By Suraj Anand, Mubin Panjwani

IF appraisals are not good this year, I will flee the country," jokes Sorabh Dastur*, a 27-year old media professional who lives in Mumbai with his family. This is his first reaction to the new inflation figure of 11.05 per cent.

Sorabh earns 5 lakhs per annum and expects a good hike this year (read 50 per cent!).

While some companies have completed appraisals for this year, some are still in the pipeline. What figure can you expect this year? We spoke to two HR professionals who gave us some perspective.

Marcel R Parker
Ex-President HR-Raymond Ltd, and Chairman, IKYA Human Capital Solutions

"Thankfully appraisals across most industries are over. But inflation needs to be controlled if salary hikes have to happen next year," he says. According to him the appraisals have been in the range of 14.5 to 15 per cent in India -- the highest in Asia.

Marcel feels that the working people in metros will suffer the most if they are not given salary hikes. "Look at how expensive things are in Mumbai, if salaries don't match up to the cost of commodities, life will be tough," he suggests.

While pay hikes in most industries has been more or less constant as compared to last year, it is the IT industry, which has seen a slowdown. "The reasons are those doing the rounds -- global recession , dollar depreciation etc," he explains.

Ravinder Dey, HR Manager-TCG Real Estate
When asked if his company was looking to revise increments this year, Ravinder said, "No. We make sure that our minimum appraisal is above the inflation levels. Since we have always maintained a minimum of 10 per cent increment, we have never had to revise our appraisals." This year the benchmark for TCG Real Estate was 15 per cent, which was higher than their usual increment figure.

Smart advice
Appraisals are performance-driven. Marcel offers some pointers to help working professionals buck up:

• Set realistic goals. Don't promise more than you can deliver. Set achievable targets and deadlines in order to meet them.
• Stay in good books with your seniors. It's eventually in the hands of your team head to appraise you, so while retaining your individuality build a healthy relationship with him or her.
• Work hard!

*Name changed to protect identity

Photograph: Getty Images

In the photograph: India's emerging middle class
(Photograph used for illustrative purposes only)

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