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Do your employees stay loyal when they get a salary hike?

Do your employees stay loyal when they get a salary hike?

Companies are defined not by what they do, but by those who do it. Who are they? The employees, of course. The most successful brands are the ones with passionate employees inspired by the work culture and leadership, and play a proactive role in the company’s success.

Happy employees = sustainable business success

This is evidenced by Google being touted as the best company to work for in America. Based on this insightful report by Business Insider, “86% of Google employees say they are either extremely satisfied or fairly satisfied with their job”. The report goes on to highlight the many factors that Google employees love about the company, which include generous perks and high salaries, meaningful company mission, flexibility to work on passion projects, and more.

While one might argue that Google, being the world’s second most valuable brand in 2016, has more resources than most to afford their employees such lavish perks, it could also be said that they are where they are because of the right culture and priorities where their employees are concerned.

Higher salaries vs employee retention

In a 2016 Job Happiness Index Report (a survey conducted by JobStreet.com and JobsDB), over 50,000 respondents in Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia were asked to vote for the top factors that would increase their job satisfaction in the next 6 months. The results were not surprising. “Salary increase” and “new job” came up as the top two factors with the highest votes across the board.

This suggests that these respondents are so disillusioned with their jobs that leaving the company seems to be one of their main solutions to regaining job satisfaction. What if they were offered a pay rise? Would that make them stick around? But how much of a pay rise would be enough to retain them?

study on “2016 Salary Increase Trends for Employees in Asia Pacific” argues that salary raises are out of synch with inflation, especially for markets with high volatility and persistent inflationary pressures. These are hard times for all, businesses and individuals alike, but it’s also the most crucial time for companies to hang on to their best talents.

Salary as an indicator of employee appreciation

Why is one’s salary level so important? There are undoubtedly various other ways to show appreciation — career progression opportunities, flexible work culture, open praise on a job well done, the list goes on and on. But when we come down to it, a competitive salary is the very basic form of appreciation most employees expect. According to Forbes, “79% of employees reported ‘a lack of appreciation’ as the key reason for leaving.”

More focus needed on employee retention

While we can all agree that most businesses are currently facing tremendous pressure to perform in an increasingly competitive environment, it is important to bear in mind that employee retention is even more crucial at times like this.

The Deloitte SEA Human Capital Trends Survey 2015 underscores that “In a region where employees are in the driver’s seat, the ability to attract, lead, motivate and develop our talent pool is critical to sustained business growth.” The report further claims that “Employees are no longer just employees — they are our customers and partners. To succeed in this new world of work, organisations must build a culture that inspires employees to stay and become proactive contributors to the overall success of a company.”

In closing, while we won’t deny that there are a whole host of other factors involved in building employee loyalty, a competitive salary is the very basic form of appreciation that most employees would expect, and quite rightly so.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Would a higher salary reinforce your employees’ loyalty to the company? Share your views with us in the comments section below.

 

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This article is either written or edited by JobsDB HK. If you would like to publish it on other website or publication, please contact us by email: [email protected]. JobsDB reserves the right to take legal action against any person that infringes the copyright.

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