India Inc gears up for hiring, pay hikes

Corporate India is getting ready with hiring plans and higher pay packets for 2010, as signs of economic recovery are becoming visible along with a rising confidence in the economy's growth.

"We think Indian companies are getting ready for the revival and plan to hire strategically going forward. 2010 looks to be a good year from a salary increase perspective,"

Hewitt Associates Practice Leader (Performance and Rewards, South & West Asia) Sandeep Chaudhary said.

"It will not be the double digit growth in salary that we have now become used to in India, but will reflect the growing confidence in the Indian economy," Chaudhary added.

Hewitt Associates, which released the findings of its 'Asia Pacific Salary Increase Survey 2009-10' in India on Thursday, stated employees in the fastest growing markets may see higher salary increases in 2010 than the others.

Employees in India are expected to receive the highest salary hike of 9.2 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region in 2010, the report forecast. They have received an average salary increase of 6.3 per cent in 2009.

Moreover, about 61 per cent of the firms surveyed reported they were planning on strategic hiring in 2010.

The report also pointed out that employers appear to have much more confidence in the economy in 2010.

Coincidently, Indian companies also project a low percentage of salary freezes in 2010 at six per cent.

The survey further said that employers across the country are now focused on employee performance and are re-looking at compensation budgets and retention of high-performers.

"We believe the metrics of performance and productivity for compensation and rewards will continue to remain in focus.

"Firms should ensure they set clear performance expectations, ensure rigorous measurement and reward high performance. These measures helped firms tide economic slowdown and will remain invaluable in times of recovery and growth," Chaudhary added.

The survey measured actual and projected salary increases and compensation practices of 238 participating firms across 13 primary industries with 20 sub classifications.

Information used in this report was collected during the period of July to August 2009.