The Next High-Stakes Quest Balancing Employer and Employee Priorities

2012-2013Global Talent Management and Rewards Study India Report

The Next High-Stakes QuestBalancing Employer and Employee Priorities

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Attraction and Retention Trends 5

Drivers of Attraction and Retention 6

Trends in Hiring and Attrition 6

Talent Mobility 6

Employee Value Proposition and Total Rewards 7

Rewards 8

Use of Social Media 9

Conclusion 10

About the Study 11

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Introduction

Figure 1. Macro-economic environment affecting both employers and employees

Employer Challenges Employee Concerns

Intense pressure to maintain costs

Additional reasons they join - job security and career development opportunities - a challenge given volatile business conditions

Not readily able to meet employee preferences for job and financial security

Top reason they join and leave - base pay - mismatch with organisational cost management

Pressure to increase productivity Working more hours than usual and don’t expect that to change

Talent skills misaligned with company needs

Leaders are ill-equipped in this new enviornment

Maintain a Total Rewards portfolio that is both competitive and part of a compelling employement deal

May not have appropriate skills/training (or access to training) for available roles

Doubts about leadership; lack of trust and confidence and perceived lack of interest in employee well-being

Stress and anxiety about the future are common; decisions to stay driven by quality of work experience overall

In today’s volatile global economy, we are seeing massive movements in economies, workforce demand and availability, and new issues confronting employers. Along with accelerating changes in talent markets and workforce demographics that affect how employers find and keep employees, cost challenges continue to play a major role. In fact, for many companies it has never been more important to get the balance between employer and employee priorities right.

Towers Watson’s 2012 Talent Management and Rewards Survey findings highlight a prescription for organisations to realise healthier financial results, improved employee engagement, and an easier time attracting and retaining people with the skills they need, while workers get what they need.

Headline: 17/20 White Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Attraction and Retention Trendsip

AP Developed

AP Overall

Global

India

Critical Skill Employees

High PotentialEmployees

Top PerformingEmployees

Recent University Graduates

71%

70%

18%59%60%

84%

79% 45%64% 24%

60% 60% 27%

80% 79% 22%

92% 86% 84% 29%

Global

AP Overall

AP Developed

AP Fast-growing

India

56%

70%

58%

75%

86%

54%

67%

51%

75%

80%

50%

64%

50%

71%

77%

20%

26%

19%

29%

56%

Figure 3. Percentage of organisations experiencing retention problems

Figure 2. Percentage of organisations experiencing attraction problems

Consistently around the world, nearly three in four organisations report moderate to great challenges attracting critical-skill employees and more than half report difficulty retaining them. Despite growth rates moderating and a large workforce, 92% of Indian employers report challenges in attracting critical-skill employees as compared to the global average of 71%. Retaining critical-skill employees too remains a concern as 86% Indian companies report challenges retaining them as compared to the global average of 56%. On recent university graduates, the survey finds that there has been some improvement in attracting this segment of employees but retaining them continues to be a challenge area. Over half the Indian companies reported challenges retaining recent graduates as compared to the global average of 20%.

Recent University Graduates

Top PerformingEmployees

High PotentialEmployees

Critical Skill Employees

AP Fast growing

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Drivers of Attraction and RetentionWhile considering a potential employer, employees in India value job security over career advancement opportunities (ranked 2nd) and base pay/salary (ranked 3rd). Employers too seem to have caught on to the pulse of the employees and at the same time give due weightage to providing a challenging work environment. On retention drivers, there seems better alignment between employee and employer, although employers overvalue a few items relative to employees. Particularly in India, both view base pay and career advancement opportunities as the key drivers followed closely by convenience of work location and learning and development opportunities. India fared better than the regional and global counterparts in providing improved career advancement opportunities in sync with the employee’s top attraction and retention drivers. Sixty three per cent Indian employers felt that over the past 12 months career advancement opportunities for most employees in their organisation had improved as compared to the global and AP overall average of 39% and 42% respectively.

Trends in Hiring and AttritionForty one percent of Indian employers have opined that attrition levels have reduced over the past 12 months as compared to the AP average of 25% and global average of 19%. While 58% of India employers said hiring activity had increased in the past 12 months, 48% in AP and 51% globally felt likewise.

Talent MobilityAccording to the 2012 Global Talent Mobility Study by Towers Watson and workforce mobility association Worldwide ERC®, over the next two to three years, nearly half the multinationals surveyed expect to increase traditional international assignments. Because of the many talent mobility challenges organisations face, they need to balance their selection priorities. For example, almost seven in 10 employers (69%) globally cite prohibitive costs as a major challenge, while more than half mention high housing

costs (55%) or cost-of-living allowances (51%). Indian companies have evidently taken the lead over their global counterparts when it comes to formally identifying employees who are internationally mobile, developing special programmes to promote international mobility and training managers to manage cross-cultural teams. Further, 74% of India companies said employees in their organisation work together as a team with colleagues from different countries or cultures as compared to the AP average of 58% and global average of 65 per cent.

The New Normal - working and doing more with less in the workplace

Globally, employees have been expected to work longer and rest less and this trend seems likely to continue. Just over a quarter of the employers surveyed in India said employees have taken less vacation/personal time off in the past 3 years and expect employees will work more hours than normal over the next three years.

Employees have been working more hours than normal in the past 3 years

Global: 53%

India: 38%

Expect employees will work more hours than normal next three years

Global: 43%

India: 28%

Stable hiring and moderate turnover in India has been instrumental in creating a stable work environment in spite of the economic pressures of inflation and lowered rates of GDP growth

92%Indian employers report challenges in attracting critical-skill employees, while

86%report challenges retaining them

Document Title 7

My organisation has a formally articulated

employee value proposition (EVP) My organisation has a formally articulated total rewards strategy My organisation articulates specific objectives for each talent management and reward programme that are aligned with our EVP

Our business strategy and objectives inform the talent management and reward programmes at my organisation

My organisation modifies our total reward programme to appeal to employees in different generations

Global AP Overall AP Developed

AP Fast-Growing India

35%

51%

27%

47%

22%

39% 26% 46% 42%

51%

34%

45%

29%

33%

19%

32%

26%

58%

41%

51%

30%

56%

45%

59%

44%

Employee Value Proposition and Total Rewards

Part of the solution, for companies and workers alike, lies in the articulation and execution of a strategically designed employee value proposition (EVP). A formal EVP and associated total rewards strategy will support the attraction, retention and engagement levels among employees needed to drive business success.

The EVP is still a relatively new concept for many organisations, but Towers Watson research clearly indicates the return on investment from taking the critical first steps associated with articulating a formal EVP and total rewards strategy. This year’s research highlights that Indian organisations are taking a lead in design and delivery of their Total Reward promises with a considerable effort on modifying the programmes to suit different generations.

In terms of effectiveness of the EVP - 40% of participants globally see their EVP as clearly aligned with their market. Yet, only 20% agreed that their EVPs are clearly differentiated. In India, these numbers are 54% and 33% respectively. Also, 41% participants in India see their organisation communicating the EVP well and 43% participants have seen their organisation deliver on their EVP over the last three years.

The survey also finds that Indian companies are increasingly adopting workforce segmentation. Eighty five per cent companies in India have adopted formal ways of identifying top talent as compared to 72% globally. Companies are also increasingly segmenting their high potential employees and identifying employees with critical skills as a part of their talent management programmes.

As employers endeavour to deliver profitable growth in a period of economic volatility, their focus needs to be on crafting and communicating an EVP that helps to attract and retain employees with critical skills and engageall workers by striking a reasonable balance between employee and employer needs. Achieving these objectiverequires focusing scarce programme resources on the key drivers of sustainable engagement and sharpening and differentiating the organisation’s EVP across employee segments.

Figure 4. Percentage of organisations agreeing with the following statements

Global AP Fast Growing

AP Developed

APOverall India

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Our organisation does a good job communicating the EVP to employees Our organisation’s EVP is clearly aligned with what we stand for in the marketplace

Our organisation has done a good job delivering on the EVP over the past three years The EVP at our organisation is clearly different from other organisations with whom we compete for talent

Our organisation has designed customised EVPs for critical employee segments

The EVP at our organisation varies in different geographies or business units

28%

39%

31%

22%

19%

23%

32% 18% 37% 41%

40% 29% 44% 54%

28%

25%

22%

28%

19%

15%

12%

20%

32%

29%

26%

31%

43%

41%

33%

34%

GlobalAP Overall

AP Developed

AP Fast-Growing India

RewardsEmployers in India believe that their employees understand how their base pay is determined and feel that managers need to execute the base pay programme better. They also see the base pay programme as supporting the desired culture and their attraction and retention goals.

Compared to their global and AP counterparts, Merit Pay increases for India are higher but the annual bonus plans are not as differentiating.

Employees who did not meet expectations

Employees who partially met expectations

Employees who met expectations

Employees who exceeded expectations

Employees who far exceeded expectations

Overall merit increase

DistributionMerit increase% of salary

ActualSTIFunding

Target STIFunding

DistributionMerit increase% of salary

Target STIFunding

ActualSTIFunding

DistributionMerit increase% of salary

Target STIFunding

ActualSTIFunding

5 550 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

10 1 50 50 9.5 3 55 50 10 5 52.5 50

59 3 100 100 57 8 100 100 55 10 100 100

11020 5 115 110 19 11 115 115 20 14 110

7 7 130 126 9.5 15 135 130 10 18 120 120

100 3 - - 100 9 - - 100 12 - -

AP Overall India

Figure 5. Percentage of organisations agreeing with the following statements

Figure 6. Performance-based rewards: Differentiation by individual

Global AP Overall AP Developed

AP Fast-Growing India

Global

Document Title 9

Employees at my organisation are making greater use of social business/collaboration tools

Employees at my organisation who use social business/collaboration tools are more productive

Employees at my organisation are using social business/collaboration tools to work together more effectively

Global AP Overall AP DevelopedAP Fast-growing India

44%

36%

24%

44%

30%

42%

32%

27%

30%

49%

32%

47%

48%

26%

37%

Use of Social Media: Prevalence and impactFast growing countries in the AP region are using social business/collaboration tools more than companies in other regions. Forty-eight per cent participants in India reported increased use of social media.

Figure 7. Percentage of organisations agreeing with the following statements

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ConclusionRough economic terrain and global employment competition will present all types of challenges for employers in the years ahead and cost pressures are likely to be intense for some time to come. But savvy players will tackle the hard work of getting their EVP and total rewards strategy right — because the rewards are demonstrable, significant and sustainable.

In the high-stakes quest to find, keep and highly engage the right workforce, the EVP can be an effective

tool in creating the right balance between employee preferences and employer needs — leading to stronger overall performance and improved financial outcomes. Organisations willing to drive the design, delivery and differentiation of their EVP forward can create a successful future for both the organisation and its employees.

Towers Watson21 Tothill StreetWestminster London SW1H 9LL

Cert no. SGS-COC-O620

Towers Watson is represented in the UK by Towers Watson Limited, Towers Watson UK Limited and Towers Watson Capital Markets Limited.

Towers Watson Limited, Towers Watson UK Limited and Towers Watson Capital Markets Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Towers Watson Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

The information in this publication is of general interest and guidance. Action should not be taken on the basis of any article without seeking specific advice.

To unsubscribe, email eu.unsubscribe@towerswatson.com with the publication name as the subject and include your name, title and company address.

Copyright © 2010 Towers Watson. All rights reserved.TW-EU-2010-00000. Month 2010.

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Towers Watson’s 2012 Talent Management and Rewards Survey was fielded between the end of April and the first week of June 2012. In total, 1,605 respondents from across the globe participated. There were a total of 89 participants from India across sectors and industries. The research documents companies’ efforts to tackle the hard work of fine-tuning their employee value proposition (EVP) and total rewards strategy for global competition — and the demonstrable, significant and sustainable rewards of doing so.

Asia Pacific (AP) Fast Growing countries include - China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Asia Pacific (AP) Developed countries include - Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan

About the Study

Towers Watson21 Tothill StreetWestminster London SW1H 9LL

Cert no. SGS-COC-O620

Towers Watson is represented in the UK by Towers Watson Limited, Towers Watson UK Limited and Towers Watson Capital Markets Limited.

Towers Watson Limited, Towers Watson UK Limited and Towers Watson Capital Markets Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Towers Watson Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

The information in this publication is of general interest and guidance. Action should not be taken on the basis of any article without seeking specific advice.

To unsubscribe, email eu.unsubscribe@towerswatson.com with the publication name as the subject and include your name, title and company address.

Copyright © 2010 Towers Watson. All rights reserved.TW-EU-2010-00000. Month 2010.

towerswatson.com