Capital Markets

Debt crises and market volatility have prompted firms and banks alike to pause and reflect on their growth strategies and future plans. Uncertainty has gripped the markets, with business realignments taking centre stage. But, faith in the country’s economy and its potential for sustained growth continues. Firms are adopting dynamic strategies to seek new sources of revenue. While the market is predominantly cautious in its approach to expansion, some players are viewing this time as a period of opportunity to streamline their organisational structure.

Firms are worried about investing in new hires especially in support functions, largely on account of the debt crisis in Europe. A few firms have introduced the model of regularly assessing their staff’s performance and trimming away the bottom 10 percent—a convenient method of head count reduction— to be able to hire more effectively in other critical areas. The outlook for 2012, assuming headcounts return to normal and worries of Greece exiting the Euro desist, looks healthy as there is still a shortage of talent and a great deal of future demand.

Private Equity

While the macroeconomic sentiment is at best edgy, top PE talent continues to move, albeit in one’s and two’s, mostly to start their own funds. One would think it is prudent to consolidate in times like these; however the stalwarts of the industry seem to think otherwise. Many institutional investors have seen senior people exit to spawn new entities.

What lies ahead for all the General Partners (GPs) raising funds? Limited Partners (LPs) look for stable teams and want to see a good investing track record in India. Given this scenario, we aver that the shortage of talent seen in the past five years will turn its tide. The submission rides on the belief that in the next few years several GPs may fold up their investment ventures for the reasons stated above. While this may be a difficult phase for the industry, the ensuing period will see a brighter future.

Information Technology

Information Technology industry in India is already showing signs of healthy recovery. This year saw a change of guard in Infosys and Wipro and also a change in the pecking order with Cognizant rising ranks. Focus on cost optimization has delivered rich dividends. Selective lateral hiring for top talent, with strong operational and project management skills, is on the horizon for the next two quarters.

Growth is also backed by a growing need for mobile business. Companies will increasingly look for tech-savvy business leaders who are comfortable with digital media.

New verticals such as retail, healthcare, media, utilities and transportation are emerging as the key growth drivers in technology adoption, with a 50-percent higher budget outlay as compared to the traditional sectors.

Another trend, also gathering steam in India, is non-resident Indians seeking career opportunities in India, as is the concept of foreign nationals moving to India for a period of 2–3 years, to outlast the economic uncertainty in their home countries. The resultant workforce diversity is a boon for Indian companies, who are leveraging this trend to support their quest for global expansion.

Real Estate

The Indian real estate market could be headed towards a slowdown with investors becoming increasingly cautious. On the other hand the construction industry as per the Eleventh Five Year Plan is estimated to grow at 8 percent per annum, with 2.5 million new job opportunities added annually. The desired roles will span the entire spectrum of skills and functions in the industry, and professionals can look forward to a steep learning curve and fast-tracked career paths.

Some of the other trends were:

• Over the past decade large-scale construction companies have evolved to become ‘one-stop shops’ and now require a wide-ranging team of professionals.
• Highly regionalised nature of Real Estate will prompt majors in this sector to increasingly turn to local experts with project management and design skills to deliver the projects planned in tier II and III cities.
• A sizeable number of senior executives are choosing to move to smaller players attracted by the potential to define strategy and create impactful decisions.