Senior financial professionals in India are the most optimistic lot when it comes to growth in employment and employee satisfaction. However, there is a serious lacunae in the available skilled positions in the country. The eighth annual Global Business and Spending Monitor, a survey of global finance leaders conducted by American Express in partnership with CFO Research, has projected these results.
Around 78 percent of finance leaders surveyed from India expect to see strong growth in employment opportunities. In China, this figure is 50 percent and for US, it is 61 percent.
About 72 percent of the Indian finance leaders, who took the survey through an online questionnaire, said creation of new jobs will accelerate employment in the country. About 68 percent felt growth in existing businesses will drive employment. A similar percentage felt that employment-related legislation and policy will drive employment in the country.
Around 22 percent respondents from India also pointed to the shortage in skilled positions.
Saru Kaushal, Country Business Head, Global Corporate Payments, American Express said, "As with the economic outlook, India is at the top of the list of countries anticipating rising employment. However, the survey points to the shortage of skilled positions. We're confident that with the government's increased focus to make India job ready, this gap will be bridged soon."
Among the other parameters, it has been noticed that 58 percent Indian professionals think advancement in technology could positively impact the job market in India. Increasing employee satisfaction is also on top of the agenda for 44 percent of the Indian finance leaders polled. According to 29 percent of Indian respondents, headcount in their companies has increased at a faster clip than their revenues while 48 percent said that the two had increased at about the same pace.
While the survey exhibits optimism for the job market in India it also gave some insights on the role of the finance professionals in the decision making process within the companies. This role goes beyond the finance function into overall strategy for the company. Every senior finance professional from India agreed that their opinion should carry weight on the strategic and operational decisions taken by companies. In fact, a majority envision career paths that take the CFO from finance into broader corporate leadership roles. Three-quarters of this year's respondents from India say that they believe it is likely that their company's CFO will eventually become a CEO or move into an equivalent role.
The Global Business and Spending Monitor is based on a sampling of 565 senior finance and corporate executives from large companies around the world. This survey is released annually. The responses were collected online in December 2014.
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