Even in a strong economy, employers often feel the need to be money-conscious. After all, the basic profit equation is pretty simple: The money I earn minus the money I spend equals my profit. For most businesses, particularly in the service sector, salaries make up a huge portion of company costs and overall revenue.
Survey Reveals Pay Issues
Unfortunately for employers, recent survey results published by the Addison Group suggest employees care a lot about their paychecks, they know how to find out what a fair wage is, and they aren’t afraid to ask for it.
Here are some statistics from the survey:
- 47% of jobseekers report they are unsatisfied with their salary/compensation
- 53% feel comfortable negotiating with employers
- 69% report they negotiated salary within the past year
Collectively, these numbers indicate that employees care about how much they are paid and are willing to ask for more money if they detect disparities.
In fact, they’re more than willing. Even though only 53% of survey respondents said they felt comfortable negotiating compensation with employers, a full 69% said they actually did so in the last year!
Salary Information Readily Available
The Addison Group survey also asked respondents about where they research salary information, and it found that employees use multiple sources.
Fifty-eight percent reported using online research, 38% reported turning to conversations with industry peers, and 30% reported talking directly to coworkers. Salary information is more available than ever before, and employees are increasingly willing to share information about their salaries—not just over the backyard fence but online.
It’s not surprising that employees care about how much money they’re making. Savvy employers need to be aware that employees have many ways of looking for salary information and aren’t afraid of asking for more money if they think they deserve it.
Not all employers are able to simply give employees the raises they demand. But at a minimum, and even in the absence of unlimited funds to spend on salaries, employers should have some alternatives in their back pockets, such as benefits and flexibility.
In addition, it’s important to make sure that you’re continually communicating with employees about the value of their total compensation package.