IT companies use biz uptick to reward staff

IT companies use biz uptick to reward staff

Shilpa.Phadnis@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:12.05.2021 

Many IT companies are giving a second round of salary increases and promotions within months of the previous one. Last year’s salary increment had initially been deferred on account of the pandemic and business downturn. But as business picked up in the second half of the year, increments were given with effect from late last calendar year or early this year. Now, with intense competition for talent, companies are rewarding employees again.

Accenture India, which has over 2 lakh employees, had its annual December increments, bonuses and promotions, and an added round of promotions in February this year. “In April, all our people up through associate director level received a one-time ‘thank you bonus’ equal to one week of base pay for their contributions during this difficult year. Additionally, we have expanded our annual mid-year promotions this coming June to include managing directors — a first in our company’s history — as one more way we continue to create new opportunities for our people,” Accenture India told TOI. In December last year, Accenture globally promoted 605 people to MD, and 63 people to senior MD, including a record percentage of women.

Infosys EVP & HR head Richard Lobo said its second compensation review cycle for the year is under way. It had given increments effective January, after having put them on hold for most of the last fiscal. It is doing another review based on last year’s performance, and the salary hike based on this will be effective July. Both compensation reviews are applicable to employees across levels. The quantum of hike is a factor of role and performance. The two increments together will be 10-14%, in an otherwise languid pay market.

Infosys’s move follows that of TCS, which too gave hikes within a six-month gap. TCS has given increments to all associates across geographies effective April. Sources told TOI that many senior employees received hikes in the range of 6-8%, higher than normal.

Wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte said in the latest earnings call that measures are in place to ensure the supply chain does not slow its pace of growth and it includes the rollout of “much-deserved” salary increases for his senior colleagues in June. The quantum of the hikes is yet to be decided. Salary hikes for employees in band C1 (managers and above) that was due in June last year had been deferred. But the company paid out 100% variable pay to all employees in each of the past three quarters because of business pick-up.

HCL, which normally gives salary increments effective July, had deferred it by one quarter last year. But this year it expects to return to the regular cycle. “On average, we rolled out 7-8% hikes last year, but those were higher at the bottom of the pyramid,” chief HR officer Apparao V V said.

Harshvendra Soin, global chief people officer in Tech Mahindra, said it recently completed the appraisal cycle and has announced salary hikes, in line with the industry, with effect from April 1. “The letters are being rolled out. We have also introduced retention bonus for key talent and have announced skill-based allowances for associates with niche skills and projectbased bonuses,” he said.

With competition for talent increasing, companies are rewarding employees again