Looks like most Indian CHROs will prefer to take on candidates based on their skill fit rather than their experience or any other factor. Also, most HR leaders will focus on the physical and mental well-being of their employees more than anything else this year. When it came to choosing between skill, experience or salary fitment, 55 per cent of the 867 CHROs who participated in the survey said they would give preference to skill fitment. According to the TimesJobs survey, 30 per cent of the respondents said they would prefer candidate experience, while 15 per cent seemed to prefer salary fitment while hiring this year.
The CXOs and HR leaders of India’s top 200 companies were part of the survey. Sanjay Goyal, business head, TimesJobs and TechGig, points out that candidates need to update their skills to remain relevant, because “about 55 per cent of HR leaders stated that they are looking for relevant skills rather than reams of data that is cited as ‘experience’.” This is an important lesson driven home by the pandemic. “Only cutting edge and savvy skills help survive the toughest business scenarios,” he explained.
The Survey revealed that about 39 per cent HR leaders plan to hire fresh talent in 2021. Very few leaders were keen to promote candidates internally or rehire those who were laid off during the pandemic.
It was also learnt that most companies were planning to give 5-25 per cent increments to employees. About 74 per cent HR leaders said they would roll out the annual increments this year. Out of these, while about 63 per cent said that they would offer increments between 5-25 per cent. About 22 per cent HR leaders said that they expect the salary increments to be less than five per cent. Hardly 10 per cent of those surveyed believe that the increment will be around 25-75 per cent.
The Automobiles sector is a being a little cautious, with only 37 per cent HR leaders there planning to hire this year. On the other hand, a significant 54 per cent of the HR leaders in the IT sector, 42 per cent in the retail space, and 45 per cent in the BFSI space were keen to hire.
The top profiles companies will be hiring for, include operations (35 per cent), sales/business development (30 per cent), marketing (22 per cent), production & manufacturing (16 per cent), supply chain & logistics (14 per cent), technology / IT (11 per cent) and quality control (four per cent).
The main focus for HR in 2021 will be the physical and mental wellbeing of employees. A good 39 per cent of the HR leaders said that the mental and physical wellbeing of their employees will be their priority. Twenty-nine per cent said they would encourage employees to upskilling, while 22 per cent said they would introduce new employee benefits.
