4.9% increase in salary/pay as businesses fight for staff!
It’s no big secret when we write that 2021 highlighted how much of a candidate scarce market it is out there, across marketing and creative and 2022 is set to be no different. With salary inflation the highest we’ve personally seen it and a recorded 4.9% growth in average salary/pay across the UK (including bonuses) to secure or retain staff, the battle for talent is not just going to continue, but we predict it will get even tougher!
For those businesses that can afford this inflation in salary, they should be able to retain most of their staff and ‘price them out of the market’, but not all businesses can and this is where their staff may become more open to a move. However, it’s not all about money and an increase in salary isn’t the only and main driver for employees looking to jump ship. All employers, but especially those that can’t keep up with the increasing inflation in salaries, should look to their employer branding. It will pay dividends in retaining and securing new talent.
Yes you need to look at what wider benefits packages you are currently offering beyond salary and holiday allowance and whether this is still competitive in the market, but also how you are treating your employees. For example, when was the last time you held a review (and not just a pay review, but a review of their role and how they were getting on)? When was the last time a senior stakeholder within your business simply checked in with the team to tell them they’re doing a great job? Now more than ever, with most businesses back to working remotely, coupled with many being understaffed and therefore having to put even more pressure on their existing teams, it’s never been more important to 1) assess your employer branding and 2) check in with your team regularly (and we don’t mean the daily zoom meetings!). How are they really being supported, if you were being honest? Mental health and wellbeing is so important and the extremely tight candidate market highlights just how important it is, to really support and value your existing team, because without them, you wouldn’t have a business!
We predict in 2022, that the winners and losers of the talent battle, will be based on how current and future employees feel and are treated by their employer/the perception of their potential employer. If you’d like to know how your benefits package stacks up against others in the industry, or get some help assessing your employer brand, get in touch with us for an honest and informative chat.
(p.s. I'm a Marvel fan with Iron Man and Captain America being two of my favourite characters, but the use of this image with this blog post, spans further than my love of the films. Honest!).