Employees commanding better pay

A new report is warning business leaders that due to the cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation, employees are commanding better pay.

Robert Half’s latest Jobs Confidence Index (JCI) shows that workers’ sense of job security and search confidence is making attraction and retention increasingly challenging for firms.

According to Robert Half, in order to develop a sustainable talent attraction solution, employers need to strike the right balance between offering competitive remuneration, progression plans and providing other benefits such as learning & development opportunities.

Matt Weston, Senior Managing Director UK & Ireland, at Robert Half, explained, “The high jobs confidence we’re seeing in the employment market at a time when the economy is sluggish is understandably putting pressure on corporate budgets as higher salaries are increasingly sought.

“The challenge for employers will be finding the right balance of financial and non-financial incentives to ensure unrealistic pay rises don’t have a detrimental impact on the bottom line.

“However, leaders need to be mindful of the fact that, while they can appease staff and new recruits with modest pay rises, with skills in short supply, competitors could easily poach their most valuable resource.”

Matt added, “While above-inflation pay rises aren’t sustainable for many firms, another talent exodus could soon be on the cards if retention plans aren’t implemented.

“Those leaders that find the balance between appropriate financial incentives and other attraction benefits such as training and progression opportunities, will be the ones to beat the competition on a longer-term basis

“With the right strategy and a clear roadmap, business leaders can emerge from the current macroeconomic uncertainty stronger and ahead of the competition. As a leader, make sure you are looking at all the levers at your disposal.

“Employers should be thinking about how to attract and retain the best talent, how to appeal to more candidates with a diversity mindset, take on more apprentices across a range of age groups, and invest in upskilling and reskilling their valuable workforce resource.”

To find out more about contracting please contact Jaime on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@dolanaccountancy.com.