It's a people problem of a different kind. It's called 'employee no-shows', and it's hit the IT industry. That's when a candidate does not show up at a job after accepting an offer. Experts say the phenomenon is relatively new and very Indian. They say 30 to 50 per of new recruits just don't show up.

"There is a certain category of people who we have internally classified as shoppers and these are shoppers of jobs," says Gautam Sinha, CEO, TVA Infotech.

These candidates use offer letters to negotiate with prospective employers. IT firms spend about Rs30,000 per candidate on recruitment. And if an employee does not turn up, the exercise is a washout.

"The root cause for this problem is that I yield to the pressure created by the market when I'm in a company. So I create a problem for the industry while adding value to my company," said L Selvam George, Secretary, IT-HR Association.

Some experts say the trend will end if the industry lays down guidelines. Thirty companies in Bangalore have already formulated rules. Some include not negotiating with those who have accepted another job, not hiring those with less than six months in their current job, not considering 'no-shows' for future jobs in the organisation, sharing 'no-show' data with peer companies and communicating disapproval to 'no-show' candidates.

Staff demand is so high that some sectors see turnover of nearly 100 per cent. And while temporary hiring may be the best way out, experts say convincing people to take temp jobs is almost impossible. It's a people problem with no soft solution.