Zinnov, a leading Globalization and Market Expansion Advisory firm, released “Talent Outlook 2013”,a report that highlights a paradigm shift in HR trends this year. The survey revealed that 2013 will be a year of skill and talent reconciliation, even as new skill sets are brought to focus and HR is challenged to implement strategic planning within the organization. 

Key Findings :

·  India found to be the third preferred center for innovation after Silicon valley and other US cities

·  Organizations believe 25% of their current talent will become redundant in the next 3-5 years,while specialized skill sets in User Experience and Mobility see rising demand

·  Countries such as India and China will witness growth primarily due to the cost and access to talent.

The Silicon Valley continues to be an Innovation hub, with 80% of respondents to the Zinnov survey indicating that their organizations’ headcount will increase the highest in this region. India ranked third as potential innovation region, with organizations revealing that 15% of innovation is expected out of the country, followed by EMEA at 10%. The survey revealed that this year there would be a marginal growth in  China & India primarily due to the  cost and access to talent and most respondents indicated that China would no longer be on the priority list for most companies.

Commenting on the study, Pari Natarajan, CEO, Zinnov, said, “Data scientists and user experience designers will witness very high demand, while mobile application developers and cloud computing experts will witness moderate to high demand.

Significantly, all these skills were non-existent a decade ago. Organizations are also expected to increase their focus on soft skill development across levels and functions”

Organizations believe 25% of their current talent will become redundant in the next 3-5 years,while specialized skill sets in User Experience and Mobility see rising demand.

In addition to this, according to the study, the headcount in India to increase by 13 % in 2013. Organizations are seeking talent with skills in the areas of Engineering (50% of respondents indicated that it would be among the top 3 skills of the future), followed by Analytics skills (40%) such as Big Data, Predictive Modelling, HR Analytics, and Mobility (32%).

The biggest talent challenges that organizations face are in the areas of niche hiring and skillset assessment, with 50% of respondents suggesting that these would be key focus areas for HR in 2013. While dedicated statistical teams within HR departments can reduce challenges around skillset assessment, large volume data analysis and workforce planning, over half the organizations do not have such resources and just 20% are focused on it for 2013.