B-schools expecting 5-10% rise in pay packages this placement season

With the final placement season kicking in, premier management institutes are anticipating a 5-10 per cent rise in packages on the back of improved job profiles.

Profiles in analytics, data science, and consulting have improved over the past few years, thereby pushing up the annual cost-to-company.

“We have been constantly improving the course to make the students industry ready,” said Uday Damodaran, chairperson-placements, XLRI-Xavier School of Management. The hike in packages is expected to hover around 5-10 per cent for the business school.

Sources at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) also reiterated XLRI’s views that packages have risen on the back of improved profiles. 

At IIFT, several companies such as Go-MMT, EXL Service, OYO, Paytm, and UnitedHealth Group have offered coveted roles, including product manager, revenue manager, and analytics manager, among others.

Better profiles have meant better packages, with IIFT attracting the highest international salary of $150,000 (approximately Rs 10 million) made by global agri-business firm Olam International, even as several other students received compensation of over Rs 7.5 million per annum from other recruiters. 

STUDY IN PROGRESS
Profiles in analytics, data science, and consulting have improved over the past few years, thereby pushing up the annual CTC

           INDIAN iNSTITUTE OF FOREIGN TRADE

• Rs 2 million this year: Average annual compensation package rose by 4%, from Rs 1.92 million last year. Average domestic salaries rose to Rs 1.89 million per annum this year
   
• Legacy recruiters: Go-MMT, EXL Service, OYO, Paytm, UnitedHealth Group
  
  JAMNALAL BAJAJ INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES 
   
• Rs 1.8 million: Average compensation offered. The highest offer was Rs 3 million
   
• Legacy recruiters: Abbott, Accenture Strategy, Axis Securities, Citibank, Goldman Sachs

The average annual compensation packages at IIFT rose by 4 per cent, from Rs 1.92 million last year to Rs 2 million this year, while average domestic salaries rose marginally from last year’s Rs 1.83 million per annum to Rs 1.89 million per annum this year. 

One of the leading sectors at IIFT’s final placements this year was the consulting domain, wherein top-tier strategy consulting firm Roland Berger visited the campus for the first time and made multiple offers for front-end roles.

Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, which will begin its placement in January, has also increased the number of campus corporate engagements, guest lectures, and competitions this year to attract better offers as compared to last year. The average compensation offered at the college this year was Rs 1.8 million, while the highest offer was Rs 3 million. Some of the legacy recruiters such as Abbott, Accenture Strategy, Axis Securities, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs are expected to make hirings this year too.

Xavier Institute of Management-Bhubaneswar (XIM-B) has also recorded a slight rise in the number of offers from recruiters for its business management programme of the 2017-2019 batch. The graduating batch has 360 students.

The number of recruiters, so far, is on a rising trend, compared to the previous years. “The reason for inviting more companies to campus recruitment for the passing-out batch is only to get diversified profiles for students. Job offers in the consultancy sectors had dominated the placement seasons in the last two years. This year, fast-moving consumer goods companies are coming up with more offers for students,” said a source.

The recruiters at XIM-B have opened their doors in strategic-based profiles, apart from traditional roles of business analysts, risk analysts, and senior consultants, to name a few.