The Hays Salary Guide has found 71 per cent of marketing employers planned to increase salaries above three per cent, while 83 per cent of employees expect a pay rise of above three per cent. Eighty-two per cent of marketing professionals are also either looking or planning to look for a new job in the next 12 months with rising cost of living (60 per cent) coming in as one of the top reasons they were looking to leave their current role in pursuit of a higher salary.
The Hays Salary Guide, released today and in its 45th year, is based on a survey of more than 15,000 employers and professionals, covering more than 1,250 roles across 27 different industries.
Lack of promotional opportunities (57 per cent), poor management style (61) and commuting time (57 per cent) also top the list of reasons why employees would look to leave their current roles.
“The mismatch between what employees want and what employers are willing to offer will play out over the next year, with 54 per cent of employees being dissatisfied with their salaries and 74 per cent saying it doesn’t reflect their individual performance,” Hays CEO, Matthew Dickason said.
“There’s a trend of employees expecting higher salary increases over the past three reports with 66 per cent indicating they believed they would benefit financially from changing jobs in the next 12 months”.
“In 2019, 67 per cent of employees expected a pay rise of less than three per cent. In just five years the pendulum has swung to 88 per cent of employees expecting a pay increase of more than 3 per cent”.
The salary increase landscape: Employer intentions vs employee expectations
|
Value of salary increase |
Salary increase employers intend to pay |
Salary increase employees expect |
|
0% |
13% |
16% |
|
< 3% |
39% |
21% |
|
3-6% |
33% |
31% |
|
6-10% |
9% |
18% |
|
>10% |
5% |
13% |
“However, we are also seeing an increase in the number of marketing professionals asking for a pay rise (68 per cent) up from 55 per cent last year,” Dickason said.
“Individual performance remains the number one employer consideration for a pay increase (86 per cent). Other factors employers will consider include responsibilities (71 per cent), expertise (53 per cent), external typical salaries for the role (57 per cent) and the organisation’s performance (57 per cent)”.
Skills Shortage – Employers forced to offer higher salaries
The report found that 41 per cent of employers expected to increase permanent headcount over the next 12 months, while 26 per cent of employers will increase the use of temporary or contract staff.
However, 71 per cent of organisations indicated they were experiencing skills shortages with 10 per experiencing extreme skills shortages and 59 per cent experiencing either moderate or minor shortages.
“We also saw a rise in marketing employers being forced to offer higher salaries in the past year due to the skills shortage with 21 per cent offering substantially higher salaries and 52 per cent offering nominally higher salaries,” Dickason said.
“The survey also found 66 per cent of organisations expected skills shortages to impact the effective operation of their business in the next 12 months”.
“Despite this, marketing employers are positive about the year ahead with 73 per cent of employers expecting business activity to increase, while 62 per cent of organisations reported an increase in overall productivity over the past 12 months”.
“Meanwhile, employees are ready and waiting for learning and development opportunities, looking for career progression, and wanting to contribute to their employer’s success. Businesses should take advantage of this eagerness to upskill to embed learning behaviours and avoid losing key talent”.
Advice for employers
“Salary is undoubtedly the most critical factor in attracting, rewarding and retaining marketing professionals today with 60 per cent of employers being prepared to offer above the standard package to secure a candidate,” Dickason said.
“But employers must also recognise that additional benefits are not just a bonus – they are a must. Benefits employers are offering this year to retain valuable employees include flexibility (54 per cent), revised job title (39 per cent) and professional development (36 per cent)”.
“Your employer’s brand and reputation is one of the strongest motivators for staff to stay. Positive changes to a company’s ESG approach, DE&I strategies, flexible hybrid setups and a strong team culture are some of the ways that employers can hold on to valued staff”.
Advice for professionals
“With skills in demand, you still have bargaining power, but it’s important to avoid pricing yourself out of consideration. Yes, employers are investing in salary increases, but the commercial reality dictates that salary increases can only stretch so far,” Dickason said.
“Consider the whole package when you negotiate a new job or your next pay rise. Think about what you’d really value and what could make a difference to your life and career long-term”.
