Home topics workplace hr-and-staff Managing News Staff Managing Small business to face wage containment struggle Guest Author June 22, 2011 Small businesses look set to face an ongoing struggle to contain wages in 2011, according to the 2011 Australian Institute of Management (AIM) National Salary Survey. The survey, which based on the responses of 190 companies throughout Australia, covering over 120 job roles, revealed the vast majority (83.2 percent) of small companies paid salary increases in the 2010/2011 year for at least some employees, compared to 76 percent in the previous survey period . This result is echoed by the finding that 93.8 percent of small companies expect to review salaries, for at least some employees, over the next year. “A tightening labour market, skills shortages and the likelihood of a rate rise within the next few months all point to a wages blow out if employers can’t find ways to keep good people without big wage hikes,” AIM New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory Chief Executive David Wakeley said. With added pressures to contend with, flexible work arrangements is just one of the strategies small businesses are beginning to adopt in order to retain good employees. “Many employers will have big cost pressures, so savvier employers are seeking creative ways to motivate people, without offering big salary hikes,” Wakeley added. Pay trends uncovered in the 2011 AIM Survey include: There was minimal variation in annual average salary movements across job levels, with the highest annual average salary movement recorded for