By David Leithead, Chief Operations Officer of Morgan McKinley UK.
The underlying economic gloom caused many employers to slow recruitment; the frenzy to secure new hires has been replaced by companies taking time and care to ensure the best hiring decisions are made. Despite this, the pressure to find new talent has remained, as companies look to drive ahead with change agendas, satisfy new regulatory and legal regimes, maximise commercial opportunities, and respond to turnover.
But with less talent available and more self-imposed stringent requirements, it hasn’t always been easy – 86% of organisations said they have found hiring ‘quite’ or ‘very’ competitive’ in 2023. 46% have lost out on hiring new talent in the last six months as they ‘can’t compete on salary and benefits’, and 40% expect ‘lack of skilled candidates available’ to be their greatest 2024 recruitment challenge. Despite this, the research found that over half (52%) of UK businesses still plan to hire in the next six months.
As for professionals, 51% in the UK plan to actively look for new jobs in the next six months. ‘Higher salary’ remains the most valued reason for wanting to move jobs at 42%, followed by ‘meaningful and impactful work’ at 13%. For pay, the power has largely shifted. Significant salary increases from 2022 normalised due to jobseekers having fewer options, yet 49% of professionals in the UK are optimistic that they will receive a salary increase in 2024 and 70% of employers plan to increase salary offers in 2024 for certain in-demand roles.
No matter the macro climate, it remains true that the right talent – that can drive progress and improvement – will remain in demand and companies will pay well to secure them. With the shortage of skilled professionals available, organisations should take steps to keep their people engaged, supported and happy; offering benefits that are meaningful to the individual’s specific situation will help here. Benefits around wellbeing and flexibility remain top of the pile.
Benefits and perks: Employees in the UK are not very satisfied with the benefits they receive, with 59% being ‘neutral’, ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘highly dissatisfied’ with their packages. Our research also revealed that non-financial benefits are as important, if not more important, than financial benefits in many cases. The top five desired benefits British workers look for in a job are: Work from home, bonus, pension, health insurance, and flexible working hours.
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Attracting, motivating, and retaining talent for your company goes beyond just offering competitive salaries. The needs, wants, and priorities of your people are vast, diverse, and constantly shifting. So it’s important you have a variety of strategies to keep them happy and engaged:
- Take the time to understand what truly drives your employees.
- Do the research to make sure your rewards programs are competitive – our specialist consultants know the market and can advise you on benchmarks.
- Foster a culture where each individual recognises the value of their role and its benefits – the grass isn’t always greener.
- Give high performance the recognition it deserves; this will encourage other individuals/teams to grow and improve – measure impact and value.
- Focus attention on non-financial rewards and financial rewards – tie them to strategic objectives so your people are all working towards the collective goal.
Contractors: As companies strive to cut costs and proceed cautiously, the permanent job market weakens. But many of the underlying business needs for talent remain – and so many employers turn to contracting. Hiring managers this year have been increasingly bringing in contractors to manage fluctuations in business and access new skills and capabilities.
Our research shows that contracting appears to be more attractive for many, as 48% of professionals currently employed in permanent roles would consider making the switch to contracting, with the main reasons given being ‘better rates of pay’, ‘greater opportunities to develop skills’, and ‘more flexibility’.
While the economic downturn weighs on the minds of many employers and dampens the hiring market, there remains a resounding belief that the right talent – that can drive progress and improvement – will remain hotly in demand.
The Morgan McKinley 2024 Salary Guide presents up-to-date and accurate salary data for a wide range of roles across the UK, providing hiring managers with industry benchmarks when they are working out what to pay employees and giving professionals more visibility over what they can earn.
Research from 650 businesses and 3,400 professionals was conducted to find out what companies’ hiring intentions are for 2024, what the key motivators are for changing jobs, and what the expectations are for movement on salaries.
