Big paydays for top talent, overall hikes may moderate

Top performers in IT product, consumer and lifesciences firms projected to get highest raise

- Devina Sengupta

Top performers are likely to be handsomely rewarded—in some cases getting raises double that of their peers—in an appraisal season that will see overall increment lower than last year's, according to a report by consulting firm Aon.

"Top performers in IT product firms are expected to get a 1.9x hike versus 1.73x that differentiated him/her from his/her peers in 2024," said Roopank Chaudhary, partner for human capital solutions at Aon, adding that key talent in consumer and life sciences will get 1.76x and 1.67x raise, respectively.

"The consumer sector is expected to see one of the lowest hikes in four years at 9.1%. But its top talent is always in demand from other sectors like e-commerce, technology and life sciences," pointed out Chaudhary, explaining the performance differential.