The future of Indian talent

With India's economic landscape transforming at an unprecedented pace, the talent marketplace too is undergoing a profound metamorphosis, demanding immediate attention and a strategic response. As organisations compete for talent in niche sectors like real estate or facility management, they find themselves at a critical inflection point where traditional talent strategies must evolve to meet emerging realities.

The Indian workforce is projected to grow to approximately 1 billion by 2030, making it one of the largest labour forces globally. However, beneath this impressive growth lies a complex transformation requiring nuanced understanding and strategic adaptation.

Today's professionals are engaging in what can be called the "Great Skill Recalibration" – a fundamental shift in the capabilities needed to drive business success. According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023, , as digital transformation accelerates across industries, around 60% of workers in India will require significant reskilling by 2027.

In real estate and facility management specifically, we are witnessing an accelerated demand for professionals who combine traditional domain knowledge with digital fluency. An employee who can balance a comprehensive understanding of physical asset management while leveraging IoT, building automation systems and predictive analytics platforms represents our sector's most valuable talent profile.

The ‘where’ and ‘how’ of work has seen a fundamental shift over the last few years. According to our recent Future of Work survey, over 90% of organisations operating in India prefer hybrid work arrangements, and this shift has catalysed growth beyond traditional metro business hubs.

Tier II and tier III cities are emerging as viable talent markets, with infrastructure investments making these regions increasingly attractive. To grow, organisations must recognise that tomorrow's talent strategy cannot exclusively focus on metros like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The competitive advantage will belong to employers who can build meaningful presence across a distributed geographic talent network.

Professionals today have very different expectations from the employer-employee relationship:

Purpose-driven engagement:

Nearly 74% of professionals under the age of 35 consider organisational purpose and social impact in employment decisions. Real estate practices must demonstrably align with sustainability goals and community impact initiatives.

Learning ecosystems:

High-potential talent increasingly prioritises organisations offering robust development opportunities. Beyond formal training, they seek immersive experiences, rotation programs and mentorship.

Mental wellbeing support:

Approximately 42% of Indian professionals have reported experiencing workplace burnout since 2020. Leading organisations are responding with comprehensive wellbeing programs that address both physical and mental health.

Workplace culture:

Employees now actively seek environments that are inclusive and diverse, fostering a strong sense of belonging and psychological safety for open expression. They also expect recognition beyond financial rewards and transparent communication from leadership.

Leadership approach:

Professionals expect empathetic and authentic leadership that provides regular, meaningful feedback, offers greater visibility into decision-making processes and actively models healthy work-life boundaries.

To navigate this dynamic landscape and gain a competitive edge, organisations must embrace several key principles:

Talent intelligence as strategic imperative:

There is a need to transition from reactive recruitment to proactive talent intelligence – systematically mapping market shifts, competitor movements and emerging skill clusters to anticipate needs rather than respond to them.

Experience architecture:

Employer brand differentiation will increasingly depend on sophisticated experience design across the employee lifecycle. Each touchpoint, from recruitment through retirement, represents an opportunity to strengthen engagement and loyalty.

Ecosystem approach:

The traditional employment model is giving way to more fluid arrangements incorporating full-time employees, gig workers, technology partners, and specialised consultants. Tomorrow's CHROs must orchestrate this complex talent ecosystem rather than simply manage an employee base.

Adaptive leadership development:

As market conditions evolve more rapidly, leadership pipelines must produce executives comfortable with ambiguity, skilled in managing distributed teams and capable of navigating complex stakeholder landscapes.

The future of talent in India belongs to organisations that recognise fundamental shifts and respond with both strategic foresight and operational agility. Our ability to thrive depends not only on acknowledging these changes but embracing them as catalysts for organisational transformation.

The organisations that will thrive in tomorrow's India won't simply adapt to talent evolution—they will actively shape it.