30% of employers do not plan to raise pay: survey

But 46% of employers plan to raise salaries this year.

Three in 10 employers in Singapore have no plan to raise their employees’ salary, whilst less than half (46%) said they intend to give pay increases to at least nine out of 10 staff members, according to a recent survey by global organisation consulting firm Korn Ferry.

For the employers planning to implement pay hikes, the average salary increase expected was only 2.1%, lower than the 3.1% raise applied in 2020.

According to Korn Ferry Singapore senior client partner Kartikey Singh, more work would be contractual, temporary, services-led and driven by technology-aligned services as the economy spurred to growth, possibly creating pressure on governments and organisations to develop tech talent at a quicker rate.

“Whilst the overall pay increases might look sanguine, talent scarcity for areas like product and application development, cybersecurity in certain sectors like e-commerce, technology and fintech can drive significant pay premiums for these job categories,” said Singh. “This will force organisations to practice differentiated pay strategies for various employee and skill groups.”

Significantly, it would be more important for organisations to ensure their employees feel valued and rewarded. “As financial resources are constrained, organisations need to focus more on a ‘total rewards’ approach,” according to Korn Ferry global leader for rewards and benefits Don Lowman.

A total rewards approach included financial rewards such as base salaries, promotions, bonuses and benefits, as well as non-financial ones including interesting and meaningful work, an energising work climate, training and mentorship, career development opportunities, recognition and feedback, Korn Ferry said.