The Festive Hiring Boom Has Moved. Have Our Hiring Strategies?
Every year around this time, I hear the same question from clients: “Will festive demand hit our numbers again?” This year, I’ve started asking them a different question: “Are you hiring in the right cities?”
In India, the concept of festival hiring was straightforward for many years. Companies would increase employment in Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Mumbai as demand increased in the metro areas, and after the holiday season, things would calm down.
Today, that is changing.
Today, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities account for a significant portion of the holiday hiring need across e-commerce, logistics, retail, BPO/ITES, and fast commerce. These days, Jaipur, Coimbatore, Indore, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad are not merely secondary employment markets. They are turning into significant talent hubs for numerous renowned companies.
Why This Shift Matters
It’s easy to see this as just another festive-season trend that will disappear after Diwali. I don’t think it is. This shift has continued across several festive seasons, and there is a simple reason behind it: consumers have moved beyond the metros.
Warehouses, dark stores and regional fulfilment centres are now reaching deeper into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. And where the business moves, hiring follows. So, if companies are still planning their festive workforce strategy around metro-first hiring, they may already be looking at the wrong talent markets.
What I’m Seeing on the Ground
At Prompt Personnel, we are seeing this shift directly in our bulk hiring and blue-collar hiring mandates.
This year, more of our clients have needed hiring support in non-metro cities. And these cities are not being used only because companies are struggling to find people in the metros. In many cases, they are the first choice. Clients in customer service, last-mile deliveries, and warehousing who are getting ready for seasonal demand are searching for talent in places they might have thought of as secondary a few years ago. However, there is one important thing you must understand. You cannot simply take a metro hiring strategy and use it in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 city.
The talent exists, but locating it frequently calls for a more regional strategy. Candidates may come through regional language channels, community networks, recommendations, or local employment boards. What is effective in Mumbai could not be in Jaipur or Indore.
Another issue that leaders must consider is compliance. When you hire across different states, things like minimum wages, statutory contributions and labour regulations need to be taken into consideration. If hiring moves faster than compliance, that rapid workforce expansion can quickly turn into a business risk.
What Leaders Should Do Differently
I’d suggest 3 changes for leaders planning their next festive hiring cycle:
- Localise your hiring strategy.
Don’t treat Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as smaller versions of metro markets. Understand where local talent comes from, which channels work and how much time hiring will actually take. - Think about compliance from day one.
When you expand hiring into new states, compliance cannot be an afterthought. Labour law, payroll and statutory requirements should be part of the workforce plan from the beginning. - Build a talent pipeline, not just a festive workforce.
The personnel you hire for a three-month holiday ramp-up may go on to become skilled workers, permanent employees, or future supervisors. Seasonal hiring might become a long-term hiring advantage if you develop an effective talent strategy.
The Bigger Picture
This is not really just about festive hiring. It is about where India’s workforce is growing, and whether our hiring strategies and workforce planning have kept up.
Companies that start building strong talent pools in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities today will be better prepared not just for the next festive season, but for long-term growth. They will also be less dependent on the same crowded metro talent pools that every other employer is competing for.
If you’re seeing the same shift in your hiring plans, let’s talk about what it could mean for your workforce. Write to us at [email protected]
