More often than not, the salary of a job is the main deciding factor of a job seeker, with money regularly topping the list of motivating factors that influences a jobseekers decision when searching for a new job.
This past year, the Coronavirus pandemic has put many businesses and individuals in a vulnerable position. Businesses have had to try and keep their head above water due to the unexpected financial knocks of the past year, and so many of the population have lost jobs because of this. And so, getting the balance right in regards to salaries has never been so important. Offer a package too low, and you risk losing out to top talent in the industry to competitors, offer a package too high and you may put your business in a vulnerable financial position.
Read on for our advice on investing for the best and how to offer candidates the right salary package.
1. Consider all factors
When putting together the job spec and salary for a new position, it’s helpful to understand the external factors such as unemployment rates and market competition, and internal factors such as job analyses, an influx of new talent and business conditions, in order to determine the appropriate salary package.
External factors such as unemployment rates and market competition can have a significant impact on salary differences. Let’s take a look at employment rates as an example. When unemployment is high, there will be a higher number of people looking for work than there are job vacancies. In this case, businesses might choose to lower their starting salary as they may expect jobseekers to settle for lower salaries in order to secure themselves a job.
On the other hand, when unemployment rates are low, this makes it much harder for employers to discover the best talent. And so, offering a more competitive salary may be necessary to attract those high in-demand skills.
When looking internally, factors such as the among of recruitment budget you have to play with and your urgency to fill the position will likely impact the salary you can offer.
2. Implement salary bands that fit your structure
Salary bands refer to pay ranges given to groupings of roles and are influenced by factors such as experience, geography, cost of living and seniority. They’re a great way of communicating expectations to potential candidates, enabling them to visualise their pay within the business’s overall salary structure.
The transparency of salary bands will help provide guidance to your hiring managers around the type of salary range they should offer candidates, as well as enabling employees to make a fair salary comparison between themselves and employees in similar roles.
3. Consider competitive bonus schemes and packages
When on the quest for top talent, you simply cannot underestimate the power of an attractive bonus scheme. Despite the variety of employee perks available today, for the vast majority of companies, the most popular part of the reward package for employees remains the bonus scheme – especially for those sales environments.
When creating a bonus scheme, it’s important to aim to create an offer that’s a ‘win-win’ for both the business and the employee. For instance, linking new business sales with employee reward. While this strategy can be a great way to attract candidates, it’s essential to ensure that the commission structure put in place and agreed within the employment contract is actually sustainable for your business.
4. The use of non-monetary bargaining tools
When trying to attract candidates, it’s not just a case of how big of a salary you whack on the table. In fact, there are many more benefits you should consider offering to your candidates that might just be the deciding factor between choosing your company or a competitors’. Perks such as additional paid holidays, education reimbursement, a company car, flexible working, life insurance, and help with childcare are all popular examples of favourable factors when deciding on a job.
5. Remain competitive by benchmarking your salaries
Our final tip in your journey to attracting top talent is to do your research and check out the competition – after all, this is likely to be exactly what your candidates are doing, right? Explore similar roles they may be advertising, the candidate criteria and the salary and benefits they are offering. This will paint a pretty good picture of how attractive your role will look in comparison while giving you suggestions on how to ensure your job ad catches the attention of job seekers.
HdE TALENT is proud to work with some of the biggest and most ambitious Digi-tech businesses in the world, helping our clients accelerate their growth goals by connecting them with the best talent in the space.
Download the HdE TALENT Salary Guide to gain a snapshot of current hiring trends, along with our guidance on remuneration and benefits across contract and permanent roles.