NEW DELHI: Indian companies are expected to give the highest salary increase of 9.2% in the Asia Pacific region next year after giving a 6.3% average salary hike in 2009, said a survey conducted by HR consulting firm Hewitt Associates. Other countries in the APAC region, such as China, Indonesia and Australia, are expected to give salary hikes of 6.7%, 8.7% and 3.4%, respectively, in 2010.

The survey pointed out that salary increases in India and China in the current year have been the lowest since 2005, even as they were much better than markets such as Japan and Hong Kong, where companies increased average salaries by 1-2%.

“Apart from factors like growing business activity and increased domestic demand in India, demographics also play a key role in deciding salary hikes. The fact that many employees in India are in the age group of 24-35 years at junior to senior levels of management, it contributes to higher salary increases than other countries,” said Sandeep Chaudhary, leader of performance & rewards consulting in India, Hewitt Associates.

Consumer durables was one of the sectors in India that grew on the back of consistent domestic demand. LG Electronics director (HR & MS) YV Verma said the sector is expected to give around 14-15% salary hike in the coming year.

The survey, that covered more than 280 companies in India, also revealed that one in every four companies in India froze salaries at the same level as last year. As compared to this, for the coming year, just 6% of those surveyed said they could opt for salary freeze next year. But as P Dwarakanath, group HR director at Max India said: “Companies would be more selective and cautious while giving salary hikes in 2010, particularly double-digit hikes.”

The survey also pointed that over half of the companies surveyed in India added manpower this year and intend to recruit more people in 2010. These would include firms such as auto major Maruti Suzuki which started hiring for its upcoming research facility and is yet to complete the target of bringing on board close to 1,000 professionals for the unit.

Talking about salary hikes planned for next year, SY Siddiqui, head of human resources at Maruti Suzuki, said: “It is important to see if signs of economic recovery are consistent and will lead to sustainable growth and development. Budget announcements for the auto sector in the coming year will also impact salary increases to some extent.”

Jobs Editor CMDN Hot Jobs, CMDNHotJobs.com, Career Career, career planning, cmdnhotjobs, hike, Increased hiring, Indian companies

NEW DELHI: 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 & 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 a magazine, 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.

Jobs Editor CMDN Hot Jobs, CMDNHotJobs.com, Career Career, career planning, CMDN Hot Jobs, cmdnhotjobs, hike, India Inc, IT firms

BANGALORE: After having remained tightly shut for almost a year, the job market doors are slowly reopening. There is buoyancy across industries and locations.

Enterprises are hiring, internal and third-party HR professionals are back in action and employees who maintained a stay-put status have started looking out.

Based on available information, industry observers say the IT/ITeS sector will hire at least 150,000 people over the next year, against 100,000 this year and 350,000 to 400,000 people during 2008.

Many companies have started reworking their hiring mandate. Infosys Technologies, which previously planned to hire 18,000 persons this year, has said it will hire an additional 2,000 during the third and fourth quarters of the current fiscal. A large number of product firms, R&D companies and mid-tier MNCs have also started hiring.

‘‘There is a sense of stability in the market. The next two quarters are expected to bring more clarity,” says T V Mohandas Pai, head of HR, Infosys. Pradeep Bahirwani, vice president for talent acquisition, Wipro Technologies, says, ‘‘There is a clear uptake in hiring, though it is too early to conclude if it is a temporary spurt or full-blown recovery.”

Third-party recruiters say hiring is currently more evident in non-IT sectors and it will take another couple of quarters before IT/BPO hiring picks up momentum.

According to recruiters, recruitment is more evident in non-IT sectors. Industries like banking, retail, realty, healthcare, education and housing have been the early beneficiaries of the stimulus package.

The thrust on infrastructure roads, ports, airports, highways, bridges will mean additional hiring in these spaces. Domains like telecom, oil & gas, energy, education, government (e-governance) and utility are also expected to be more active than the tech space.

Hirers will be busy for the next two quarters with non-tech sectors, though the tech sector too has also started showing signs of recovery, says B S Murthy, chief executive officer, HumanCapital.

Employees too are coming out of the bunkers. There was virtually nothing in the market for almost a year. Many of us had no option but to stay put. Now, the situation has definitely changed, maybe it is time to start exploring again, says Kiran Kumar, an employee in a large telecom company.

Jobs Editor CMDN Hot Jobs, CMDNHotJobs.com, Career Career, career planning, CMDN Hot Jobs, cmdnhotjobs, Increased hiring, IT firms, job hiring, Recruitment & Selection

BERLIN: German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG is planning job cuts “in some business areas or at some locations,” its CEO was quoted as telling weekly Welt an Sonntag today.

Siemens CEO Peter Loescher said that because of the financial crisis, “some parts of our business areas have had a decline of orders by up to 70 per cent.”

“In this case, one can’t just stand on the sidelines and watch,” Loescher said, adding that the Munich-based company had to take the necessary steps to react to the crisis.

He did not elaborate where or when the company would lay off employees or how many people would be affected.

“It will take a long time until there will be an expansion of our capacities again, like the one during the boom years of 2007 and 2008,” Loescher was quoted as telling the paper.

Jobs Editor CMDN Hot Jobs, CMDNHotJobs.com, Career Career, career planning, CMDN Hot Jobs, cmdnhotjobs, job cuts

Hyderabad: The merger between Mahindra Satyam and Tech Mahindra is likely to happen in the next three to four quarters. Sources in the know also said Deloitte is set to be appointed as a statutory auditor for Mahindra Satyam. Incidentally, Deloitte is also Tech Mahindra’s auditor. After an eventual merger between Mahindra Satyam and Tech Mahindra, uniform audit standards can help make the integration process easier.

The Company Law Board (CLB) had last week allowed the IT firm to convene its annual general meeting and appoint a statutory auditor for accounting for 2008-09. “The board of the company (Satyam) is authorised to appoint a statutory auditor for the year 2008-09, subject to ratification by the general body as and when held,” CLB chairman S Balasubramanian had said while passing an order on IT firm’s application. Mahindra Satyam had approached the CLB seeking extension of deadline for restatement of accounts of the firm to March 31, 2010, from December this year in July. In a communication to the stock exchange, the company said it has got the nod to present the audited statements for FY09 and FY2010 at a annual general meeting of the shareholders by June 30, 2010. Satyam’s accounts are being re-stated after its founder fraudster B Ramalinga Raju Read more…

Jobs Editor CMDN Hot Jobs, CMDNHotJobs.com, Career CMDN Hot Jobs, Deloitte, Mahindra Satyam, Satyam, Tech Mahindra

: Pfizer Inc, the world’s biggest drugmaker, said third-quarter profit rose 26%, beating analysts’ estimates, as it fired workers to cut costs.

Net income increased to $2.88 billion, or 43 cents a share from $2.28 billion, or 34 cents, a year earlier, the New York- based company said today in a statement. Profit excluding certain items was 51 cents a share, beating the 48- cent average estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Revenue declined 3% to $11.6 billion, topping the $11.4 billion estimate of 12 analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Pfizer completed its $68 billion purchase of Wyeth this month adding the pneumonia vaccine Prevnar and expanding its business into over-the-counter medicines. Pfizer is counting on products gained from Wyeth to help offset losses in two years when generic copies of its top- selling Lipitor cholesterol pill enter the market.

“The Wyeth acquisition has investors focused on the future,” said Catherine Arnold, an analyst with Credit Suisse Group AG in New York, in a research report before the release of earnings. “Pfizer brands are under pressure as expected, illuminating the strategic importance of the Wyeth deal. Cost saving efforts will be Read more…

Jobs Editor CMDN Hot Jobs, CMDNHotJobs.com, Career career planning, cmdnhotjobs, cost cuts, global recession, Increased hiring, job cuts, Pfizer, recession

New Delhi: India Inc’s hiring activity picked up 4.1 per cent in September with IT, BPO and real estate sectors turning bullish after a long time, a report by job portal naurkri.com has said.

The naukri.com’s monthly ‘JobSpeak index’ increased to 729 in September from 701 in August this year.

“The secular trend is positive across sectors. Had it not been for an early festival season we may have seen further improvement in the index.

“The good news is that the IT and BPO sectors which are big employers especially at entry and junior levels seem to be in positive territory after a long time,” Info Edge (owner of naukri.com) COO and Director Hitesh Oberoi said.

Moreover, on the three-month moving average, the index inched up to 719 in September from 715 in August.

Last month, companies’ hiring activity saw a positive trend with 14 out of 41 sectors covered showing a double digit rise in hiring activities.

The IT-enabled services (ITeS) and BPO, real estate Read more…

Jobs Editor CMDN Hot Jobs, CMDNHotJobs.com, Career Career, career planning, cmdnhotjobs, Increased hiring, Indian companies, IT firms, IT industry, job hiring, Recruitment & Selection

When was the last time you were recruited over the phone or perhaps given an ipod during the final round of interview just because you failed to make it to the final selection? Interesting, isn’t it? Well, at a time when recruitment has come to a standstill and the repercussions of the current economic situation have been tremendously felt by companies across India Inc., there are a few others who are adopting unique methods of recruiting candidates.

“Recruitment has definitely slowed down, as companies still cater to backfills and other specific needs. Globally, economies are experiencing a slowdown , hence, this is a period of rationalisation , optimisation and consolidation across organisations. Traditionally , in such a scenario, all new initiatives /activities are slow to take off and the concentration is more on stabilising and capability building,” says Shubhayu Sengupta, senior vice president – human resources, Wells Fargo India.

So, what are some of the unique methods adopted by companies to recruit prospective candidates? Organisations , these days, are certainly laying more emphasis on recruiting people with stronger on-ground understanding and at the same time, those who come up with innovative ideas. Wells Fargo India’s Fuelling Assertive College Talent (FACT) program, started in 2008, is an innovative technology based campus recruitment process.

Explaining this further, Sengupta points out, “Typically, a campus recruitment process starts with recruiters going to the campus, conducting Pre-Placement Talks (PPTs), followed by tests, group discussions and face-to-face interviews. We did not go to the campus at all. We selected five campuses across India, namely, BITS Pilani, BITS Pilani Goa Campus, MNNIT Allahabad, SMIT Majitar and NIE Mysore. Instead of PPTs, we had a specially designed web-based quiz contest which tested the applicants’ awareness of Wells Fargo.

We selected one winner from each campus and handed over the grand prize, which was a premium motorbike.”He further adds, “The second step was the actual candidate selection process. Eligible students were asked to prepare a video lasting not more than three minutes, wherein an introduction and reasons explaining as to why they would like to join the company, was captured.”

Aviva has adopted a non-traditional hiring approach wherein they take on ‘Creative Behaviour Evaluating Interview Process’ to attract the best talent. Our hiring process involves a wide range of selection tools such as competency based interviews, ability and personality tests and role-plays to ensure that assignments are awarded to the right candidate for the role. An important aspect of the internal recruitment process is that all applicants are given the opportunity to receive feedback on their evaluation after the selection process Read more…

Jobs Editor CMDN Hot Jobs, CMDNHotJobs.com, Career Career, career planning, cmdnhotjobs, recruiters, recruitment, Recruitment & Selection, recruitment techniques

CHENNAI: On a day when labour strife in Manesar, the auto hub in North India took an ugly turn with a company official getting beaten up by workers, there is some positive news on the labour relations front coming in from the South.

Nokia India signed its first wage revision pact with the ruling DMK’s union in Tamil Nadu, the Labour Progressive Federation (LPF), as a result of which over 5,000 employees of the cell-phone maker here will see their salaries go up by Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,300 per month.

It is crucial for Nokia to ensure that its operations run smoothly in Tamil Nadu as its plant at Sriperambadur near Chennai is now the company’s largest manufacturing facility in the world.

The tripartite agreement ( 12( 3) reached last week between Nokia workers’ progressive union, affiliated to LPF and the management before the deputy commissioner of labour, provided for increasing the monthly canteen allowance to Rs 1000 from Rs 850 and paying a night shift allowance of Rs 20, which will fetch Rs 200 for 10 shifts in a month.

The revision has come a boon to employees, mainly hailing from nearby rural centres as they will get arrears for the last nine months. Nokia has also agreed to pay a bonus of 8.33 % ( one month wage) to employees. The Finnish mobile handset maker major has set up its largest electronic hardware manufacturing unit on 210.87 acres allotted at Sipcot industrial park, Sriperambadur. The State Government has also extended a structured package of assistance to the MNC.

LPF general secretary and Nokia union President, M Shanmugam told ET as the workers were keen on clinching an early revision, an intermediate or short term wage settlement was concluded covering the period April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.

“It is a big victory for the employees working in a multinational company and the wage revision has been concluded smoothly though a collective bargaining. While LPF affiliated unions are functioning in various public and private sector companies, this is the first time it is representing a large workforce in the Sriperambadur industrial corridor”, he said.

Prior to the revision, the employees, who joined Nokia in April 2007, were getting a consolidated pay of Rs 4400 to Rs 5800 per month. Now, the intermediate settlement has fetched a hike of Rs 1500 to Rs 1750 for those with an experience of 16 months and 24 months ( including the 15 month training period).
Those working with experience of above two years and upto 36 months, have secured an increase of Rs 2000 to Rs 2250 and above 36 months, Rs 3000 to Rs 3300.

As per the accord, the union and management will resume the talks in January to reach a long term settlement for revising the wages and allowances from April 1, 2010. It will provide for fixing DA and other allowances.

Responding to an e mail sent by ET, Nokia said, “Nokia employees, the factory management and the union met in the presence of Deputy Commissioner of Labour, Government of Tamil Nadu. The issue has been resolved through mutual dialogue and the work in Read more…

Jobs Editor CMDN Hot Jobs, CMDNHotJobs.com, Career Career, career planning, CMDN Hot Jobs, cost cuts, indian workers, Nokia

Bangalore: In an industry where size matters, India’s showpiece software services firms need to be bold and acquire firms or risk playing second fiddle as bigger IT players emerge as one-stop shops for cost-conscious clients.

Oracle and Dell have snapped up targets to grow beyond their core areas, while Xerox is buying Affiliated Computer Services for $5.5 billion to jump into the outsourcing sector.

By acquiring players with a wide client base, India’s top three IT firms — Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies and Wipro — can leapfrog in size and clout, helping them win multi-million dollar deals.

So far, India’s near-$60 billion IT sector has shied from blockbuster deals and instead focused on acquiring smaller IT divisions to tap opportunities in areas such as utilities and healthcare.

“For good measure these companies have been conserving their resources and as competitive pressure grows now is the time to fill up some of their skill gaps through acquisitions,” said Ved Prakash Chaturvedi, managing director at Tata Asset Management.

India’s top three IT firms each has a market value of between $18 billion-$27 billion and boasts a global footprint.

These exporters individually employ about 100,000 staff, mostly in low-cost India centers with manicured lawns, pizza and Subway outlets, auditoriums, fitness centres and golf carts to move around the sprawling campuses.

IBM, Accenture and Hewlett-Packard have also expanded their India-based workforce, enabling them to move more of their overseas work to these lower-cost centres.

IBM stole a march in 2004 when it swooped on Daksh, an early local backoffice outsourcer, for $170 million, and now employs over 70,000 staff in India. Accenture has over 40,000.

India’s two-decade-old IT sector already faces cut-rate competition from the bigger players and is struggling to retain experienced staff, usually lured away by global rivals.

“What might happen in the long-term is customers might work with large all-services-under-one-roof kind of vendors, which Indian vendors do not offer,” said Gartner India’s principal Read more…

Jobs Editor CMDN Hot Jobs, CMDNHotJobs.com, Career cmdnhotjobs, Increased hiring, Indian companies, Infosys, IT firms, IT industry, job hiring, Outsourcing, Tata Consultancy Services, TCS, Wipro