Why Offering Low Salaries to Talented Employees Hurts India's Growth and Workforce Potential

Message to Fellow Employees and HR Managers

Please don't offer a lower CTC to someone who deserves a better package, even if their previous CTC is too low. A lot of research and analysis has gone into making the above statement.

Consequences and Causes for the Downfall of India

There are two sides of the coin to look at: one from the country's progress point of view and the other from the employee's point of view.

1) For many years, India has been considered the hub for "cheap labor." But I need my fellow HRs to realize and not fall into that trap. Get the facts straight. India should NOT be considered a cheap labor country; rather, it should be considered the only country that can possibly supply talented professionals throughout the world!

Why is India Considered a Cheap Labor Country?

Because the Indian economy has been set to be low. Now we all know what politics took place when it all started. Yes, the Bretton Woods conference.

Why Do Most Fresh Graduates and Postgraduates Lack Salary Negotiation Skills?

Because our education system is commercialized. More students, more money. Colleges need a reputation to lure more students to join them. Reputation comes from the placement record. Now these bl**dy placement coordinators teach students all sorts of nonsense. For example, they say yes to all the following questions:
- Are you ready to work like a donkey? - Yes
- Are you willing to sign a bond? - Yes
- Would you be okay with an industrial standard salary? (where each company has its own too low bar for industrial standard) - Yes
- Will you be okay working night shifts? (Why can't those counterparts sacrifice 4 night hours? Don't know. Innocent employees lose their health to slogs in night shifts) - Yes

Now, where do you see salary negotiation skills developing in this kind of environment?

My Opinion

Even if you are a fresher, you should be in a position to ask your potential employer if they can provide you with a challenging environment or if they can challenge your potential to push you to the limit. (Don't get me wrong, they are going to make you work like a donkey, but can they let you handle tasks where you can apply your thoughts?)

From the Employee's Point of View

Background: He/she spends lakhs of bucks in commercialized educational systemic colleges, some risk with hefty loans in hopes of getting a better life.
Situation: He/she lacks negotiation skills. It affects his/her life drastically. Neither can he/she give results, nor can he/she apply thought and progress in a career.
Ideal situation: An employee showing his/her character, boldness, sheer talent, and applying valuable thoughts to their processes will allow progress in his/her individual progress in the organization and career as well. Never shy away from imposing your idea of an ideal CTC for the very reason I have stated above.

For those who work in overseas headquartered organizations: They should feel that there is a potential opportunity to invest in India rather than making us do those background works alone. This makes them offer more packages than one can expect. (Frankly speaking, with our people around, all of those background tasks can be automated).

Comments are most welcome. Ready to face grilling from HR managers if any.

Thanks and best regards.
Corporate employee.

Dear Vidalvidi,

You have given a long post, but these appear to be your perceptions. The cause of these perceptions seems to be your frustration.

When the Indian economy opened up in 1991, large masses, particularly the higher and lower middle class, benefited. A few were direct beneficiaries when they got jobs in the IT/ITES sector. Youths working in these sectors had a lot of disposable income, and they started pumping money into other sectors. Some were indirect beneficiaries because they could get jobs in other sectors.

What is your academic qualification, and what percentage of marks did you score? You have targeted HR and called them names. Is this because of your inability to get a decent job? What is the reason to wear your heart on your sleeve?

Rather than ranting against HR, please tell us what exactly your problem is. Seniors will offer a solution. Thousands have benefited from the advice given in this forum, so you could be one amongst them. Cool down. Railing against HR will not take you anywhere.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Bangalore - 560092

PS: I don't hold any special brief for HR, but "Roiling against HR will not take you anywhere."

There is some justice in what the poster says, but the target agency is not the one responsible for poor wages. It is a very materialistic view that CTC alone decides the job. Job content, challenges, growth, and educative value are things that should ideally be more important than CTC. Otherwise, I would be a laborer in FCI and earn Rs. 400,000 per month on overtime. [At FCI, some loaders earn more than Rs. 4 lakh/month - The Times of India]

POV of the Poster and My Thoughts:

1) For many years, India has been considered the hub for "cheap labor." India is grossly overpopulated, and when the population is high, labor comes cheap.

2) Why is India considered a cheap labor country? India has a surfeit of degree colleges and technical institutes, but the product is not up to market expectations. Many fresh graduates need training to even complete the basic requirements of the organization. [India Graduates Millions, but Too Few Are Fit to Hire - WSJ] Many PGs or graduates lack basic skills and have to be specially trained. The basic reading and comprehension skills of graduates are poor. Out of 300,000 management graduates qualifying every year, hardly 35,000 of them are employable. With this being the ground reality, one cannot expect too high a CTC straightaway.

3) "Now, where do you see salary negotiation skill developing in this kind of environment?" Well, if one is not skilled enough, then one will be stuck. But those skilled get higher wages. See this: That IT major HCL Tech has rewarded 130 top-performing employees with perks or all-expenses-paid holidays abroad as a token of appreciation for their contribution to the company. Infosys, the country's second-largest IT major, has gifted 30,000 of its top employees with iPhone 6s, besides announcing 100% variable bonus payouts for the October-December quarter. So knowledge and performance are what count.

My Personal View:

Please qualify yourself, acquire marketable skills, and then establish your worth in the field. Automatically, you will be in demand.

Regards.

Thank you for your constructive, polite, and precise reply. I wish I had a reporting manager like you. I apologize for the subject line. To qualify myself, I am an MBA (International Business) graduate with 65% grades. I currently hold a job that is not decent enough, as you rightly quoted. I have been working as an analyst in market research for almost 2 years now, yet I don't find myself in a stable position that could promise a future. I see that my skill set — i) Knowledge about International business and ii) Communication & presentation skills — don't add value to my work. Rather, only my reading skills (utilizing Google search) are being useful in my current role.

Question to Seniors

I would like to ask seniors a question: What other skills could I add to my profile so I could find a relevant or decent job where I could utilize my degree and skills?

Appreciate all the help.

Regards, Vidalvidi

Dear Vidalvidi,

I strongly oppose the subject line. Secondly, CTC offered is purely based on the organization's standard and the candidate profile. HR has to follow those and cannot give from his pocket. As Dinesh rightly said, you are one of those having that kind of perception and need not be everyone's. As you said, there are two sides of the coin to look at. So, it needs to be started with you.