With India being the investment pool for the U.S., this demand in talent is only bound to increase. But considering the huge population the country has, we can convert it into our benefit by molding the talent at the very start. Finishing schools for the fresh engineering graduates would be an apt solution as they would be able to cater to this "lack of skill sets" and groom the candidate according to industry requirements.

Freshers kept aside, I feel that the talent crunch can be curbed by -innovative hiring methods, recruiting on time and retaining talent. The way the company approaches a candidate after handing out the offer letter could be made innovative. For instance, in our company we send notes of appreciation for joining the company and try to make the employee feel secure even before he joins the new place.

Also the sudden deficiency of talent occurs when there is an imbalance in recruiting procedures. The HR should follow a planned recruitment procedure. It would be his/her job to see that the positions are filled in for the quarters after keeping track of all the promotions and forced exits and allocate necessary room for the new entrants. Taking candidates from the bench could be the ideal answer to this situation like this but benching them for too long would de-motivate them.

At Proteans, we are still building a brand name. We mold employees to be the Brand Ambassadors of Proteans. I feel it depends on us on how we want to fight the talent crunch. Innovative approach and looking at the problem with a broader perspective will make the fittest survive! The swords are already out!