Switching jobs? Expect 25-30% hike this year

MUMBAI: Professionals looking to switch jobs this year can expect to get an average salary hike of around 25-30%, which is higher than what those switching jobs managed for themselves last year, according to estimates made by a recruitment firm. These hikes look attractive at a time when most companies are expected to give annual increments in the range of 8-15% this year. FMCG, pharma and IT companies are expected to dole out an average 30% hike to lateral hires this year. IT sector professionals on an average received the highest increases last year, at 28% followed by the FMCG and financial services sectors, according to a study conducted by the global recruitment firm Kelly Services, findings of which were shared exclusively with TOI. The compensation study was conducted among candidates who had been assisted with employment opportunities by the recruitment firm with annual salaries in the range of Rs 5 -20 lakh. "On an average this is 10-20% higher than salary increments most Indian firms are expected to give for 2014. So effectively by switching jobs employees are able to move ahead by a year in terms of financial gains," said Kamal Karanth, MD, Kelly Services India. In the pre-recession era, professionals across sectors managed to get salary hikes in the range of 40-50% which is rarely the case now. On an overall level, the engineering sector gave the lowest salary hikes in 2013 - at 21% to people coming on board from other companies. However, hikes are expected to go up to 25% for this sector this year, said the Kelly Services report. Financial services, which gave an average hike of 27% to lateral hires, will see increments decline marginally to 25% this year, reflecting the sluggishness in the sector. "Seeing the growth that is coming in the FMCG sector, especially in the rural areas, we have a robust hiring plan going forward. A big chunk of the lateral hiring is happening in the 4-7 year experience band to strengthen our sales force through lateral hiring and also from campus recruitment. What is significant, though, is that the compensation offered has to be generally equitable when getting people from outside," said V Krishnan, executive VP, HR at homegrown FMCG company Dabur. While compensation is right on top when professionals move jobs, people also evaluate an offer based on the overall job profile and their potential to grow, said Karanth. Interestingly, the report said that last year, the FMCG and pharma sectors saw junior level employees receive greater salary hikes than few of their senior counterparts. As far as the IT sector goes, which is not in a major hiring drive, mid to senior level employees who are seen to have specialised skills, were in demand unlike freshers who could not generate as much demand, said the study. Lateral hiring is always a more expensive model compared to entry-level recruitment. In such instances, we have a model where compensation costs are pitched in line with internal associates. However, some niche skills such as data mining, social media analytics, mobile app development may demand a higher premium, said Rakesh Soni, chief people officer at Tech Mahindra.   TOI