India Inc loosens purse strings for sales, IT functions, says report

With technology and sales becoming critical functions for business continuity and recovery, the salaries that these professionals command have increased significantly with a median increment of 7.12 per cent; while for super-specialised jobs, it was over 11 per cent, according to a report.

According to the latest 'TeamLease Jobs and Salaries Primer Report 2021', while the median salary increment was 7.12 per cent, the average growth of salary for talent in IT and sales functions have been 8.55 per cent and 9.82 per cent, respectively.

As per the report, the positivity is not restricted to sales and IT functions alone, but also to super-specialised jobs that are being rewarded handsomely. Super-specialised jobs have commanded a salary increment of over 11 per cent.

The 'Jobs and Salaries Primer' is an annual report from TeamLease Services Ltd that analyses the hiring and salary trends across industries. The latest edition has taken into consideration the salary payouts of over 2,63,000 candidates across 17 sectors and nine cities.

However, a significant number of profiles across sectors are still under the scrutiny for increments and fall in de-growth or stagnant (0-3 per cent) category.

Out of the 17 sectors studied, only three seem to have been generous on hikes. The three sectors where the salaries have witnessed a 10 per cent growth are BFSI (banking, financial services & insurance), healthcare & allied industries, and information technology & knowledge services.

Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and executive vice-president of TeamLease Services, said, "Though employers are still cautiously optimistic, they are trying to minimise the COVID-19 gloom and are correspondingly making pay decisions. But, what is standing out is the trend of betting big on skills that will help them to ensure business continuity while fostering a spirit of innovation and growth."

Out of the 350 job roles surveyed, 35 have stood the test of COVID-19 and have seen a healthy salary growth of more than eight per cent. In fact, some of these profiles are expected to continue to witness a healthy growth in 2021-22 as well, the report said.

"The biggest testimony of this is the increments that India Inc is willing to dole out to the hot and super-specialised job roles.

"While the median salary growth is 7.12 per cent, industries are willing to offer 11 per cent and more to the hot as well as super-specialised jobs, respectively," Chakraborty added.

The report further noted the growing pay parity between temporary and permanent profiles. In almost all sectors, the salary variance between permanent and temporary job profiles is down to less than 5 per cent.

A detailed analysis of workplace practices and its corresponding impact on the demand and payouts for roles, the report indicates that more and more businesses seem to be leveraging work from home as a solution.

In fact, the number of sectors that have benefitted from Work From Home arrangements has grown significantly from three in the last edition of the report to five in the current edition, it said.