Are You One of the 95%? Why Most Workers Want to Change Jobs Now

That also means competition for the few positions that remain is pretty fierce. “A competitive job market is challenging candidates looking for new opportunities,” says Akhil Gupta, CEO of Shine.com. “After being assessed, many are looking to change jobs, which highlights the need for clearer performance metrics.”

Tests-Talent Insights Report—analyzed data from 3,000 job seekers and employers in April-June. As many as 78% of candidates said the job market is very competitive and offers limited opportunities.

Of course, the fact that so many employees are looking for new jobs is a result of the unenthusiastic performance review season.

According to the study, 89% are looking for clearer performance metrics in reviews. Some 32% say that compensation/benefits are the most important factor in keeping them in the same organization after reviews.

What companies do

There is no doubt that the fear of losing top talent is driving companies across sectors to make changes to their compensation and benefits programs.

Law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co said it had changed its pay and benefits structure in July to motivate employees to achieve high performance.

“We maintain our unrivaled and objective variable remuneration policy of up to 200% of eligible variable remuneration,” a company spokesman said in response to Mint queries. “As a result, our super performers will earn at the highest end of the market.”

The law firm has introduced rules such as the possibility of remote work (two weeks a year), care leave (up to three weeks), paternity leave (extended to three weeks), additional leave for child care, check-ups and rules regarding sabbatical leave for associates and partners.

The changes come amid a fierce war for talent at top law firms in India. Demand for partners specializing in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, litigation and competition law is high.

Niren Srivastava, chief human resources officer at brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said Mint that “in a competitive and price-sensitive labor market, staff outflow will be a reality.”

The brokerage firm points out that while compensation is still a key element, benefit programs are an effective way to attract job seekers.

Motilal Oswal has introduced health and life insurance for home helpers.

“Top quartiles in sales and research, niche skills like data science and technology research, specialist roles in fund management, and wealth advisory and sales are always in accelerated demand and it is important to retain them,” Srivastava added.

Impact of delayed increases

While the weak labour market has led to a decline in employee turnover across many sectors, companies cannot afford to disappoint their key talent.

Mint wrote in July that thousands of IT workers are facing delayed pay raises for a second straight year. That’s as IT companies, coping with a winter of weak revenues and a muted outlook, look to shore up margins. The delay comes at a time of falling headcount at most technology companies.

Mint wrote that while Wipro, HCLTech, Tech Mahindra and LTIMindtree are yet to take a decision on salary hikes, Infosys, which announced its fiscal 2023 hikes in November last year rather than the usual June, is not thinking about hikes for fiscal 2024 for now.

According to Talent Insights, IT, BFSI, manufacturing and e-commerce remain the top sectors for recruitment. However, education, real estate and telecom have seen a decline in hiring.

Recruiters have seen an increase in candidates “buying” but the modest hikes are dampening the trend. “We need to moderate expectations and now expect 20-25% when switching jobs. Job seekers can no longer expect 30-35% hikes and this mild trend will continue for the next few quarters,” says Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services, a staffing firm.