Indian companies have directed their focus on employees as the Great Resignation or the Big Quit continues to take a foothold in the economy, according to Korn Ferry India Annual Rewards Survey – December 2021 report.
With higher self-reflection and reprioritisation, employees are actively seeking better job and rewards opportunities. Amplified importance to employee value proposition, purpose, and improvement in the economy are other factors contributing to the trend.
Source: Korn Ferry Compensation & Benefits Survey, 2021
The report also took note of the increment in salaries offered by Indian companies in 2021 — which were better than 2020, but not as much as the pre-pandemic levels. The actual salary offered by Indian companies was predicted to increase to 9.3 percent as compared to the 8.4 percent increase in 2021.
In 2021, the highest overall salary increments were observed for employees in the clerical and operations sector (9.4 percent), followed by those holding supervisory positions or were junior professionals (9.0 percent), middle management (8.5 percent), and senior management (8.0 per cent).
However, there is a shift this year in the salary increment trends. While the increment in clerical and operational positions remained the highest, the second-highest increment was observed for both senior management positions and supervisory positions.
Source: Korn Ferry Compensation & Benefits Survey 2021
In 2022, the tech and industrial goods sectors have been witnessing higher salary increments as compared to 2021, when the consumer goods sector and life sciences/healthcare sector saw the highest increments and most bonuses.
Mumbai continues to be the highest paying city in India. However, there has been a trend of differential pay for employees, wherein 16 percent of the surveyed organisations had different compensation structures for employees based in different locations.
It was also reported that while 24 percent of organisations would allow more than half of their employees to work remotely, 19 percent of them would require their employees to work from the offices full-time. About 64 percent of the Indian organisations also preferred working in a hybrid model.
The report also suggested organisations in India focus on talent acquisition and retention through compensation, rewards, benefits, succession, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
