73% of companies raise salaries to retain employees – Kommersant

Due to a shortage of staff amid record low unemployment, employers are trying to keep employees with higher salaries, a RosExpert poll showed. According to him, such a strategy is chosen by 72.5% of organizations. 35.8% of companies allow employees to work remotely, 23.5% make mobilization reservations.

The study involved HR services of more than 400 Russian and international companies from the industrial and financial sectors of the economy, IT and telecommunications, trade, construction and development, pharmaceuticals, medicine and other industries. Of these, nine out of ten are private companies, the rest are state-owned. The results of the study leads RBC.

To attract new employees, 63.2% of companies offer a hybrid format for companies, 56.3% offer a decent level of basic remuneration (above the market). A modern comfortable office and the company’s brand also play an important role – these options were chosen by half of the respondents.

Among the most demanded positions, the respondents chose IT specialists (developers, business analysts, information security specialists) – 54% reported a shortage of them. Almost a third of companies have a strong demand for production workers and engineering specialties.

68% of companies review salary levels once a year, 32% plan to do this several times this year. As of the end of 2022, they planned to raise wages by 9.6% on average, but for the first two quarters of 2023, this figure reached an average of 10.2%. The following year, the percentage of revision is estimated at 8.7%.

More than others, the salaries of employees are increased by IT companies and the digital sector. On average, they have budgeted a 10% salary revision this year. As specified in RosExpert, the growth of salaries was stimulated by the fact that the referred applicants “sewn up” their tax obligations into the desired level of income. The interviewees named the two main risks for employers – a shortage of qualified personnel and an increase in the growth rate of the average remuneration.

According to Rosstat, the average monthly accrued salary in 2022 was 65,338 rubles. From January to May 2023, the real average salary increased by 6.0% year-on-year. In May, in nominal terms, it amounted to 72,851 rubles. The Ministry of Economy expects real wage growth to be 5.4% this year, and 2.8% each in 2024 and 2025. The agency believes that the growth of real wages will be affected by a slowdown in inflation, low unemployment and employers’ competition for labor.

Laura Keffer