While layoff was probably one of the most talked about things – India and abroad – in the year 2017, workers are looking forward to a fruitful 2018, especially in terms of money. And after the tough year, India Inc has promised better hikes in 2018, bringing some joy this holiday season.
Employees in India are likely to see a 10-15 percent hike in the new year as the economy is likely to shed of demonetisation woes and other issues such as automation. However, the sizeable hike will probably not apply to all as there are a few specific talents that the HR personnel will look for.
One of these is said to be employees' ability to reskill as per industry requirement, considering the sectors have been witnessing fast-changing trends. "2018 is set to swing the pendulum further into the job growth zone. Businesses in almost all sectors -- notably, financial services, retail and ecommerce and media and entertainment -- are looking to hire talent at an even faster pace," the Press Trust of India quoted Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder of Teamlease Services.
Echoing her thoughts, Zairus Master, CEO of job portal Shine, noted that existing skill are becoming obsolete and most companies are now looking to hire employees that have reskilled themselves. These employees are likely to land good packages and hikes in 2018.
"Change in business environment is leading to obsoleteness of existing skills and have created demands for new skills as must-haves. IT skills are out now, while data science and digital skills are in demand," he explained.
While the IT and telecom sector have witnessed a troubled 2017, things are likely to get better for these industries, as well as manufacturing and infrastructure. And in tune, the pay hikes are likely to be in the average of about 12 percent in all the sectors.
The average hike was 8-10 percent in 2017 and Sunil Goel, MD GlobalHunt, believes that in 2018, it will be above 10-12 percent. Chakraborty also said the increment will be above 11 percent.
Meanwhile, Kelly Services' MD Thammaiah BN was more specific about the sectors and said employees in IT can expect a hike of about 8 percent, e-commerce and start- ups can look forward to about 15 percent, pharma and life sciences can also expect 8-15 percent and ITES is pegged at 10-15 percent.
Earlier, 2017 Salary Budget Planning Report released by advisory company Willis Towers Watson predicted that India would see a salary increase of 10 percent in 2018.
While the 10 percent hike may seem quite small, it is the highest in the Asia Pacific region with the hike in other countries estimated to be in single digits. Salaries in Singapore and Hong Kong will see an increase of 4 percent, the Philippines 6 percent, China 7 percent and Indonesia is at 8.5 percent.
Not just that, projected figures of developed markets such as the US and UK also aren't that impressive at about 3 percent.
