Fewer tech professionals are currently on the bench, but those who are show greater restlessness and dissatisfaction.

TCS has reduced average bench time to just 35 days, signaling a major shift in how Indian IT firms manage their workforce amid AI advancements.

TCS Bench Time Reduction Reflects Evolving Workforce Strategies in the AI Era

IT companies are moving toward leaner, on-demand staffing models, raising concerns about increasing employee attrition and frustration.

According to Neeti Sharma (CEO, TeamLease Digital), most IT firms now maintain minimal bench strength and are emphasizing skill-based redeployment, innovative projects, and the use of contingent workers.

Companies with larger bench strength are not hiring much for lateral roles, as they prioritize using internal talent before onboarding new employees.

Average bench time has dropped to 30–45 days, compared to 45–60 days during 2020–21.

Sharma noted that twice as many professionals are currently seeking jobs, indicating rising restlessness.

Despite Decline in Bench Numbers, Remaining IT Professionals Seek Better Opportunities and Engagement

Although the number of benched professionals has declined in the past 18 months, those still on the bench are actively looking for better opportunities, more engaging work, and improved compensation.

Biswajeet Mahapatra (Principal Analyst, Forrester) explained that prolonged benching harms IT firms by:

• Reducing profit margins due to high costs of idle staff,
• Lowering utilisation rates, indicating inefficiency,
• Increasing attrition, as underutilized employees seek jobs elsewhere,
• Raising recruitment and training costs.

With digital transformation and agile practices on the rise, firms are reducing bench strength and cutting costs by hiring skilled professionals on-demand and using freelancers for specific projects.

This change helps companies stay flexible, efficient, and quickly responsive to evolving client needs, while minimizing overhead from a large bench.

Professionals skilled in high-demand areas like AI, ML, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and DevOps experience minimal bench time.

Prashant Shukla (Vice President, Everest Group) noted that compressed benching is also a strategy to prepare for:

• A potential revival in demand,
• The shift of work to offshore locations,
• Managing margins,
• Internally showcasing successful AI implementation.

He emphasized that with growing AI adoption, bench strategy compression is no longer just about efficiency, but also about optics and strategic readiness.

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