India's Inc average salary hike to be 9.6 per cent in 2018-19

Employees in India are likely to get an average salary hike of 9.6 per cent in the current financial year, while key talent may get as much as 14.7 per cent, according to a report.

"Salary hikes for financial year 2018-19 are expected to be in single digits at an industry average of 9.6 per cent, based on data from over 270 organisations across 18 sectors who participated in our Annual Compensation Trends Survey 2018-19," said  Vishalli Dongri, Partner & Head, People & Change Advisory Services, KPMG in India.

The survey analyses findings from over 272 companies across 18 key sectors.

The average projected increment for the year 2017-18 was 9.7 per cent, while the actual hike stood at 9.4 per cent. As many as 19.9 per cent participants saw attractive benefits as one of the top three levers for drawing talent.

Also, almost 75 per cent of organisations identify high potential employees and may offer them an average hike of 14.7 per cent, the report noted.

"Organisations across sectors have stated that one of their top HR priorities for this year is re-looking at their performance management system framework to create a sharper focus on a pay differentiation for high performers," Dongri said.
The current average variable pay projection indicates organisations’ continuing move towards paying for performance. The average variable pay projection has increased to 15.7 per cent in 2018-18 from 15.4 per cent in 2017-18.

The highest variable pay as a per cent of CTC is reported by the financial services sector reported highest variable pay as a per cent pf CTC and the lowest by NGO sector.

The report also highlights compensation trends and an important reference point on diverse aspects such as increments, benefits, employee attrition and how they are shaping up HR trends for 2018. 

(With inputs from agencies)