What are your staff worth? A study conducted by recruitment firm Chandler Macleod has revealed that only 55 percent of all professional workers surveyed received a pay rise in the last 12 months.
Of the professionals who received a salary increase, 40 percent had to ask for it, suggesting that many employees knew their worth in the job market.
Luke Henningsen, executive general manager at Chandler Macleod, says that employers cannot afford to become complacent about their staff. "Employees are testing their value with other potential employers and showing a willingness to walk from their current employer if their requests are not considered seriously. To retain their best staff in this market, employers will need to be more proactive in managing salary expectations and their reward systems."
The firm’s survey also revealed, however, that setting reward systems may not be as easy as most employers think, with the misuse of key performance indicators (KPIs) identified as a de-motivating factor. Badly designed KPIs, handed down from management without employee consultation, generally led to unrealistic expectations and the perception that management did not understand employee roles.
"Setting KPIs or specific deliverables should be a collaborative process where each employee has direct input when setting the goals," says Henningsen. Collaboration would give employees some ownership of the KPIs, which makes them more committed to what they agree to achieve and more likely to attain the goals set.
