Job market in a sweet spot, average 10-12 per cent hike expected

New Delhi: If you have the skill, flaunt it! The job market is buzzing, and companies in order to reward and retain employees are expected to dole out an average 10-12 per cent hike while for key talent, it'll be around 30 per cent this appraisal season, say experts.

At a time when the domestic economy is veering towards stability and the uptick in the US economy is supporting the services sector, there is massive demand for talent and in order to contain attrition, companies are willing to go the distance to offer top-up benefits.

"Lots of innovative benefits are expected to be introduced, apart from car, luxury watches, smartphones, iPads, family holidays, flats while start-ups are expected to offer ESOPs for key resources," executive search firm GlobalHunt MD Sunil Goel said.

Goel added that this appraisal cycle, the whole industry average will be around 10-12 per cent increase wherein the 'top performer' will get 15-20 per cent hike, the 'performer' 10-15 per cent and 'above average' 6-10 per cent." Analysts say there's a catch that money is not the only retention factor and the "scope of work" is also a big driver.

"Good or bad appraisals will be a big motivator for movements, the kind of opportunities available in the market are quite challenging and start-ups, in particular, are offering work culture that's significantly more attractive than conventional organisations," Antal International India MD Joseph Devasia said.

Devasia further said the boom in e-commerce and mobility sectors means expected hikes in these industries will be 15-25 per cent while for most others, it'll be muted. For sectors like manufacturing and auto, it may be very low (7 per cent). FMCG and consumer-oriented industries will witness some 10-15 per cent increase whereas certain key skills like digital marketing, analytics, mobility will go at a premium rate of 15-30 per cent, more from a retention perspective, Devasia said.

According to the latest Aon Hewitt Salary Increase Survey 2015, organisations are putting in place separate retention plans and policies to keep their top talent. While rewards as a retention tool continue to flow to ring-fence top talent, programmes around leadership opportunities and coaching, overseas assignments and fast-track programmes for high potential staffers are fast gaining prominence.

Of the over 500 organisations surveyed, 76 per cent indicated an increase in their 'benefits budget'. Attrition still remains a sticking point. India Inc's rates on this front in 2014 were broadly at par with 2013 at 18.1 per cent, but key talent attrition has seen a significant jump in 2014 to 5.9 per cent compared to 4.5 per cent in 2013.