keep engaging with the larger community over the coming years with an emphasis on STEM, innovation, leadership, and digital. 50 million people in India are addressed by Deloitte’s WorldClass, a global initiative to train 100 million people for careers and opportunities by 2030. Almost 125 nonprofit organisations from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Orissa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan have received support from WorldClass since its start in 2017. A successful pilot project by Deloitte India in Haryana in 2022 led to a 69% reduction in farm fire or stubble burning incidents. The announcement stated that it was anticipated that this trial effort will save nearly 2,000 lives over time. In the state of Haryana, where eight districts account for a total of nearly 90% of the state’s fires, Deloitte India aims to expand the effort. Together with this, Deloitte India has said it will execute pilot projects in the neighbouring states of Punjab (SAS Nagar district) and Uttar Pradesh (Ghaziabad district). Fatehabad, Sirsa, Jind, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Yamuna Nagar, and Karnal would be among the eight districts in Haryana. The project intends to keep enlisting the assistance of local organizations, farmers, local communities, and business partners.

In order to provide global development services in the technology sector, Trangile Services on Friday announced plans to hire 500 technology professionals. The company will provide the new hires with training at Trangile Academy, a cutting-edge training centre located in Noida. According to a release, Trangile Services would also place the talent after training with Indian and international organisations across the technology spectrum. According to the announcement, Trangile Services has increased the seating capacity at its global development centre in Noida from 150 to 400. “Amidst the global hiring slowdown, Trangile Services continues to see robust demand for talent supply across the technology spectrum from its Indian and global clientele,” stated Piyush Madan, Co-Founder & CEO of Trangile. He said, “We are well on our path to hiring 500 technology professionals and providing organisations with an opportunity to add world-class talent at a competitive cost.” “To support our hiring plans over the next few months, we have expanded our Global Development Centre at Noida. We have added more space increasing our training centre’s seating capacity to meet the growing demand for ready-to-deploy talent by organisations in India and overseas,” Madan added. Trangile, which was founded in early 2022, now has over 450 people working for it at its client locations and worldwide development centre in Noida. The statement mentioned that Trangile has offices in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, and London.