In recent times, the e-Commerce industry has become a booming success. The advent of the internet has added to its growth along with the industry’s illustrious and talented workforce. Over a period of time, the e-Commerce industry has become one of the largest Employers and its market share is expected to rise by 15-20%. The industry requires a specific set of skills in their workforce that enable them to thrive and progress along with the industry.
A DigitalHR webinar on ‘ The future Employment scenario and Employability skills for E-Commerce Industry’ was organised to discuss what it takes to make it big in the domain and the future prospects.
Hari T. N, VP & Head- HR, BigBasket, who has 32 years of experience in the industry and has seen the e-Commerce industry change, grow, evolve into one of the biggest Employers in the market. He advised young talent to possess the ability to innovate and work collaboratively in the dynamic E-commerce industry. He also suggested that it is important to possess strategic execution skills and putting processes, training & audit mechanisms in place to deliver services over millions of transactions.
After 20 years in the industry, Yuvaraj Shrivastava, Group CHRO, MakeMyTrip, has seen the industry change and grow manifolds. He predicted that In the next 10 years, all brick and mortar Businesses will turn to digital and reach larger & more specific customer bases. This will result in the expansion of the industry which will, thus, produce more jobs. He said that non-techie employees, too, can get into e-Commerce firms and learn digital skills. He revealed that the e-Commerce industry provides employment to people with various backgrounds.
Girish Menon, the HR Head at one of India’s largest food order and delivery app, Swiggy, suggested that optimism and positivity to overcome challenges in the everchanging e-Commerce industry will help talent to expand and succeed. He also advised that the employees must take challenges with a fighting spirit everyday.
According to Ankush Arora, Sr.VP & Head- HR, Grofers, an e-Commerce employee must possess the ability to take risks because there are high-growth organisations
with constantly changing business models. He also said that flourishing in the e-Commerce industry requires a problem solving attitude. Ankush concluded that the ability to unlearn old methods and practices is a great skill to keep up with the everchanging e-Commerce industry.
In her 17 years of experience, Amla Awasthi, VP HR of Indiamart, has come across many talented professionals who grew tremendously in the e-Commerce industry. She advised that individuals must be more accepting of change and keep innovating to make it in the industry.
Sujit Das Biswas, CTO of ORAI, extended his knowledge of AI, NLP, and RPA to state that voice assistants are the new technology that can make customer communication easier in the e-Commerce industry. He also said that Artificial Intelligence is of huge advantage to the e-Commerce industry.
The session was moderated by Runa Maitra, Founder & Director, PTI, who pointed out that despite low internet penetration, the e-Commerce industry is very massive in India and is likely to be worth $200 Billion by 2026.
In conclusion, it has been stated that e-Commerce employees flourish when they possess the ability to innovate, evolve, adapt, and be as dynamic as the industry itself. The industry is always on the move and hence, seeks out professionals who are willing to mould themselves to learn new methods as well as unlearn old practices.
