Research and data from at least two firms shows that additional roles are indeed translating into better-than-average increments; double promotions; accelerated career paths; and more skilling opportunities for employees.

Companies say it is a win-win for them too as they get to retain valuable talent, cultivate a more skilled workforce from within, and save time and money on external hiring.

This trend is evident across companies, shows the findings of two separate surveys by Deloitte India and Randstad India shared exclusively with ET. This is validated by chief executives at companies like Nobroker.com and Simplilearn.

Edtech platform, Simplilearn is identifying talent in-house who are going beyond their existing roles and taking up more job functions. “We are looking at rewarding them with salary hikes that can go as high as 30% to 35%,” said Krishna Kumar, CEO. “It makes sense to look for talent within the firm rather than outside,” he said.

It is a similar story at Nobroker.com, a proptech unicorn. “This is a peak season for us when a high number of renting/purchasing/house shifting takes place in the year. There are employees who are working extra and taking up more load…we will keep them in mind for higher pay hikes and even bonuses,” said Amit Agarwal, CEO.

“More than half of the surveyed organisations have reported arresting key young talent attrition by up to 50% with such a programme,” said Neelesh Gupta, director, Deloitte India.Fast-track career programmes have also helped companies drive employee engagement, create employer brand ambassadors, and nurture a healthy high-potential pipeline.According to the Randstad survey, which covered 750 respondents, seven in 10 employees have taken up stretch roles extending beyond their core roles in a move to build their careers. In the future, half of these employees are open to stretch roles in the future. “Incentives such as increased pay and perks will become powerful drivers,” said Viswanath PS, MD & CEO, Randstad India.

In 2023, 31% of employees who took additional roles got better-than-average salary increments while 21% received a salary increment between 11% to 20%, and 10% said they received a salary increment above 20%. Nearly half of the respondents have received hikes between 6% and 10%.

“Highest salary increases for employees in stretch roles were in IT (25%), management (25%) and operations (22%),” said Viswanath.

As much as 70% of employees in the last 1-2 years were given an option to expand their current roles by taking up a stretch role, according to the Randstad survey.

More than half of the companies surveyed by Deloitte said the move has helped them halve key talent attrition. “Key talent attrition has been high at 1.5x-1.7x of normal attrition, highlighting career growth as one of the top reasons for leaving a company,” said Gupta.

As much as 79% of those surveyed in senior management roles said they have taken up stretch roles compared to their counterparts in sales and marketing roles (59%) and finance (50%).