Australian employers underestimate the importance of salary in jobseekers’ decision-making

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With current skill shortages impacting many Australian employers, new independent research by specialised recruiter Robert Half finds many underestimate the dominant power of remuneration in jobseekers’ decision-making. While 80% of candidates rank salary as a top three factor when evaluating opportunities, just 36% of surveyed employers believe salary, bonuses and subsidies are part of the top three elements employees value most in an employer today.

Nearly all (96%) Australian business leaders surveyed believe it is challenging to hold on to a candidate during the recruitment process and not lose them to competing offers.

When asked to identify the top three elements employees value most in today’s jobs market, 41% of employers identified career progression as part of the top three, followed by flexible working conditions (39%) and company culture (38%). Remuneration was ranked fourth with 36% respondents citing it in the top three elements they believe employees value most.

However, when evaluating a job opportunity, an overwhelming 80% of Australian office workers identify pay as part of the top three considerations in their decision-making, including 50% who rank salary as the single most important consideration – indicating a significant discrepancy in terms of how important employers think salary is versus how important employees say salary is. Similar to employers, flexibility (61%), and workplace culture (44%) complete the top three most valuable elements in assessing an employer brand.

Using the interview to sell the employer’s brand

Businesses are now highly attuned to every touchpoint along the hiring journey as they struggle to secure talent with the majority (87%) of employers saying employer branding has become more important to attracting and securing top talent post-pandemic. This is in line with Australian worker sentiment, with 86% of office workers saying that an employer’s brand is likely to impact their decision to apply for or accept a job offer.

With the balance of power shifted towards a candidate market, the nature of the job interview has shifted as well. While traditionally the focus of a job interview has been on the candidate selling their skills and qualifications to the employer, Australian employers today spend on average almost half (44%) of the job interview to selling the job opportunity and company to the candidate with the aim of securing them, highlighting their increased focus on employer branding during the recruitment process.

“Workers are spoilt for choice in today’s market so a company’s reputation as an employer can make or break the ability to secure preferred candidates. There has been a shift in the market where candidates with in-demand and hard-to-find skills no longer have to actively sell themselves to an employer. It is actually now up to the employer to sell their brand to win over the candidate, highlighting the shift in today’s power balance,” says Nicole Gorton, Director of Robert Half in announcing Robert Half’s latest survey results. 

“While the nature of the job interview has traditionally predominantly revolved around the employer assessing the candidate's skills and qualifications, the employer now spends an increasing amount of time and effort on actively promoting their brand and organisation - in a bid to win the war for talent. A strong employee value proposition has the capability to encourage ‘emotional buy-in’ among candidates as a key differentiator for employers.” 

“Even though remuneration is still a top priority for candidates, they want more than a competitive salary. To place themselves in a stronger position among top candidates considering multiple offers, companies must identify the immediate and long-term benefits of the roles they are offering compared to competitors. Many companies today are increasing starting salaries to attract top talent, so to better differentiate themselves from competitors, businesses benefit from promoting all of their unique selling points, such as the emphasis they put on work-life balance, flexibility and the career progression opportunities they offer. By putting a spotlight on the employee experience, the type of work the potential hire will be doing and the access to skilled talented individuals as mentors, the candidate will have a better idea of what life would be like working for that business which puts the employer in a better position to secure the employees they want," said Gorton.

Tactics for selling the brand during the interview

Employers who recognise there is increased competition for top talent are engaging in several tactics during the recruitment process to promote roles to preferred candidates. The most popular methods include emphasising flexible working conditions (as done by 57% of Australian employers), speeding up the hiring process (54%), asking more questions about what the candidate wants and expects from an employer (50%) and leading with remuneration (40%). These tactics highlight the changing nature of the recruitment process with employers putting the focus on multiple selling points of the business, rather than solely leading with pay.

Channels for promoting the brand

The channels employers are currently using to promote their brand with the aim of attracting top talent are LinkedIn (82%), their company website (79%), and employee reviews (77%). These channels are in line with the channels reportedly used by office workers, though to a lesser extent. When researching potential employers, the top two channels Australian workers turn to are the company website (52%) and LinkedIn (52%). The third most common is friends/professional networks (51%), further highlighting the power of reviews, referrals, and word-of-mouth.

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Independent survey commissioned by Robert Half among 300 business leaders, including 100 CFOs and 100 CIOs in Australia and an additional independent survey commissioned by Robert Half among 1,019 office workers in Australia.

“Businesses increasingly need to actively market themselves when recruiting. More companies are attuned to where candidates are researching job opportunities and what they want to know. The days when organisations just relied on one channel to promote their brand and their jobs are over. Companies are using a variety of channels, ranging from their company’s social channels, website, and employees to LinkedIn and job boards to communicate why they are a better employer than their competitors. On these channels, they speak to what the employee can expect when working for the organisation – from flexibility, work-life balance, a sense of community, and camaraderie to remuneration, benefits and professional development systems. Being transparent about the offer and a company’s unique selling proposition whilst using the channels where jobseekers are present are key to attract top talent in a highly competitive market”, concluded Gorton. 

EVP_RobertHalf_Nov.pdf

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Notes to editors 

About the research 

The study is developed by Robert Half and was conducted online in June 2022 by an independent research company, surveying 300 hiring managers, including 100 CFOs and 100 CIOs, from companies across Australia. This survey is part of the international workplace survey, a questionnaire about job trends, talent management, and trends in the workplace.    The Australian worker study is developed by Robert Half and was conducted online by an independent research firm in June 2022, surveying 1,019 office workers from across Australia.

For enquiries, please contact:

Courtney Fletcher

Courtney.Fletcher@roberthalf.com.au

+61 421 209 304