According to the latest 2023 Salary Guide by Morgan McKinley, more than half or 53% of employees across Australia, Canada, Hong Kong SAR, Ireland, Japan, Mainland China, Singapore and the UK are looking to move jobs in the first half of the year.
Survey results showed 45% citing ‘higher salary’ as their main reason for moving jobs, followed by ‘better career growth and development opportunities’ (16%).
“Until the availability of talent returns, there will be competition, and the potential for higher earnings will be there. It’s important to be mindful of benchmarks - you don’t want to over-offer, but equally you need to be attractive to top performers so you don’t fall behind in the war for niche and in-demand talent. With jobseekers likely to be in multiple processes, making sure your hiring strategy is streamlined and efficient will put you in a strong position,” said Seb O’Connell, group chief executive officer, Morgan McKinley.
The talent crunch worldwide remains critical, as the research revealed that over half (57%) of employers globally believe that they will lose staff in the first half of 2023 due to higher earning potential in other companies.
To combat this, 69% of global employers offered higher than expected salaries to attract new employees over the past 12 months. Furthermore, 70% of employers think that salaries in their specific sector will rise again in 2023, with 44% planning on increasing base salaries across all teams.
Hiring to fill pent-up demand
According to O’Connell, despite economic uncertainty impacting most countries, many organisations are recruiting.
“This appetite to hire is in response to pent-up demand lingering from the pandemic, replacements for staff turnover, driving ahead with change agendas, satisfying regulatory and legal requirements, or maximising the commercial opportunities that exist. There has been a definite shift towards a contract market in the light of global economic uncertainty. As companies watch their headcount and costs, short-term contract hiring will be prevalent,” he said.
The Morgan McKinley 2023 Salary Guide presents up-to-date salary data for a wide range of roles across the world, 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.
A total 3,860 employees/professionals and 636 employers/hiring managers were polled for Morgan McKinley’s latest salary guide to find out what companies’ hiring intentions are for 2023.
Nearly two in three (63%) global businesses plan to hire new permanent, contract or temporary workers in the next six months. While at the other end of the equation, 55% of employees are expecting their salaries to increase this year, with 58% also expecting some form of bonus payout.
“We expect to see a slight recalibration of salaries this year compared to 2022, but top talent can expect to see their pay rise when moving roles. A skills shortage remains in many sectors across the globe, creating a ‘bidding war’ between companies to secure talent, and from current employers to hold onto their staff. Combined with high inflation and increased living costs, there is upward pressure on salaries in many countries."
Seb O'Connell, Morgan McKinley
New challenges to Asian talent shortage
The new reality that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the decades long battle for talent in Asia Pacific, according to Rob Sheffield, managing director for Greater China, Morgan McKinley.
“A globalised economy has made it easier to work abroad. Less competitive economies are losing large numbers of native talent as they pursue better opportunities,” Sheffield told FutureCIO in an email interview. “Furthermore, a lack of progression and development for female leaders has seen an exodus of skills.”
To compound the problem, he pointed out that the disruption to the education system and schooling has led to huge lag in stem subjects and graduates entering the work force.
He noted that governments in Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore have changed policies in granting work visas to attract talents from overseas.
“It comes down to a lack of investment in education , startup communities and re-education of workforces by governments. Industry (sector specific) have fared better with re-education, return to work programs and investment in skills and training.”
“Academia tends to follow government trends, so the issue is largely one of being in touch with what skills are relevant and the reality for a lot of the potential work force, it is no longer appealing nor guarantees a job."
Rob Sheffied, Morgan McKinley
