India Inc. on Recovery Path with 53% of Companies Increasing Headcount in 2021

Technology and healthcare to lead jobs creation in 2021

Mumbai, January 21, 2021 - Professional recruitment services firm, Michael Page India, launched the ‘Talent Trends 2021 Report’, indicating optimistic recruitment trends across industries in 2021. The new normal signals a hybrid work culture, as firms and industries across sectors work towards a healthy recovery with a renewed positive outlook
The COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted economies across Asia Pacific, including India. India entered 2020 with robust hiring activities, however, the pandemic led to a dip in hiring activities by 18% in 2020. With that said, optimism is already starting to show, with about 53% of companies in India looking to increase their headcounts in 2021.
Nicolas Dumoulin, Managing Director of Michael Page India, says, “Technology and healthcare sectors witnessed significant activity even during the lockdown phase given the sudden increase in demand for relevant talent across functions. Hiring activities among internet-based businesses such as e-commerce and educational technology (ed-tech), remained relatively robust across India and is expected to maintain the momentum in 2021 as well.”
According to the report, India projects an optimistic outlook for 2021. 60% of the employers intend to increase salaries while 55% of the companies plan to give out bonus payments with 43% of them looking to give out more than one month’s worth of bonus.
The healthcare sector is expected to see the largest percentage rise in salary at an average increase of 8%, followed by FMCG (7.6%) and E-commerce/Internet Services (7.5%). The technology boom in India has only further accelerated especially in the SaaS, health-tech, ed-tech and gaming industries with rising demand for professionals in the Artificial Learning and Machine Learning space.
Many companies have capitalised on the availability of Indian techies looking to return to India as a result of the pandemic. 74% of technology companies in India expect a 14% increase in headcount. Companies are open to considering talent remotely available and offer flexibility to the right candidate for remote working arrangements or hybrid work model.
There has been an increased demand for hiring at the leadership level in private equity, venture capital, as well as other asset classes on buy-side like credit/distressed, hedge funds, public markets and impact funds, and this trend is expected to continue in 2021. Most of the NBFCs and Fintech companies will focus on skill sets such as analytics-driven risk, digital marketing, strategy-driven portfolio management collections, alliances and partnerships. Even during the lockdown, insurance players continued to be consistent with their broader hiring plans
Start-ups examined their core businesses and retrained their focus on profitability. 68% of e-commerce companies in India expect a 12% increase in headcount in 2021. Growth in e-commerce has also led to growth of more tech enabled platforms in logistics and warehousing. Industrial warehousing has fuelled demand in real estate as well. 44% of property and construction companies in India expect headcount to increase by 10% in 2021. Essential delivery start-ups and hyperlocal start-ups grew in 2020, increasing the demand for P&L heads and product management professionals. A larger focus on M&A as well as fund raising has also enhanced the demand for respective professionals.
As companies move towards recovery the following are key trends are emerging and likely to continue in the next few years:
  • Irrespective of market conditions, candidates with the right combination of experience and soft skills will continue to demand high salaries
     
  • Contractors and temp staff will be in high demand as they offer the required flexibility in times of uncertainty
     
  • Companies will need to better define and communicate their vision and mission to prospective employees
     
  • Soft skills such as leadership, teamwork, relationship management and communication will help differentiate between good and great talent
     
  • The human side of the recruitment process such cultural fit, growth potential and evaluating soft skills will become increasingly important in relation to growth opportunities
Despite job security being a significant concern especially during the pandemic, 75% of those employed anticipate looking for new job opportunities, while another 22% remain passively open to new roles in 2021. Thus indicating, a busy and robust recruitment scenario. Remuneration and benefits will continue to remain a top consideration across sectors for prospective employees when seeking a job offer. The ‘new normal’ has posed some challenges with regards to hiring that will most likely continue in the early months of 2021.
Nicolas Dumoulin, Managing Director of Michael Page India observes, “As we see the economy moving towards recovery, companies will look at a strategy that will ensure retaining existing talent and hiring talent to bridge the skill gap, especially specialised talent in certain key growing areas in technology and healthcare. Companies will be looking at a dynamic working culture along with competitive remuneration and benefits package to attract talent. Start-ups in India, examined their core businesses and retrained their focus on profitability last year, while larger conglomerates, took the time to increase their reach and influence and establish new lines of business. This will continue in 2021.”
In addition to recruitment insights and industry analysis on the Indian job market, the report also shares new insights across the Asia Pacific market on related topics such as digital readiness, organisational structure, flexible working, leadership, performance management, and diversity and inclusion.
Across the Asia Pacific region, the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a major blow to the global economy across all sectors and markets in 2020. However, we witnessed very positive recruiting trends upward from Q2 to Q3, and Q4 versus Q3 2020. Optimism exists in 2021, as 42% of businesses in Asia Pacific said that they are already looking to increase headcount in the year.
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Editor’s note: The Michael Page India Talent Trends 2021 Report features insights and market sentiment in Asia Pacific on prominent recruitment and talent-related topics including digital readiness, organisational design, flexible work, leadership, performance management and diversity and inclusion. The results draw from a survey of 12 Asia Pacific markets, with over 5,500 businesses and 21,000 employees, of which 3,500-plus are directors or CXOs. 
About Michael Page:
PageGroup is a leading international specialist recruitment group with a market capitalisation in excess of GBP 1 billion. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange as a FTSE 250 company, and currently employ over 7700 staff with over 140 office locations in 36 countries.
Michael Page launched its India business in 2011 and currently has over 150+ specialist recruiters working on mid to senior level roles in 11 disciplines across offices in Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bengaluru.
Michael Page’s Mumbai and Bengaluru offices recruits for clients based in West and South India, while the Delhi NCR office recruits for clients based in North and East India.
The clients in India range from large multinationals and Indian conglomerates, to small and medium sized companies across Digital & Analytics, Engineering & Manufacturing, Finance & Accounting, Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Human Resources, Legal, Procurement & Supply Chain, Property & Construction, Sales & Marketing and Technology.
For more information, please contact:
PR Pundit
Kinjal Naker I +91 9892489075 I Kinjal.n@prpundit.com
Parul Bhatia I +91 7208776377 I Parul.bhatia@prpundit.com