Indian tech firms are expected to hike salaries of employees by 60-120 percent next year to attract and retain the talent with niche technology skills, according to staffing services providers.

Companies prefer employees such as full-stack engineers, data scientists, data engineers and backend engineers.

Kamal Karanth, cofounder, Xpheno says, “the war of wages put the negotiating power back into the candidates hands. Talent with niche digital skill sets in demand across enterprises saw a sharp rise in valuation and resultant remuneration changes.”

“This demand is likely to persist in next year, till enterprises create an organic talent pool and up skill workers, which would typically take six-eight quarters. The demand for digital talent will remain for sure, as more GCCs (Global Capability Centres) are lined up to set shop, more start-ups are getting funded, and IT services companies are winning more deals. The demand pipeline for digital talent is healthy and seen enlarging as we step into 2022 and kick-start the closing quarter for the current fiscal year,” Karanth adds.

Startups which have raised funds recently are like to roll out the highest offers for 50-120 percent depending on the role.

IT firms and GCCs are likely to offer in the range of 5-14 percent for same skills.
While the demand for skills will remain high, other niche skills are likely to acquire popularity next year.

Vijay Sivaram, CEO,Quess says, “increased investments in areas like Artificial Intelligence, Cloud, security, and engineering will be among the top technology drivers for 2022.”

Siva Prasad Nanduri, VP and business head, TeamLease Digital says, “it is mostly digital skills that will be in demand, as spending on digital has increased over the (Covid-19) pandemic.”

“This isn’t restricted to any one industry or sector, and demand is across organisations, barring small and medium enterprises.” adds Nanduri.

Sivaram,Quess says, “organisations will need to focus on a long-term, sustainable strategy to overcome the acute talent crunch. Emphasizing progressive work culture, highlighting exciting career growth opportunities, meeting candidate needs and motivators, and bringing job meaningfulness are some facets of this recruitment effort.”