What's In It For Me?

Welcome to 2019, the year in which we may or may not make some further decisions about the state of our nation. Although every sector has their own challenges and tales to tell, businesses have largely continued to function as the UK economy soldiers on, although uncertainty is good for none of us. In this newsletter, we’ll be talking about ‘what’s in it for me’ as we question the effect of benefits on top performers, we also have a great collection of blogs including a fantastic CFO Spotlight interview and details of our latest Women in Finance Event.

This year, it is predicted that wages will rise by 3%, which while sounding a little meagre, is as good as we have had in the last 10 years. Confirmation perhaps that the job market and economy as a whole continues to do rather well, which is supported by ONS stats that suggest that unemployment is at 4%, the lowest level since 1975.
 
At HedgerWay, we’ll be celebrating our two-year anniversary next month. While two years of trading history doesn’t make for in-depth market analysis, the team has now grown to 12 and we’ve been profitable for both years of trading with revenues growing exponentially YoY. The recruitment industry is largely reflective of economic conditions and we have worked through a number of economic cycles over the years and while wider uncertainties are a frustration, we do also feel that regardless of market conditions there will always be great opportunities out there if you look hard enough. While opportunities exist, the need to retain key staff should remain a key priority.
 
A 3% salary rise, after tax, is clearly not going to have a significant impact on lifestyles or even daily activities, but when it comes to employee retention, we are firmly of the opinion that even double-digit growth only serves as a sticking plaster to those seeking more engagement. On the flip-side, we have seen a widely run race by employers to offer even more comprehensive and outlandish benefits packages. These include improving those standard items such as holidays, experiences, health and dental care through to extended foosball and table tennis breaks. These may all look great in the brochure, but again, do they ensure that the best remain committed? It is also clear to us that the way the rising generation of leaders communicate has changed significantly and therefore we should look to adapt our view to ensure the engagement and retention of this next wave of stars.
 
Or should we?

Our belief is very much that as the generations shift, the same principals apply as candidates consider their situation and ask themselves the question, ‘what’s in it for me?’. While we should not ignore the value of salary and benefits, nor should we disregard the positive effect that a good bonus has on an employee, financial reward is not the true glue that binds an employee to an employer. When engaging with current and future leaders, we have been consistently reminded (‘why are you considering a move?’ is a question we ask many times a day) that a free lunch or a fancy gym membership are not mentioned and that the following fundamentals are;

 

 

Markets, the economy and people’s perspectives change over time, no more so than in the last 20 years when Hedger and Way first entered the recruitment world and started asking this question. At no time have these three considerations changed and they should not be expected to change in the foreseeable future.

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Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 2BH