UAE. CTPartners Executive Search Inc. (AMEX: CTP), the performance-driven executive search firm, revealed in a research paper that was released recently that the emerging markets were the place to be in 2012 and during 2011 for the largest salary increases.

Seasoned leaders ready to manage P&L (Profit & Losses) businesses, or head global and regional functional and general management roles, are in extremely short supply in many emerging markets. This is true across industry groups. Quite naturally, in the markets where the perceived business potential is highest, the competition for talent is most pronounced and the remunerations match this high demand.

“Building and managing a talent base across multiple geographies, including mature and emerging markets, is a continuing challenge for global corporations. Emerging markets in particular often present new hurdles, almost universally including shortages of senior and specialized executive talent, even as regional operations are growing rapidly,” said the CTPartners’ paper on Emerging Markets.

When multinational corporations consider the various ways in which the global talent imbalance will impact their businesses, it is perhaps appropriate to first understand the financial impact of this imbalance. “Stated succinctly, talent is not cheap in emerging markets. Real constraints in the talent market drive salary inflation that works in tandem with the upward wage pressure already present in rapidly expanding economies,” according to CTPartners Emerging Markets Trend Talk Report.

For example, according to the ECA International Salary Trends Survey, salary increases across Asia Pacific in 2011 was on average 6%, with the largest increases being awarded to employees in Vietnam, India, and Indonesia, each with expected gains of 9% or more. Asia Pacific nations with the fastest growth saw the strongest salary boosts, owing to local skills shortages. Slightly slower growing and more established markets, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, had a 3.5% average salary hikes.

Latin America had world’s largest salary increase of 11.4% on average, with as much as 30% and 18% increases in Venezuela and Argentina respectively, according to the ECA International Salary Trends Survey. Salaries in Europe rose 3.4% on average in 2011, well below the global figure.  In the Middle East, employees saw salary increases hovering around 5% in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Eastern European workers saw average salary gains of nearly 5% as well, with employees in Russian, Romania, and Bulgaria enjoying the region’s largest gains. Mature economies were expected to have the lowest salary hikes, with Western Europe seeing the smallest gains.

Average salary increases in most countries for 2012 will be very similar to those awarded in 2011. For companies shopping for talent in emerging markets the message is clear:

Expect salaries to be commensurate with the marketplace opportunities.

About CTPartners
CTPartners is a leading performance-driven executive search firm serving clients across the globe. Committed to a philosophy of partnering with its clients, CTPartners offers a proven record in C-Suite, senior executive, and board searches, as well as expertise serving private equity and venture capital firms.
 
With origins dating back to 1980, CTPartners serves clients with a global organization of more than 400 professionals and employees, offering expertise in board advisory services and executive recruiting services in the financial services, life sciences, industrial, professional services, retail and consumer, and technology, media and telecom industries.  Headquartered in New York, CTPartners has 23 offices in 15 countries.
 
For more information, please visit www.ctnet.com.

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