7 in 10 Singaporeans prioritize personal growth over high salaries

Employers still wage war for talent but increasing salaries is not the way to win.

According to the Singapore Employment Outlook and Salary Guide 2012/2013 released by Kelly Services, although demand for talent across the Professional and Technical segment remains high, employers do not seem to be increasing salaries to attract and retain key hires in the continuing war for talent. The annual guide, which provides an insight into the latest salary ranges for positions across all industries in Singapore, shows that salaries remain largely unchanged as a greater importance is placed on non-monetary benefits.

Commenting on the data from the guide, Mr Dhirendra Shantilal, Senior Vice President, APAC at Kelly Services pointed out that “Human capital is the most valuable asset in a fiercely competitive globalised world and employers must retain and attract talent to be able to compete on a regional and global scale. We are seeing a shift in the way that companies approach compensation and benefits with many recognising that they must find creative solutions that offer more than just a competitive remuneration scheme in order to keep hold of critical skill sets within an organisation.”

Singapore has long faced a widespread talent shortage. Despite the heavily publicised global cutbacks and redundancies in recent years, many professionals including Accountants, Bankers and Financiers, and Engineers remain highly sought-after. In such a labour market, one would expect companies to use financial compensation as a means of strategically attracting and retaining talent.

However, according to the 2012 Kelly Global Workforce Index, Singaporeans prefer to negotiate other factors. 75% placed personal growth and fulfilment as more important than compensation and benefits when choosing between jobs. 51% also believed that it was important to change jobs for career growth and skill development.

In response to the changing demands of the workforce, savvy HR managers have begun to take a different, more rounded approach to an individual’s employment package. While monetary benefits remain a key feature, non-financial rewards such as work flexibility, career development programmes, and a clear career path are also being used as negotiating tools. This means that while some professionals may not have seen their salaries  increase in line with inflation, their long term prospects have improved quite considerably.

Just as future career prospects are looking bright, the outlook for Singapore economy remains positive. The economy grew by 4.9% in 2011 and is expected to grow by 1-3% in 2012. The employment rate is on an uptrend and has recorded higher growth compared to other advanced economies such as Japan, Germany and the United States.

For the key sectors in demand, hiring is still expected to grow despite other challenges in the macroeconomic environment. In the Accounting & Finance sector, mid-level positions like senior accountants, auditors and credit managers, will continue to be in demand due to stricter internal controls via expense management and push for profitability.

In the Banking & Finance sector, with the greater focus on risk and compliance as regulatory requirements become increasingly stringent, banks are focusing on the hires for such business critical positions. The insurance, asset management and reinsurance sub-sectors are experiencing solid growth creating appetite for skills such as quantitative analysis and actuarial related disciplines.