More than 75% recruiters looking to increase head counts, raise salaries upto 15%: Study

Rewards and recognisation becomes primes tool for retention

India Inc seems buoyant on recruitment with 76 per cent expecting to increase headcount in the next 12 months, according to Michael Page's Salary and Employment Outlook for India 2015-16. As much a 60 per cent of the companies surveyed were willing to pay up to 15 per cent salary hikes to retain high-performing employees. Additionally, 61 per cent of the respondents were willing to offer flexible working hours as a work-life balance facilitator.

The survey accounted for four core disciplines – finance and accounting, sales and marketing, human resources and banking, and financial services – to identify significant hiring and salary trends across sectors.

While money is among the key reasons why employees move to a new company, a strong company culture can also attract employees, the survey showed. According to the report, a potential candidate's decision to accept a new role is usually influenced by brand reputation, career progression and international opportunity. In this context, the firm's presence on social media platforms is likely to facilitate talent acquisition.

 

On retention, the study points at a strong reward culture with 86 per cent of the respondents stating their direct employees will receive a bonus as part of their remuneration; of this, 49 per cent said the bonus would be in the 10-15 per cent range. Sixty-three per cent consider rewards and recognition as the prime method for retention, followed by a promise of structured career progression (60 per cent), and financial incentives (40 per cent).

For companies looking to increase their headcount, 52 per cent claim analytics is the most sought after skill, followed by financial/product control and regulatory reporting. If this is compared to sector-wise distribution of experience level, most sectors clearly shows a demand for mid-level experience at 55-65 per cent with only 5-12 per cent open to freshers and a similar range of opportunities for experts.

India Inc seems unanimous in its decision to provide equal opportunities for women in executive-level ranks, with 75 per cent firms agreeing on this point. The positive outlook in the survey, however, is in stark contrast with the global scenario, where companies such as Volkswagen, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Standard Chartered, have declared massive job-cuts. 

 

Job market looking up