Study: Employers must tweak wage offers to attract the best

CEBU, Philippines — Amidst the ongoing debate over wage hikes in the Philippines, a study conducted by Jobstreet by SEEK disclosed that 2024 is expected to be the year when employers must fine-tune their compensation packages to attract the best available talents.

This presents an opportunity for employers to enhance benefits and take into account other crucial factors that candidates are beginning to prioritize.

Based on the Jobstreet by SEEK report, a 41 percent decline in confidence was seen for the second half of 2024, attributed to the higher degree of uncertainty that hirers displayed, with 16 percent of them mentioning the job market’s unpredictability during the period—which could be influenced by factors such as economic conditions and global events.

Jobstreet by SEEK 2024 Hiring, Compensation and Benefits Report revealed that more companies are open to offering new forms of compensation and benefits to attract and retain top talents. This resulted in additional benefits, shifted priorities, and most notably, salary increases.

Jobstreet by SEEK surveyed over 680 hiring professionals from Philippine companies of varying industries, roles, and sizes. The study was conducted in September 2023 to help hirers revolutionize employment through creating innovative solutions and valuable insights into the future of work.

“The current age of employment is here and it is progressing exponentially day by day, and as we see it, 2024 is a very promising year for the job market. We hope this new report will be able to guide our hirers and candidates in navigating the ever-dynamic world of work,” said Dannah Majarocon, Managing Director, Philippines, Jobstreet by SEEK.

As the momentum of hiring activities remained stable in 2023, the employment market in the Philippines is set to remain positive for the beginning of 2024.

According to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the unemployment rate from the end of 2023 is recorded to be the lowest in two decades, standing at only 3.1 percent. Given this, 61 percent of the hirers surveyed were confident that the job market will continue to be active in the first half of the year, with them eagerly looking for new talents, and candidates proactively seeking jobs.

The year 2023 became a great recovery period for companies. This can be seen in the report’s data on salary increments offered by hirers reached an average of 10.24 percent,

significantly higher than the 7.3 percent average in 2022.

With this, most companies implemented salary benchmarking to retain current employees.

The study discovered that more companies also gave out performance bonuses in 2023 with the average increasing 2.3 months of salary, compared to just 1.3 months in 2022.

Staff promotions also notably increased from 60 percent to 70 percent in 2023. Overall, these figures signify the companies’ commitment to creating a positive and progressive work environment to keep their existing talents.

Further into the report, the benefits provided by most of the companies were seen to cater to the current needs of their employees. More of them offered birthday leaves in 2023 with 15 percent planning to do so in the future.

Meanwhile, 14 percent and 13 percent of companies plan to offer menstrual leave and family care leave in the future. This shows how diversity and inclusivity are truly emphasized in the workplace.

As for financial benefits, the top ones are medical insurance, health checks, and dental coverage with an increase of eight percent each. Some companies are also planning to introduce or are already introducing fund/retirement plans and mental health treatment coverage/insurance.

Companies were also seen to be prioritizing career development through apprenticeship/mentoring programs and introducing training/self-learning programs.

Companies are also winning employee satisfaction by offering accommodation rental reimbursements, flexible working hours, and free snacks.

These go hand-in-hand with the trend of companies working on prioritizing employee mental health with several of them eyeing to offer wellness counseling/talks, employee assistance programs, and mental health day off or medical leave and mental health app subscriptions.

Extended medical insurance for family members, internet, and transportation allowances are also being considered to be part of hirers’ employee benefits. — (FREEMAN)