KEY POINTS:
Employers are battling record high levels of staff turnover and offering generous pay increases to no avail, according to the latest Market Issues Survey from Mercer.
Mercer's latest New Zealand remuneration review shows that organisations have been spending up to keep top talent in their existing workforce, with the median increase in fixed packages at 5.2 per cent.
However, this largesse was not distributed equally, with professionals receiving a 5.3 per cent pay rise, management 5.6 per cent, and executives five per cent. Staff at lower levels fared more modestly, with a 3.8 per cent increase.
The survey also revealed those who move jobs may not be attracted by money alone: when new employees are included in the sample the pay increases are not as high. According to Martin Turner, principal at Mercer, one of the most worrying findings for employers is that the extra money paid to employees did little to stem the tide of voluntary turnover, which hit a record high of 18.5 per cent.
"The labour market squeeze is worsening at the same time as business confidence increases. If we look back to September 2006 when confidence in the NZ economy was shaky, people were nervous about changing jobs and voluntary turnover took a dive. Now that things are looking up, people are leaving their jobs because they are confident they'll find a new one," said Turner.
