One of the ‘biggest’ annual syndicated study tracking employment trends, employee engagement cycle and corporate perceptions among the white collar employees in India

1. India Employee Speak 2007

2. Current HR Trends
India Employee Speak
2007
Current HR Trends

3. India Employee Speak 2007
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4. Current HR Trends

5. India Employee Speak 2007
Table of contents
India Employee Speak 2007 ............................................. 1
India Employee Speak 2007 Reports ................................... 2
Methodology ............................................................... 3
Executive Summary ...................................................... 5
Key Findings ............................................................... 7
Detailed Findings-
Current Terms of Employment ........................................21
Age at First Job ..........................................................23
Total Work Experience .................................................26
Number of Jobs Held....................................................29
Proportion Who Moved Jobs with a Promotion .....................32
Total Work Experience .................................................35
Average Tenure per Job ................................................37
Tenure with Current Company ........................................38
Demographic Profile ....................................................43
Socio-Economic Profile .................................................62
Segment Wise Detailed Tables ........................................64

6. Current HR Trends

7. India Employee Speak 2007
India Employee
Speak 2007
India Employee Speak 2007 is one of the largest survey based annual HR
studies on the latest ‘white collar’ HR trends and corporate perceptions
in India.
The study attempts to uncover the HR trends in all types of industry
segments and companies. It not only profiles the work experience
details and current job satisfaction levels of those currently employed
but also uncovers job aspirations and expectations of those who aspire
to be employed soon. The study also delves into the job search
behavior and preferences of both the currently employed as well as the
prospective ‘white collar’ employees.
The India Employee Speak 2007 reports are designed to provide you
with:
Insightful understanding of key current HR trends and issues in the
white collar world - employment terms, average tenures, salary
levels and benefits, employee expectations, satisfaction levels,
improvements desired, etc.
Comparative trends - by industry segments, sectors, size of
companies, job functions, hierarchy levels, etc.
Expected future trends - based on current aspirations and
intentions of employees and prospective employees.
Employee expectations and aspirations – employee speak on good
job content, HR policies, corporate reputations, etc.
Job search dynamics – active versus passive search, preferred
search methods, preferred job search intermediaries (both offline
and online) and their perceptions.
Corporate brand perceptions - attractiveness of companies on key
corporate image parameters and key HR parameters (both at the
overall level as well as at the industry level).
Demographic and socio-economic statistics on current and potential
while collar employees.
1

8. Current HR Trends
India Employee
Speak 2007 Reports
Main Reports
Current white collar employment trends and practices
Current job search behavior and preferences
Current employee expectations, motivations, satisfaction and
desired improvements
Current company perceptions on key corporate and HR parameters
Possible Supplementary Reports
Category Reports ∗ (examples)-
Industry specific (IT/ITES, Consumer Goods, Consumer Services,
industrial Goods, Banking/Finance)
Function specific (Marketing, Finance/Accounts, Admin & General
Management, IT)
Segment Reports ∗ (examples)-
Women (vis-à-vis men)
Qualified professionals (vis-à-vis general qualification ones)
Corporate employees on the net
Fresher (vis-à-vis the working ones)
∗
depending on the sufficiency of sample size of relevant respondents
2

9. India Employee Speak 2007
Methodology
The India Employee Speak 2007 study findings are based on a very large
sample base of over 16,500 current and prospective employees
surveyed online in April-May 2007. The online surveys were conducted
through an e-mailer campaign undertaken by a leading generic portal in
India among their opted-in and active email users, as well as banner
and text ads using Google Ad Sense (contextual search ads).
The online survey was conducted using an e-questionnaire segmented
into three sections. In the online questionnaire, a response format of
‘clicking’ a single or multiple options among the various given options
was used for most questions. For each of these questions it was also
possible for a respondent to answer ‘none’ or ‘any other’. However, all
perceptions, associations and recall based answers were collected
‘unprompted’ and respondents were asked to type in the name of the
company in a ‘text box’ provided for the purpose.
To enlist complete and sincere responses, an incentive of a significant
cash prize was also announced to be given to one randomly selected
respondent at the end of the survey.
The questionnaire was pre-tested and timed to take approximately 20
minutes (± 5 minutes) for a respondent to complete depending on the
speed of comprehension and answering of the questions. The
questionnaire was structured and designed to reduce the level of
‘respondent fatigue’ to an extent that was practically possible.
Over 16,500 unduplicated and clean responses were collected from the
online survey campaign in about 4 weeks time. The responses covered
employees of over 4,765 companies of various sizes from all types of
industry segments, sectors, job functions and hierarchy levels. These
respondents came from over 2, 975 unique universities and educational
institute alumni.
Table 1: Sample sizes achieved in the online survey
Employment Profile Sample Size %
Salaried employees 9,000 55%
Completed studies but unemployed 1,315 8%
Students 3,232 20%
Others (self-employed, business owners, retired) 2,772 17%
Total Sample 16,319 100%
The collected data was then made representative of the urban Indian
population by using appropriate 'demographic multipliers’ using highly
authentic Govt. of India population statistics. The weights were derived
using 4 highly employment relevant demographic parameters – age,
socio-economic classification (SEC), town class and region.
The end result is that the findings possibly represent the 'white collar'
employment and HR trends of over 160 million urban Indians (almost
3

10. Current HR Trends
half of the total urban Indian population of around 336 million in
2007 1). Further, the findings represent and effectively cover urban
Indians from all SEC groups, all age groups above 18 years, all income
groups and all types of town classes (right down to 20,000 population
size level towns).
Table 2: Urban population representation of the survey sample data
2
Demographic Attributes Study Respondent Profile Actual Urban Population
Below 18 years Not included in study NA
18-24 years 38% 33%
Age Distribution 25-35 years 25% 27%
36-45 years 19% 18%
Above 45 years 18% 22%
SEC - A 17% 9%
Socio Economic SEC – B 31% 18%
Classification SEC - C 52% 25%
SEC – D & E Not included in study 48%
Up to 1 Lakh 25% 31%
City Type by 1-5 Lakhs 9% 27%
Population Size 5-30 Lakhs 40% 25%
Above 30 Lakhs 26% 17%
North 23% 24%
Region-wise East 13% 15%
Distribution South 32% 29%
West 32% 32%
The occupational break up of over 160 million urban Indians as
represented in this study is as follows:
Salaried employees - 52% - 83 million
Completed studies but unemployed - 5% - 8 million
Students - 27% - 43 million
Self-employed - 8% - 13 million
Business owners - 4% - 6.5 million
Retired - 4% - 6.5 million
Total - 100% - 160 million
The study broadly represents employment profiles, status, preferences,
and job search behavior and company perceptions of 83 million white
collar salaried employees. It further covers employment preferences,
job search behavior and corporate perceptions of 51 million
‘prospective’ white collar employees. Lastly it includes corporate
perceptions of additional 26 million important ‘influencers’ in the
employment market (retired employees, self-employed individuals and
business owners).
1
Estimate by Indicus Analytics, a leading economic research firm in India. The
estimates have been derived using Census 2001 population data extrapolated to
year 2007 using decadal population growth numbers.
2
Same as 1
4

11. India Employee Speak 2007
Executive Summary
Full time employment is the norm among urban white-collar
employees – only 2% hold part-time positions. Interestingly, the
incidence of part-time jobs is slightly higher among those working in
NGOs, IT, Consumer Services and Banking/Finance jobs and also in
Emerging Towns.
Females constitute about one-tenth of the urban white-collar
workforce. The gender ratio improves in the IT, Consumer Services and
Consumer Good industries as well as in the Private sector and in NGOs.
Female employees are also relatively more common in HRs, Office
Administration and Accounts /Finance roles and in Metros.
The typical employee is middle-aged at 36.3 years. While less than
one-fifth of the employee base is below 25 years, over a third is 25-35
years old and the majority viz. nearly half the workforce is above 35
years of age. Those employed in the Private sector, working in IT,
Consumer Goods and Healthcare industries are relatively younger.
About 2-in-5 are from relatively smaller towns. If Metros and Urban
Uptowns account for 58% of the urban white-collar workforce, the
Emerging Towns and Other Towns account for a sizeable 42%. In fact
while Public Sector employees largely originate from the smaller towns
(73%), employees of NGOs are primarily from Metros (76%) and the
Private Sector has a sizeable contribution from Metros and Urban
Uptowns (59%).
Only 1-in-5 holds a ‘professional’ educational degree. In fact
‘professional’ stream post-graduates number even fewer at 1-in-10. The
clear majority, 66%, has either not pursued an under-graduate degree
or has done so in a general stream. The incidence of ‘professional’
employees is higher in IT, Healthcare, Core Industries and in the HR
function.
The socio-economic profile is largely commonplace - only 1-in-5
belongs to the ‘premium’ stratum. A minority, 21%, belongs to SEC A
and a similar proportion claims monthly household income levels of
Rs.30,000 or more. This also gets reiterated by the low ownership of
cars (23%) and credit cards (41%).
The average age for entering the white-collar workforce is 23 years.
While nearly a third starts working when they turn 20 years old or even
earlier, the majority does so only later. This offers an explanation for
the fairly ‘old’ age profile of the average employee. The initiation age
is slightly lower (22 years)among those who belong to Metros /Urban
Uptowns, those who have not pursued higher education post schooling
and for those engaged in Office Administration functions or in the
Government sector.
Experience runs high with the average work experience adding up to
13 years. This ties up with the aforementioned age profile and is also
5

12. Current HR Trends
not surprising since over half (51%) the employees have work
experience of 10 years or more and about a fourth (26%)have been in
the workforce for at least 2 decades!
The work experience is higher among those engaged in
Marketing/Communication Services or Core Industries and those in the
Office Administration function. Among the town classes, the work
experience of those in smaller towns is relatively higher (13.3 years
compared to 10.8 years among Metro employees). On the other hand,
those working in the Private sector especially in the IT sector have
lower work experience.
The average number of jobs held is 2.7 although 1-in-4 has held 4 or
more jobs. While half the workforce has held 1 or 2 jobs, the balance
has held at least 3 jobs. The number of jobs held is relatively higher
among Private sector employees, among those engaged in Consumer
Goods, Consumer Services, Core Industries, Healthcare and those in the
HR function. Employees in larger towns have held more jobs on an
average than their counterparts in smaller towns.
While the typical tenure with the current company is 7.7 years, the
average tenure per job is significantly lower at 4.7 years. The length
of the tenure varies interestingly across the various segments. Those
employed in Marketing/ Communication Service, Banking/ Finance,
Core Industries or engaged in Accounts/ Finance or Administrative
functions tend to stick on longer in their jobs while those the Private
sector especially in IT industries and those engaged in Marketing,
Design/ Creative functions change relatively jobs faster. Employees in
small towns also show a relatively higher average tenure per job.
Over half the workforce earns up to Rs.2 lacs annually and the
average annual package is roughly Rs.2.6 lacs. Packages are relatively
better among Private Sector companies, among Core Industries and in
the IT, HRs and Accounts/Finance functions. Surprisingly, employees in
Urban Uptowns and Other towns have higher salary and benefits
packages on an average than their counterparts in Metros.
Most aspire for jobs in the Private Sector especially in Core
Industries and IT companies. This could be partly on account of the
higher salary packages drawn by employees in the Private Sector and in
these industries. The Private Sector is specially sought after by those in
Government jobs. The majority would move out of Healthcare,
Marketing and Consumer Services industries if given a choice. IT and
Core Industries not only top the list of aspired industries overall but
also have the highest ‘loyalty’ in terms of proportion of employees
voting for their current industry.
Bonus, HRA and Medical Reimbursement are the most sought after
company benefits. Nearly 3-in-4 employees aspire for these benefits.
Employer’s contribution to Provident Fund and LTA are lower in the
list. Driver allowance, Company leased car and Stock Options – which
are currently fairly rare benefits- are also desired by a sizeable
proportion of employees.
6

13. India Employee Speak 2007
Key Findings
Full time employment is the norm among white collar
employees – only 2% hold part-time positions
Interestingly, the incidence of part-time jobs is slightly higher among
those working in NGOs (11%), IT (5%), Consumer Services (4%) and
Banking/Finance (4%) jobs and also in Emerging Towns (3%).
Part-time jobs are also somewhat more common among the latest
entrants to the workforce – About 6% of those with experience of less
than a year, have a part-time/apprenticeship arrangement with their
employer.
Full-time Part time Apprenticeship / Internship
2.0% 0.4%
97.6%
Females constitute about one-tenth of the urban white-collar
workforce
Males dominate the white-collar ‘employee-scape’ with a whopping 89%
share.
M ale Female
89%
90%
60%
30%
11%
0%
All white collar
7

14. Current HR Trends
The gender ratio improves in the IT, Consumer Services and Consumer
Good industries as well as in the Private sector and in NGOs.
Table 3: Distribution of employees by gender, by industry verticals
Marketing / Consumer Core Ind. / Ind. Banking & Consumer
Gender IT Healthcare
Comm. Services Services Goods & Services Finance Goods
Projected Base 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774
Male 91% 87% 95% 89% 81% 87% 89%
Female 10% 14% 6% 11% 19% 13% 11%
Female employees are also relatively more common in HRs, Office
Administration and Accounts /Finance roles and in Metros.
An interesting observation is that while the share of Female employees
among Trainees/ Freshers is 22%, this alarmingly reduces to 6% among
Senior Mgt. This could either be indicative of a growth in female
employees at the entry level and/or of a disposition of female
employees to exit the workforce over time.
The typical employee is middle-aged at 36.3 years
While less than one-fifth of the employee base is below 25 years, over a
third is 25-35 years old and the majority viz. Nearly half the workforce
is above 35 years of age. This is also evident from the fact that 58% are
married and have children.
Below 21 years 21-25 years 25-35 years
35-45 years Above 45 years
40% 35%
30% 26%
22%
20%
14%
10% 3%
0%
All white collar
8

15. India Employee Speak 2007
Those employed in the Private sector, working in IT, Consumer Goods
and Healthcare industries are relatively younger.
Marketing / Comm. Consumer Core Ind. / Ind. Banking & Consumer
Age IT Healthcare
Services Services Goods & Services Finance Goods
Projected Base 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774
Bellow 21 years 1% 4% 4% 7% 7% 3% 1%
21-25 years 11% 9% 10% 15% 32% 17% 16%
25-35 years 37% 37% 27% 26% 49% 45% 50%
35-45 years 18% 31% 30% 23% 8% 24% 25%
Above 45 years 34% 19% 29% 30% 5% 12% 10%
Average age of
39 37 38 37 28 34 33
employees
As may have been expected, the age profile of employee by and large
increases with seniority – while the average Trainee is aged 26 years,
Senior Managers at the other end of the spectrum average 40 years.
Interestingly, Junior Managers (average 38 years) do not appear to
follow this trend since they are actually older than Middle Managers
(average 36 years). This could be related to their education level and
will be examined subsequently.
Only 1-in-5 holds a 'professional' educational degree
In fact 'professional' stream post-graduates number even fewer at 1-in-
10. The clear majority, 66%, has either not pursued an under-graduate
degree or has done so in a 'general' stream. The incidence of
'professional' employees is higher in IT, Healthcare, Core Industries and
in the HR function.
Educational All white Marketing / Consumer Core Ind. / Ind. Banking Consumer
IT Healthcare
Qualification collar Comm. Services Services Goods & Services & Finance Goods
Projected Base 56,614,875 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774
HSC/SSC 32% 53% 34% 36% 18% 23% 23% 21%
Graduate General
35% 23% 33% 30% 50% 34% 42% 42%
Stream
Graduate Professional
8% 3% 4% 11% 5% 15% 6% 5%
Stream
Post-Graduate
9% 6% 11% 5% 13% 8% 11% 9%
General Stream
Post-Graduate
10% 8% 10% 9% 13% 10% 8% 20%
Professional Stream
Others 7% 7% 7% 10% 2% 9% 9% 3%
Professional stream 15% 10% 14% 20% 18% 25% 14% 25%
Interestingly, the proportion of ‘professional’ stream employees is
significantly higher among Middle and Senior levels. This could explain
the relatively lower age profile of Middle Managers compared to Junior
Managers – since holding a ‘professional’ degree seems to increase the
upward mobility on the corporate ladder and age does not appear to be
the leading determinant of the same.
9

16. Current HR Trends
Educational All white Trainee/ Executive/ Junior Middle Senior Advisory Staff /
Qualification collar Fresher Operation level Management Management Management Consultant
Projected Base 56,614,875 4,129,904 13,433,566 9,669,740 13,469,914 7,006,215 2,660,007
HSC/SSC 32% 36% 33% 30% 21% 33% 39%
Graduate General
35% 35% 41% 38% 32% 28% 39%
Stream
Graduate
8% 13% 7% 6% 9% 13% 2%
Professional Stream
Post-Graduate
9% 7% 6% 12% 11% 8% 14%
General Stream
Post-Graduate
10% 5% 6% 7% 16% 15% 4%
Professional Stream
Others 7% 4% 8% 6% 11% 3% 1%
Professional Stream 18% 18% 13% 13% 25% 27% 6%
About 2-in-5 are from relatively smaller towns
If Metros and Urban Uptowns account for 58% of the urban white-collar
workforce, the Emerging Towns and Other Towns account for a sizeable
42%.
M etros Urban uptowns Emerging Towns Others
40% 32%
30% 26%
21% 22%
20%
10%
0%
All white collar
In fact while Public Sector employees largely originate from the smaller
towns (73%), employees of NGOs are primarily from Metros (76%) and
the Private Sector has a sizeable contribution from Metros and Urban
Uptowns (59%).
Also, the Marketing/Communication services industry and Core
Industries (to a lesser extent) have a higher proportion of employees
belonging to Other towns whereas IT industries are skewed on Metro
residents and Banking and Healthcare companies have a higher share of
employees from Emerging Towns.
10

17. India Employee Speak 2007
Table 4: Distribution of employees by city type, by industry verticals
Marketing / Consumer Core Ind. / Ind. Banking & Consumer
City Type IT Healthcare Others
Comm.Services Services Goods & Services Finance Goods
Projected Base 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774 7,610,865
Metros 29% 33% 22% 27% 53% 32% 30% 33%
Urban uptowns 13% 22% 29% 24% 29% 31% 21% 23%
Emerging
13% 24% 22% 29% 12% 17% 28% 19%
Towns
Others 45% 22% 27% 20% 7% 19% 22% 26%
The socio-economic profile is largely commonplace - only 1-in-
5 belongs to the 'premium' stratum
A minority, 21%, belongs to SEC A and a similar proportion claims
monthly household income levels of Rs.30,000 or more.
This also gets reiterated by the low ownership of cars (23%) and credit
cards (41%). On the other hand, mobile phones are very common with
87% ownership.
SEC A SEC B SEC C
50% 43%
40%
30% 21%
22%
20%
10%
0%
All white collar
Distribution of employees by MHI All white collar
Projected Base 56,614,875
Sample Base 9,000
Up to Rs.10,000 34.10%
Rs.10,000 to Rs.20,000 27.70%
Rs.20,000 to Rs.30,000 14.50%
Rs.30,000 to Rs.50,000 8.40%
Rs.50,000 to Rs.75,000 3.40%
Rs.75,000 to Rs.100,000 3.00%
More than Rs.100,000 6.60%
70% of the salaried employees are the chief wage earner of the
household. This also means that at least 30% are from multiple income
households.
11

18. Current HR Trends
Chief Wage Earner (CWE)
Not the CWE CWE
30%
70%
Marketing/Communication Services and Consumer Services have a
significantly higher share of SEC C employees whereas Healthcare,
Consumer Goods and Core Industries have a relatively higher proportion
of SEC A employees. Banking/ Finance industry has the highest share of
SEC B employees.
Distribution of Marketing / Consumer Core Ind. / Ind. Banking Consumer
IT Healthcare
employees by SEC Comm. Services Services Goods & Services & Finance Goods
Projected Base 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774
SEC A 17% 15% 24% 23% 20% 25% 28%
SEC B 22% 31% 39% 44% 33% 36% 37%
SEC C 61% 54% 38% 33% 47% 38% 35%
Other highlights related to the socio-economic profile are:
The Public Sector boasts of the highest proportion of SEC A
employees (26.4%), the Government Sector has a relatively higher
share of SEC B employees (43%) while the NGOs are dominated by
SEC C (69%).
The above sectoral SEC distribution is also reflected in the income
level - 28% of Public sector employees belong to households with
monthly incomes Rs.30,000 or more whereas this proportion drops
to 23% and 13% respectively among Private sector employees and
NGOs.
HR function has a visibly higher share of SEC A employees (44%)
Designing / Creative function largely comprises SEC C employees
(75%)
Credit card ownership is most common among employees belonging
to Metros (34%)
Middle/Senior Mgt have larger shares of SEC A employees (31%, 37%
respectively)
Car ownership is as expected more common among Middle/ Senior
Mgt
12

19. India Employee Speak 2007
Ownership of credit cards as well mobile phones is less prevalent
among employees working in the Consumer Services industry - this
could be related to the higher share of SEC C employees in this
sector as mentioned earlier
The average age for entering the white-collar workforce is 23
years.
While nearly a third (30%) start working when they turn 20 years old or
earlier, the majority does so only later - the most common age of entry
being 21-22 years. This offers an explanation for the fairly 'old' age
profile of the average employee seen earlier.
Up to 18 years Age 19-20 years Age 21-22 years
Age 23-24 years Age 25-30 years Above Age 30 years
40%
28%
30%
19% 20%
19%
20% 11%
10% 4%
0%
All white collar
The initiation age is slightly lower (22 years) among those who belong
to Metros /Urban Uptowns. Not surprisingly, those who do not pursue
higher education post-schooling enter the workforce relatively earlier.
Employees engaged in Office Administration functions or in the
Government sector also start working earlier than others.
On the other hand, those in the IT and Designing / Creative functions
are comparatively older when they embark upon their careers. To
illustrate this point, 64% of employees engaged in IT and 66% of those
engaged in Designing/ Creative functions began working at the age of
21-24 years compared to only 48% among all white-collar employees.
Experience runs high with the average work experience
adding up to 13 years
This is not surprising since over half (51%) the employees have work
experience of 10 years or more and about a fourth (26%)have been in
the workforce for at least 2 decades!
Up to 1 year 1-3 years 3-5 years
5-7 years 7-10 years 10-15 years
15-20 years Above 20 years
30% 26%
20% 15%
10% 11% 10%
9% 9% 10%
10%
0%
All white collar
13

20. Current HR Trends
The work experience is higher among those engaged in
Marketing/Communication Services or Core Industries and those in the
Office Administration function. Among the town classes, the work
experience of those in smaller towns is relatively higher (13 years
compared to 11 years among Metro employees).
On the other hand, those working in the Private sector especially in the
IT sector have lower work experience.
Total work Marketing / Consumer Core Banking & Consumer
IT Healthcare Others
experience Comm Services Services Industries Finance Goods
Projected Base 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774 7,610,865
Up to 1 year 5% 6% 7% 4% 15% 6% 8% 4%
1-3 years 8% 11% 7% 17% 33% 12% 10% 4%
3-5 years 12% 5% 8% 11% 15% 13% 20% 7%
5-7 years 5% 14% 5% 8% 14% 13% 9% 7%
7-10 years 15% 7% 8% 8% 9% 14% 14% 8%
10-15 years 11% 20% 16% 9% 8% 15% 18% 18%
15-20 years 9% 8% 12% 7% 3% 16% 8% 13%
Above 20 years 35% 28% 37% 37% 4% 13% 13% 39%
Average Years 17 13 16 14 5 10 9 17
The average number of jobs held is 2.7 although 1-in-4 has
held 4 or more jobs
While half the workforce has held 1 or 2 jobs including the current job,
the balance has held at least 3 jobs.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
29%
30% 25%
21%
20%
12%
10% 7%
3%
1% 1% 1% 0%
0%
All white collar
The number of jobs held is relatively higher among Private sector
employees, among those engaged in Consumer Goods, Consumer
Services, Core Industries, Healthcare and those in the HR function.
Employees in larger towns have held more jobs on an average than their
counterparts in smaller towns.
Not surprisingly, the average number of jobs held increases with the
work experience of the employee. For instance, while the average
number of jobs among those who have been working for a year is 1.3
(22% have moved on within a year of their first job!) This increases to
14

21. India Employee Speak 2007
3.3 among those with 7-10 years of experience. Interestingly, the white
collar veterans with work experience of more than 10 years actually
display lower mobility (average number of jobs 3.0) than those with 7-
10 years of work experience.
While the typical tenure with the current company is 7.7
years, the average tenure per job is significantly lower at 4.7
years
The tenure with the current company is significantly higher than the
average tenure across all jobs held. This indicates that by and large,
the disposition to change jobs is higher during the earlier period of an
employee’s career graph.
Chart 1: Tenure with current company
Up to 1 year 1-3 years 3-5 years 5-7 years
7-10 years 10-15 years 15-20 years Above 20 years
40%
30%
30%
21%
20% 15%
9%
10%
10% 5% 5% 6%
0%
All white collar
The length of the tenure varies interestingly across various segments.
Those employed in Marketing/ Communication Service, Banking/
Finance, Core Industries or engaged in Accounts/ Finance or
Administrative functions tend to stick on longer in their jobs while
those the Private sector especially in IT industries and those engaged in
Marketing, Design/ Creative functions change relatively jobs faster.
Employees in small towns also claim a relatively higher average tenure
per job.
15

22. Current HR Trends
Average Tenure Average Tenure with
per Job Current Company
(years) (years)
All Employees 4.7 7.7
Marketing/ Communication Services 6.2 13.4
Core Industries 5.6 8.5
Banking / Finance 5.6 10.4
Consumer Services 4.6 8.9
Healthcare 3.4 4.1
Consumer Goods 3.3 5.2
IT 1.9 1.6
Government sector 8.8 17.6
NGO 8.6 15.6
Public Sector 7.5 15.7
Private Sector 3.9 6.0
Office Administration 6.6 12.0
Accounts and Finance 5.2 9.2
Human Resources 4.5 7.5
Project Management 4.4 6.6
Marketing 3.7 5.3
Design / Creative 3.3 6.0
IT 3.1 5.1
Larger size companies show more efficient use of employees
(better productivity)
Only 1 in 5 (21%) white collar employees come from a small company of
less than 50 employees. Almost half (47%) are working in relatively
larger size companies with over 500 employees.
However in terms of turnover, a significantly higher 40% of the white
collar employees work in smaller companies with less than 50 crores in
turnover. This indicates a disproportionately less efficient use of people
(or lower turnover per employee) in the smaller companies as
compared to the relatively larger companies. The efficiency equation
increases with size and large companies show the best efficiency ratio
(probably a result of economies of scale).
16

23. India Employee Speak 2007
Distribution by company size
Size by no. of employees Size by turnover in crore rupees
50%
47%
40% 40% 39%
30% 33%
20% 21% 21%
10%
0%
Small (upto 50) Medium (51- 500) Large (501 plus)
Over half the workforce earns upto Rs.2 lacs annually and the
average annual package drawn is roughly Rs.2.6 lacs
Packages are relatively better among Private Sector companies, among
Core Industries and in the IT, HRs and Accounts/Finance functions.
Surprisingly, employees in Urban Uptowns and Other towns have higher
salary and benefits packages on an average than their counterparts in
Metros.
Up to Rs 1 lac Rs 1-2 lacs Rs 2-3 Lacs
Rs 3-5 lacs Rs 5-7 lacs Rs 7-10 lacs
Rs 10-20 lacs Above Rs 20 lacs Not Specified
30% 26% 27%
20% 15%
15%
10%
10%
3% 2% 2%
0%
0%
All white collar
Current Salary Levels Marketing / Consumer Core Ind. / Ind. Banking & Consumer
IT Healthcare
and Benefits Packages Comm Services Services Goods & Services Finance Goods
Projected Base 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774
Up to Rs.1 lac 18% 34% 22% 23% 27% 34% 26%
Rs.1-2 lacs 41% 26% 24% 28% 35% 20% 31%
Rs.2-3 Lacs 15% 19% 16% 21% 14% 14% 9%
Rs.3-5 lacs 4% 6% 13% 15% 9% 10% 16%
Above Rs.5 lacs 6% 5% 15% 6% 5% 8% 12%
Rs.7-10 lacs 2% 1% 4% 2% 1% 3% 1%
Rs.10-20 lacs 1% 1% 5% 1% 1% 1% 2%
Above Rs.20 lacs 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 1% 0%
Average annual salary
218731 183977 332324 251621 238612 252728 249540
(Rs.)
17

24. Current HR Trends
Other highlights related to salary and benefits are:
Not surprisingly, the average packages increase with hierarchy –
ranging from Rs.1 lac for Trainees to Rs.4 lacs for Senior Managers.
Those with a ‘professional’ degree, especially a post-graduate
degree, earn more than those possessing a ‘general’ degree
Salary levels are relatively higher in IT, HRs and Accounts/ Finance
functions
Most aspire for jobs in the private sector and in core
industries and IT companies
This could be partly on account of the higher salary packages drawn by
employees in the Private Sector and in these industries as seen above.
The Private Sector is specially sought after by those in Government jobs
- 4-in-5 aspire for a Private Sector job. Further, 95% of the employees
currently with the Private Sector want to continue with the sector.
Aspired All White Currently in Currently in Public Currently in Private
Sectors Collar Government sector sector sector
Projected Base 24,497,230 2,886,979 1,188,199 18,542,505
Public Sector 6.20% 11.90% 41.50% 3.60%
Private Sector 91.60% 80.30% 58.20% 95.10%
Others 2.20% 7.80% 0.40% 1.30%
The majority would move out of Healthcare, Marketing and Consumer
Services industries if given a choice. IT and Core Industries not only top
the list of aspired industries overall but also have the highest ‘loyalty’
in terms of proportion of employees voting for their current industry.
Marketing / Core Ind. / Banking
All White Consumer Consumer
Aspired Industry Verticals Comm Ind. Goods & & IT Healthcare
Collar Services Goods
Services Services Finance
Projected Base 24,497,230 635,881 3,356,202 5,674,216 2,976,054 3,257,304 2,257,245 1,384,939
Marketing / Comm. Services 2% 14% 4% 0.0% 0.1% 4% 0.3% 2%
Consumer Services 14% 14% 29% 9% 4% 5% 18% 8%
Core Ind. / Ind. Goods &
32% 17% 19% 54% 28% 13% 21% 17%
Services
Banking & Finance 11% 17% 2% 6% 42% 7% 7% 8%
IT 29% 33% 31% 20% 22% 69% 22% 25%
Consumer Goods 11% 6% 12% 11% 4% 2% 32% 27%
Healthcare 0.9% 0.2% 0.3% 0.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 11%
Consultancy 2% 0.6% 2% 0.4% 0.6% 0.3% 0.7% 1%
18

25. India Employee Speak 2007
Other points related to aspirations of employees are:
As may have been expected, most employees aspire for the next
hierarchical level
Project Mgt, Marketing and Office Administration functions are
overall more sought after while HRs and IT functions show the
highest growth in movement from current function to aspired
function
Employees in Accounts / Finance and IT functions display the
highest ‘satisfaction’ in terms of proportion voting for their current
function
Bonus, HRA and medical reimbursement are the most sought
after company benefits.
Nearly 3-in-4 employees aspire for these benefits. Employer’s
contribution to Provident Fund and LTA are lower in the list.
Driver allowance, Company leased car and Stock Options – which are
currently fairly rare benefits and relatively more common among the
middle/senior Mgt cadre - are also desired by a sizeable proportion of
employees.
Current Benefits Aspired Benefits
Bonus 50% 76%
House Rent Allowance (HRA) 58% 74%
Medical bill reimbursement 52% 71%
Medical insurance and Hospitalization 44% 65%
Employers Contribution to Provident fund 58% 64%
Leave Travel Allowance 50% 63%
Performance Incentive 33% 61%
Petrol Expense Reimbursement 32% 56%
Gratuity 47% 53%
Transport (pick and drop) 24% 47%
Company leased accommodation 17% 36%
Company leased car 7% 31%
Ex-Gratia 20% 28%
Stock options 3% 25%
Driver Allowance 4% 19%
Restricted stock unit 1% 9%
19

26. Current HR Trends
Detailed Findings-
Current HR Trends
20

27. India Employee Speak 2007
Current Terms of
Employment
Chart 2: Current terms of employment
Full-time Part time Apprenticeship / Internship
2% 0.4%
98%
Base: 9,000
21

28. Current HR Trends
Table 5: Current terms of employment by industry verticals
Marketing / Core Ind. / Ind.
Current Terms Of Consumer Banking Consumer
Comm. Goods & IT Healthcare Others
Employment Services & Finance Goods
Services Services
Projected Base 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774 7,610,865
Full-time 98% 96% 99% 96% 95% 100% 98% 99%
Part time 2% 4% 0.8% 4% 5% 0.5% 2% 1%
Apprenticeship / 0.1% 0.5% 0.7% 0.1% 0.2% 0.0% 0.7% 0.2%
Internship
Base: 9,000
Table 6: Current terms of employment by job function
Current Terms Accounts & Office Admin & Project Mgt & Designing /
Marketing IT HR
Of Employment Finance General Mgt Operations Creative Services
Projected Base 6,146,271 12,504,097 12,221,536 4,172,091 1,397,504 9,691,283 2,651,668
Full-time 99% 97% 97% 98% 98% 97% 98%
Part time 1% 2% 3% 1% 2% 2% 2%
Apprenticeship / 0.1% 0.3% 0.5% 0.1% 0.0% 0.8% 0.0%
Internship
Base: 9,000
Table 7: Current terms of employment by hierarchy level
Current Terms Of Trainee/Fresher Executive Junior Mgt Middle Mgt Senior Mgt Advisory Staff /
Employment /Operation Consultant
Projected Base 4,129,904 13,433,566 9,669,740 13,469,914 7,006,215 2,660,007
Full-time 92% 98% 99% 97% 99% 98%
Part time 4% 2% 1% 3% 1% 2%
Apprenticeship / Internship 4% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.4% 0.0%
Base: 9,000
Table 8: Current terms of employment by educational qualification
Current Terms Of Graduate Graduate Post-Graduate Post-Graduate
HSC/SSC Professional Others
Employment General Stream Professional Stream General Stream
Stream
Projected Base 17,843,583 19,640,344 4,422,478 5,276,626 5,559,933 3,871,911
Full-time 97% 98% 97% 99% 98% 99%
Part time 3% 2% 0.9% 1% 1% 1%
Apprenticeship / Internship 0.4% 0.2% 2% 0.2% 0.5% 0.0%
Base: 9,000
Table 9: Current terms of employment by years of experience
Current Terms Of Employment Less than 1 year 1 - 3 years 4 - 6 years 7 - 10 years More than 10 years
Projected Base 5,777,915 6,405,850 7,635,364 8,042,904 28,752,843
Full-time 94% 96% 99% 97% 98%
Part time 3% 3% 0.8% 3% 2%
Apprenticeship / Internship 3% 0.2% 0.4% 0.1% 0.1%
Base: 9,000
22

29. India Employee Speak 2007
Age at First Job
Chart 3: Age at first job
Up to 18 years Age 19-20 years Age 21-22 years
40% Age 23-24 years Age 25-30 years Above Age 30 years
28%
30%
19% 20%
19%
20%
11%
10% 4%
0%
All white collar
Base: 9,000
23

30. Current HR Trends
Table 10: Age at first job, by industry verticals
Marketing / Consumer Core Ind. / Ind. Banking & Consumer
Age At First Job Comm. IT Healthcare Others
Services Goods & Services Finance Goods
Services
Projected Base 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774 7,610,865
Up to 18 years 6% 21% 12% 10% 8% 10% 7% 11%
Age 19-20 years 42% 15% 20% 19% 20% 21% 14% 18%
Age 21-22 years 16% 25% 29% 26% 30% 32% 34% 32%
Age 23-24 years 18% 16% 19% 32% 26% 18% 24% 21%
Age 25-30 years 17% 21% 19% 13% 14% 17% 21% 17%
Above Age 30 years 0% 3% 1% 1% 1% 2% 1% 1%
Average age in 1st Job 21.50 22.10 22.10 22.10 22.10 22.30 22.70 22.30
Base: 9,000
Table 11: Age at first job, by job function
Accounts & Office Admin & Project Mgt & Designing /
Age At First Job Marketing IT HR
Finance General Mgt Operations Creative Services
Projected Base 6,146,271 12,504,097 12,221,536 4,172,091 1,397,504 9,691,283 2,651,668
Up to 18 years 7% 21% 10% 7% 13% 9% 2%
Age 19-20 years 21% 25% 18% 13% 9% 21% 19%
Age 21-22 years 25% 21% 31% 33% 31% 31% 45%
Age 23-24 years 27% 13% 21% 30% 22% 17% 21%
Age 25-30 years 19% 17% 18% 16% 23% 20% 13%
Above Age 30 years 2% 2% 3% 0% 1% 2% 0%
Average age in 1st Job 22.40 21.60 22.60 22.40 22.80 22.40 22.10
Base: 9,000
Table 12: Age at first job, by hierarchy level
Age At First Job Trainee/Fresher Executive/ Operation Junior Mgt Middle Mgt Senior Mgt Advisory Staff / Consultant
level
Projected Base 4,129,904 13,433,566 9,669,740 13,469,914 7,006,215 2,660,007
Up to 18 years 15% 9% 15% 11% 7% 9%
Age 19-20 years 25% 16% 18% 18% 29% 24%
Age 21-22 years 37% 31% 26% 29% 30% 21%
Age 23-24 years 12% 20% 22% 25% 17% 18%
Age 25-30 years 11% 23% 18% 16% 12% 24%
Above Age 30 years 1% 1% 1% 2% 5% 4%
Average age in 1st Job 21.30 22.50 22.10 22.20 22.60 22.90
Base: 9,000
24

31. India Employee Speak 2007
Table 13: Age at first job, by educational qualification
Age At First Job HSC/SSC Graduate Graduate Post-Graduate Post-Graduate Others
General Stream Professional Stream General Stream Professional Stream
Projected Base 17,843,583 19,640,344 4,422,478 5,276,626 5,559,933 3,871,911
Up to 18 years 29% 11% 9% 7% 2% 6%
Age 19-20 years 23% 21% 14% 7% 12% 28%
Age 21-22 years 18% 29% 38% 29% 23% 34%
Age 23-24 years 8% 22% 27% 26% 34% 21%
Age 25-30 years 15% 15% 13% 28% 27% 9%
Above Age 30 years 6% 2% 1% 3% 2% 2%
Average age in 1st Job 21.90 22.20 22.20 23.50 23.70 21.90
Base: 9,000
Table 14: Age at first job, by years of experience
Age At First Job Less than 1 year 1 - 3 years 4 - 6 years 7 - 10 years More than 10 years
Projected Base 5,777,915 6,405,850 7,635,364 8,042,904 28,752,843
Up to 18 years 29% 18% 14% 8% 13%
Age 19-20 years 16% 23% 19% 21% 19%
Age 21-22 years 18% 24% 27% 37% 25%
Age 23-24 years 12% 23% 24% 16% 20%
Age 25-30 years 12% 12% 15% 17% 21%
Above Age 30 years 14% 1% 1% 2% 3%
Average age in 1st Job 23.30 21.40 21.80 22.20 22.60
Base: 9,000
25

32. Current HR Trends
Total Work
Experience
Chart 4: Total work experience
Up to 1 year 1-3 years 3-5 years
5-7 years 7-10 years 10-15 years
15-20 years Above 20 years 26%
30%
20% 15%
10% 11% 10%
9% 9% 10%
10%
0%
All white collar
Base: 9,000
26

33. India Employee Speak 2007
Table 15: Total work experience by industry verticals
Marketing / Core Ind. / Ind.
Total Work Consumer Banking & Consumer
Comm. Goods & IT Healthcare Others
Experience Services Finance Goods
Services Services
Projected Base 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774 7,610,865
Up to 1 year 5% 6% 7% 4% 15% 6% 8% 4%
1-3 years 8% 11% 7% 17% 33% 12% 10% 4%
3-5 years 12% 5% 8% 11% 15% 13% 20% 7%
5-7 years 5% 14% 5% 8% 14% 13% 9% 7%
7-10 years 15% 7% 8% 8% 9% 14% 14% 8%
10-15 years 11% 20% 16% 9% 8% 15% 18% 18%
15-20 years 9% 8% 12% 7% 3% 16% 8% 13%
Above 20 years 35% 28% 37% 37% 4% 13% 13% 39%
Average Years 16.80 13.30 15.80 13.90 5.00 10.30 9.40 16.50
Base: 9,000
Table 16: Total work experience by job function
Designing /
Total Work Office Admin & Project Mgt &
Accounts & Finance Marketing IT HR Creative
Experience General Mgt Operations
Services
Projected Base 6,146,271 12,504,097 12,221,536 4,172,091 1,397,504 9,691,283 2,651,668
Up to 1 year 6% 6% 11% 10% 7% 7% 6%
1-3 years 12% 8% 11% 25% 6% 11% 11%
3-5 years 14% 5% 15% 15% 9% 6% 8%
5-7 years 9% 9% 11% 10% 10% 6% 13%
7-10 years 9% 9% 9% 9% 8% 11% 20%
10-15 years 14% 12% 14% 14% 17% 19% 14%
15-20 years 8% 11% 7% 8% 10% 10% 12%
Above 20 years 27% 40% 22% 10% 33% 30% 17%
Average Years 13.00 17.20 10.70 8.10 14.90 13.60 10.60
Base: 9,000
Table 17: Total work experience by hierarchy level
Total Work Experience Trainee/Fresher Executive/Operation level Junior Mgt Middle Mgt Senior Mgt Advisory Staff / Consultant
Projected Base 4,129,904 13,433,566 9,669,740 13,469,914 7,006,215 2,660,007
Up to 1 year 67% 5% 1% 1% 6% 0%
1-3 years 33% 13% 13% 7% 5% 8%
3-5 years 0% 14% 11% 11% 7% 10%
5-7 years 0% 11% 10% 13% 6% 5%
7-10 years 0% 11% 9% 12% 12% 4%
10-15 years 0% 13% 12% 18% 18% 27%
15-20 years 0% 8% 13% 14% 11% 7%
Above 20 years 0% 26% 32% 25% 37% 41%
Average Years 1.10 12.10 14.50 13.50 16.70 15.50
Base: 9,000
27

34. Current HR Trends
Table 18: Total work experience by educational qualification
Total Work Experience HSC/SSC Graduate General Graduate Post-Graduate Post-Graduate Others
Stream Professional General Stream Professional Stream
Projected Base 17,843,583 19,640,344 4,422,478 5,276,626 5,559,933 3,871,911
Up to 1 year 20% 11% 19% 9% 12% 10%
1-3 years 14% 15% 25% 15% 20% 16%
3-5 years 7% 13% 9% 7% 11% 13%
5-7 years 5% 9% 6% 10% 9% 16%
7-10 years 6% 9% 9% 12% 13% 14%
10-15 years 14% 13% 8% 16% 11% 10%
15-20 years 5% 10% 7% 13% 11% 7%
Above 20 years 31% 20% 17% 20% 13% 15%
Average Years 12.20 10.90 9.20 11.30 9.10 9.30
Base: 9,000
28

35. India Employee Speak 2007
Number of Jobs Held
Chart 5: Number of jobs held
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
29%
30% 25%
21%
20%
12%
10% 7%
3%
1% 1% 1% 0%
0%
All white collar
Base: 9,000
29

36. Current HR Trends
Table 19: Number of jobs held, by industry verticals
Number Of Marketing / Consumer Core Ind. / Ind. Banking & Consumer
IT Healthcare Others
Jobs Held Comm. Services Services Goods & Services Finance Goods
Projected Base 2,482,231 8,297,777 11,498,625 5,446,781 5,922,796 5,076,814 3,502,774 7,610,865
1 41% 17% 23% 30% 27% 21% 26% 43%
2 15% 21% 22% 23% 27% 23% 22% 16%
3 20% 37% 28% 26% 21% 23% 22% 21%
4 7% 13% 11% 12% 11% 15% 17% 9%
5 4% 6% 9% 8% 8% 10% 6% 6%
6 10% 3% 2% 1% 3% 4% 6% 4%
7 4% 1% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 0%
8 0% 1% 1% 0% 1% 2% 0% 0%
9 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 0% 0%
10 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 0% 0%
Average
Number of 2.70 2.90 2.80 2.50 2.70 3.10 2.80 2.40
Jobs
Base: 9,000
Table 20: Number of jobs held, by job function
Designing /
Number Of Jobs Office Admin & Project Mgt &
Accounts & Finance Marketing IT HR Creative
Held General Mgt Operations
Services
Projected Base 6,146,271 12,504,097 12,221,536 4,172,091 1,397,504 9,691,283 2,651,668
1 30% 30% 23% 34% 18% 21% 18%
2 25% 23% 19% 19% 19% 22% 14%
3 28% 25% 29% 20% 22% 23% 37%
4 11% 8% 15% 14% 14% 18% 11%
5 3% 9% 7% 7% 18% 7% 7%
6 2% 2% 4% 2% 4% 5% 12%
7 1% 1% 2% 1% 1% 2% 1%
8 1% 1% 1% 3% 1% 1% 0%
9 0% 1% 1% 0% 2% 1% 0%
10 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Average Number 2.50 2.60 2.90 2.60 3.30 3.10 3.20
of Jobs
Base: 9,000
30