According to a Robert Half survey conducted in August, qualified finance professionals are more optimistic than ever, and no longer hesitate in playing hardball when negotiating salary and benefits. In 2006, 29% of them thought about negotiating a salary increase when changing jobs, while today, 58% would do so. 55% of employees in finance saw their wage premiums increase in 2007, vs 45% the year before.
This is because qualified staff in finance is hard to find: 57% of 1,000 recruiting managers surveyed said they had encountered difficulties over the past 12 months in hiring the perfect candidate! Technical positions are the hardest to fill, with 43% of recruiters stating they had struggled to find such candidates, for an increase of 6% over 2006.
According to Robert Half, while salary and benefits are key considerations at the time of hire, corporate culture then takes over as a concern. Recruiting managers are well aware of this, with 31% saying that they have changed their corporate policies over the past 12 months, in order to increase their employee retention rate. The measures taken include salary increases, development of the corporate culture, promotions, opportunities for advancement and more.