Compensation Trends To Consider For Your Next Hire

Navigating the new workforce

Are you in the market to hire a talented professional for your team? The resigning and rehiring movements have significantly impacted the hiring process. During the pandemic, we had to re-evaluate our priorities as business owners, which has resulted in a shift in expectations for both employers and top talent. 

Compensation and work-life balance have become critical in attracting the best candidate for the job. According to the Labor Department, more than 4.5 million people voluntarily quit their jobs in November 2021, resulting in the highest resignation rates in the United States in the previous 20 years. As a result, businesses are increasing their recruitment efforts in order to fill recently vacant positions. These factors have increased the number of people looking for work, which has, in turn, flooded the market.
 

From higher base salaries to more flexible working arrangements, businesses can adapt to changing workforce trends to attract and retain qualified professionals, such as embracing remote work or hybrid-like environments and increasing compensation. Evidently, we have seen firsthand that revenue-generating roles, such as sales, customer success, and marketing, have seen the greatest increase in pay over the last 10 years. The Betts 2022 Compensation Guide, which was derived from first-party data, backs up this finding.

The starting salary for tech sales has risen from $45,000 to $50,000. Because of the increasing decentralization of technology, businesses are becoming more accepting of remote and hybrid workers. High-growth cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Austin have enabled compensation to become more consistent across the country, regardless of whether employees work remotely, in a hybrid setting, or in person.

Are you ready to navigate the new workforce? Here are some compensation trends to keep in mind when looking for job talent to add to your team.

Competition Amongst Top Talent Leads to Increased Compensation

With the surge in top talent flooding the marketplace, businesses looking for rapid growth must match or go beyond the salary expectations of their employees. Our research indicates a 5-15 percent increase in compensation over the last year, which means that offering the average salary range is no longer enticing for potential new hires. To account for this increase, businesses should offer above market rates for new and existing employees. Another recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report supports these findings, noting that the increase in the tech sales industry compensation aligns with the overall trend of businesses seeing an increase in pay on average this year across all industries.

Employees Are Thriving in Remote Work Environments

Companies have the opportunity to help new hires and existing employees create a healthy work-life balance in this talent-forward job market. Job talent is prioritizing working from home and competitive salaries, ultimately helping them lead happier, more fulfilled professional lives. According to the data we have gathered, employees who work from home remain in their positions for up to one additional year. Companies that provide this kind of remote flexibility and put focus on talent development are building strong, engaged teams.

In-office Employee Compensation is Greater than Remote Roles

There will be an increase in compensation for employees who work in an office environment as some businesses take part in the recent Great Return movement. The pandemic brought about a shift in the dynamic of the workplace, and as a result, job talent are accustomed to having the option of working from home or in hybrid work spaces. Companies have the opportunity to adjust compensation to reflect this change in the workplace, particularly for roles that take place in an office setting. Potential relocation and the renewed daily commute amongst other factors play a role in the increase in compensation 10-20 percent of businesses are expected to pay their employees for returning to the office.

Companies Do Not Plan to Change Compensation Based on the Employee's Remote Location

Compensation for remote roles, including account management and customer success positions, is becoming more in larger cities. Meanwhile, access to technology is becoming less centralized in these hub areas and more distributed throughout the country. This pattern, which enables employees to perform their jobs from any location, is likely to continue as the world becomes more dependent on technological advancements. Almost 65 percent of companies have no plans to change compensation based on remote locations and instead will provide value-based pay to their workers.

An average salary range for any given position is not enough to qualify or attract top talent in today's market, and companies looking to scale must meet or exceed these expectations. With this new workforce, businesses can keep up with the shift in the market and pay new and existing employees more than the market rate as we continue our journey through this new workforce.

Carolyn Betts is the Founder and CEO of Betts Recruiting, a leading nationwide recruiting technology and services firm for revenue-generating (sales, customer success, and marketing) roles. Prior to founding Betts, she began her career selling advertising in the Yellow Pages book and recruiting for Andiamo! Group, where she was the top performer company-wide during her employment. From there, Carolyn transitioned into sales at CareerBuilder.com and became a top-performing enterprise sales executive.  Connect Carolyn Betts