Mumbai, Apr 07: Mercer, a Marsh business and a global leader in helping clients realize their investment objectives, shape the future of work and enhance health and retirement outcomes for their people, today released the India-specific findings of its Global Talent Trends 2026 report.
This landmark survey of nearly 12,000 C-suite executives, HR leaders, investors, and employees worldwide, including 650 participants from India, reveals that Indian businesses are showing higher organisational agility and bold restructuring plans than their global peers while facing a unique “AI paradox” of optimism and surveillance anxiety.
“India’s youthful workforce and bold appetite for organisational redesign are giving companies a clear agility edge over their global peers,” said Mansee Singhal, Career Leader, Mercer. “To turn this advantage into sustained growth, leaders must harness the promise of AI while protecting trust and addressing the emotional needs of employees. With 74% of Indian employees placing exceptional value on purpose, yet pay remaining the number one reason for attrition; success will come from solving for this dichotomy through amplifying purpose and strengthening performance and pay decisions.”
AI seen as transformative, but employees worry about monitoring
The India specifying findings report that 54% of C-suite leaders in India expect AI’s primary role to be transforming the business and driving innovation in the next two years (vs 42% global), with 66% of HR leaders planning work redesign to achieve optimal human-machine capability.
However, 79% of employees trust their company to provide the skills needed if their job changes due to AI, while 75% are concerned AI will be used for workplace surveillance — higher than the global average. 69% of Indian employees say the most valuable use of AI would be to suggest upskilling opportunities, ahead of other AI applications.
Investors surveyed globally agree that companies integrating human and AI capabilities gain a competitive advantage, a view strongly shared by India’s corporate leaders who are prioritising transformation-led AI strategies over cost-cutting automation.
Talent scarcity and skills shift in India
While talent scarcity ranked lower in India (42%) than globally (54%), leaders highlight an urgent need to pivot towards skills-powered talent practices. 74% of India’s C-suite say moving toward skills-based approaches is a top priority which is ahead of global peers at 63%.
Employees are aware of the challenge, with 54% worried about their skills staying relevant. More than half (57%) want their employers to pay more for critical, in-demand skills, underscoring the link between skills strategy and pay equity.
HR leaders in India are far more likely than global peers to plan addressing pay disparities between recent hires and tenured staff (57% vs 53%), and 36% cite flexibility in where and when they work as a top investment to improve day-to-day employee experience.
Purpose vs Pay: A retention paradox
Indian employees place exceptional value on purpose- 74% say working for an organisation with a purpose they are proud of helps them thrive, compared to 42% globally. Yet pay remains the number one reason for attrition, with 54% planning to leave for better compensation elsewhere.
This sentiment is further highlighted by the 44% of employees who feel they are not compensated fairly for the work they do. The drive for fair and competitive compensation is also evident in employees’ desire for internal equity, with 37% wanting assurance that they are paid the same as peers for similar work. Recognizing this critical need, HR leaders in India are significantly more likely than their global counterparts to plan addressing pay equity gaps between recent hires and longer-tenured employees in 2026 (57% vs 53% globally).
This proactive stance reflects the increasing global focus on transparency and equity as foundational elements for effective talent attraction and retention strategies. Those who stay cite control over work location/time (45%) and positive work culture (46%) as key retention drivers, showing the interplay between flexibility, culture and purpose.
Driving exceptional performance: The performance management imperative
Performance management is becoming a key priority for business leaders in India, aligning with the theme of “Driving Exceptional Performance.” About 78% of C-suite leaders believe their performance culture effectively develops talent, and 76% say managers can redirect resources to business needs.
Employees show moderate alignment, with 57% linking goals to business objectives and 53% finding the process valuable. However, gaps remain, with only 48% finding systems effective and 40% seeing it enable real growth. To address this, HR leaders are focusing on using performance data for talent and pay decisions, strengthening reward linkages, and leveraging AI to improve feedback and performance conversations.
Youth-driven organisational overhaul and agility advantage
With Gen Z accounting for 43% of India’s workforce, compared to 33% globally, organisational design changes are high on leaders’ agendas. The survey reveals that 80% of India’s C-suite plan to simplify reporting lines, significantly ahead of the global average of 59%, while 76% intend to flatten hierarchies, compared to 44% globally. A further 64% expect to create self-organising teams, versus 49% globally. Overall agility scores in India are also marked higher, with 48% rating their agility as high compared to just 29% worldwide, particularly in business agility at 52% and product agility at 42%.
“India’s corporate leaders are pursuing bold organisational changes, with agility scores nearly twice the global average and many planning to simplify reporting lines and flatten hierarchies,” said Arpita Chakraborty, Director – Work, Skills & Talent, Mercer. “Yet only 45 percent of employees believe their feedback leads to change, revealing a clear alignment gap between C-suites focused on AI-driven work redesign and HR teams prioritising employee experience. Bridging this divide will require leaders who pair AI fluency, now seen as essential by 78 percent of executives, with integrity, communication and accountability to build trust and sustain performance.”
