Stung by weak demand and falling sales, handset makers on the other hand are expected to give hikes in the 8-10% range, though some of the larger ones may give increments up to 13%, staffing firm executives added.
The 5G roll out is expected to play a major role for telecom companies while deciding the hikes as two of three private telcos continue aggressive roll out of their respective services. As a result, both technical and sales profiles will be given hikes, though executives in the former are believed to get slightly higher increments.
“Technical profiles are expected to get increments in the range of 10-18% while those in sales and support profiles should see increments in the 10-12% range,” said RP Yadav, chairman and managing director, Genius Consultants, a Kolkata-based staffing firm.
The ongoing war for talent among telecom and tech companies for engineering profiles related to specialisation like 5G and artificial intelligence is likely to have an impact on the hikes given out to individuals with these skills as well.
“Profiles like cloud (engineering), AI/ML, IoT and 5G are likely to get higher increments in the backdrop of 5G roll out. These profiles find fungibility at telcos and equipment vendors and so companies would want to retain them, also contributing to slightly higher hikes for these profiles,” said Kartik Narayan, chief executive-staffing at TeamLease Services.
He further offered that while tech and telecom companies have been vying for the same talent pool for the past couple of years, with 5G roll out underway, even equipment vendors to telcos are competing for the same professionals, further increasing the chance of poaching.The fact that telcos are currently in customer retention and acquisition mode will also play a role in deciding the hikes this year, added Yeshab Giri, chief commercial officer, staffing and Randstad Technologies, Randstad India.
“Salary increments have remained just under 10%, especially for mid-level professionals. We anticipate hike percentages to be slightly more attractive as we move ahead into 2023,” he said.
The increments are expected to roll out between April and June, depending on individual company calendars.
Staffing executives say despite the financial duress it finds itself in, Vodafone Idea will give out hikes to key employee profiles, with overall average increase in the 8-10% range to be competitive enough to retain employees.
“The company will need to retain some profiles to ensure operations are not impacted. So even if it’s not doing great financially, it cannot afford to not give hikes,” an industry executive said.
ET’s emails to top telcos Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea went unanswered at press time.
Dragged by weak sales, handset makers may see a muted year when it comes to hikes. Hiring executives though expect this to change once 5G roll out picks pace and smartphone shipments pick up.
