43% Indian firms bank on women at senior positions for success

Indian firms may not have a large number of women in the higher ranks but a survey has found that many Indian organisations may be hiring more women at senior positions this year.

According to the survey by by Randstad India, 43 percent of Indian organisations feel that women in leadership positions will be one of the most important factors to drive the companies’ to success.

And it’s not just India that believes that women can be the driving force for companies. More companies across the world believe that women power will be the biggest factor in 2014.

China tops the survey result in this factor–where 51 percent of the Chinese companies want to hire women at the top positions. It is followed by Singapore, Australia and Malaysia with 47 percent, New Zealand with 44 percent, Hong Kong with 41 percent.

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So, why more women?

[caption id=“attachment_1357465” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption]

Indian companies now believe that a diverse workforce is essential to become successful.

Findings from the survey also showed stronger demand for greater flexibility from both employees and organisations.

The survey found that employees across Asia Pacific are increasingly beginning to value work/life balance over money, causing them to seek more flexible work options, while HR and business leaders see contract and virtual workers as an opportunity to tap into specialist skills on demand and reduce fixed headcount costs.

The Randstad survey found that nearly 50 percent of corporate India feels one of the key challenges they will face in the year ahead will be developing leadership skills among employees to drive business growth. Most Indian companies feel that people with leadership skills are very difficult to find. However,41 percent of business leaders who responded to the survey in India said they were confident that the education system will deliver the required skills.

The Randstad Workforce survey was cumulated by speaking to over 500 HR professionals in India.

Commenting on the findings of the survey, Moorthy K Uppaluri, CEO of Randstad in India and Sri Lanka, said,“HR and Business leaders should look at arresting brain-drain and create a culture to attract, develop and empower talent.This will automatically lead to increased productivity, business growth and career progression opportunities. Also, an optimum balance between leaders and knowledge workers is critical for sustained profitable growth.”