38% of your team are at risk of leaving. Here’s what you can do about it
Did you know 38% of people in your team are potentially at risk of leaving? Throughout the year, especially heading into EOFY, our team of recruiters have a lot of conversations with both line managers and candidates around salaries. It got us thinking about what approaches people take when it comes to getting a bump in their salary.
One of our Recruitment Consultants posed this very question on LinkedIn and the results might surprise you…
Though just a sample, these numbers open an important dialogue on how both employees and employers can better prepare for these situations, ensuring those involved feel empowered to steer the salary conversation on either side of the table.
For organisations in particular, this can go a long way in making sure you have a understanding of where you or your team may be sitting, where to avoid missed opportunities, and that you are armed with steps to retain top talent while fostering a thriving, open and honest work environment.
So what does this data sample tell us?
While 6 out of 10 team members will straight up have the conversation with their employer, they are also running the risk of losing 4 team members.
For the 16% automatically looking for new jobs, teams could be losing ambitious, talented humans unnecessarily.
If 23% do nothing but regret it OR expect their manager to bring the salary review conversation to the table, there’s the risk of them feeling undervalued and disenfranchised which can lead to resentment, cultural problems, quiet quitting or…. eventually quitting.
Losing 38% of your team is a big (and expensive) hit, though completely avoidable.
Here are steps you can take to set yourself up for success in your current negotiations (and throughout your career).
What you can do as an employee / candidate:
If you expect it in your review…
- Don’t wait and set yourself up for disappointment. There is a risk you will sell yourself short and feel deflated in the process. Remember, your manager is not a mind reader.
- Often, regular salary bumps occur in large companies with regimented processes. Many scale-ups do not have these processes and structure in place to conduct mass annual reviews.
- Put yourself in the driving seat and lead the business conversation on why you deserve more $$. This is great for you, your salary negotiations and your career.
- There is also a good chance that by bringing the conversation to the table, you will be able to negotiate for more money than if your employer were to bring it up first.
If you’re planning an honest chat…
- Know your stuff! Your case for a raise must be backed by a business case.
- Find a way to align yourself with your manager by giving them a ‘heads-up’ so they can prepare.
- Make the process an ‘us’ thing. You’re in it together.
If you’re looking at new jobs…
- Explore why you are looking elsewhere: are you taking the easy way out to avoid a conversation or are you running to a new opportunity?
- If you’re avoiding, this is an exciting growth opportunity to tackle this challenge with both hands and set yourself up for success in your career.
- If you’re running to a new opportunity because you think it’s time for a new challenge, that is okay too!
If you’re doing nothing…
- Avoid regret in this position and reflect on why you are doing nothing: is it imposter syndrome? Lack of market knowledge or do you lack the toolkit for this sticky conversation?
- Start by looking at the data of what you have achieved. Remove emotion by looking at the raw information.
- Talk to a recruiter to learn more about the market and download our Digital Salary Guide.
- Chat to friends/colleagues and listen to relevant content about how to steer your salary conversations in a healthy way.
What you can do as an employer / manager:
To start with:
1. Look at your processes
Are you regularly meeting with your team members for one-on-ones about their development? Do you have regular remuneration reviews to ensure you are paying your team in line with market and to reward their skill development and increased value to the organisation?
2. Do you have the toolkit to have the big conversation
Let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room, not all team members are ready for a rem bump as they have development areas. Ensure you are clearly communicating and working with your team members so they know what those areas of development are and you are collaborating to help them achieve their career goals.
Now, here’s how you can manage each group of at these stages:
If they expect it in their review…
- Open communication is key. If you know 2 of 10 employees expect it in their review, it’s up to you to get ahead of that conversation whether you can offer a salary bump or not.
- Don’t simply ignore this group!
- If you can’t offer a salary bump, have a really clear conversation about how you might be able to get there.
If they are planning an honest chat…
- Be prepared! If this is a surprise to you, then you aren’t doing your job. Are you using your meetings effectively and building rapport?
- Celebrate your employee for having this open and honest conversation. Do not shut it down – listen first.
- If you know it’s coming, make sure you have your toolkit ready to have a guided and informed conversation. Start by looking at the budget, what the market is doing and bring in their career roadmap to the conversation.
If they are looking at new jobs…
- There seems like there may be a lack of open communication and rapport. Are you having regular check-ins? Do you know their goals or career aspirations and discussed how the business could deliver on them?
- In this position, the employee is feeling to some degree like the only way they can get a pay rise is to get a new job.
- As the manager, you must build the business case for investing in them.
- If you have a great employee you would like to retain, is it often cheaper to invest in their salary, even if it’s a significant bump in salary, than the cost of recruitment, training, lost IP and any resulting cultural damage.
If they have doing nothing…
- This presents an opportunity to empower your employees and create a safe space to have this conversation.
- It’s your responsibility to put the conversation on the table and ensure team members feel valued and confident. There is nothing worse than someone feeling resentful and lacking in confidence because they don’t think they are valuable enough to deserve a pay bump.
- Find the missing gap and fill it! Is there a confidence gap or something else to investigate?
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