More Early 2011 Salary Planning Numbers

WorldatWork has released early high level results from its 2010-2011 Salary Budget Survey (I believe still the biggest of its kind), which features the practices and plans of 2,497 U.S. respondents (note: Canadian results also available).

Here is the snapshot they offer of total salary budget increases by employee category (which seem fairly well aligned with the early Hay numbers released last week):

 
In other "breaking" salary increase budget news, the Conference Board has also released its salary increase budget survey, featuring data from 313 organizations.  The Conference Board's survey results also point to an average projected 2011 salary increase of 3%, consistent with Hay and WorldatWork's early release findings.

Comments

[E James (Jim/UncleJamie) Brennan]

We see standard market replacement cost rates moving a nominal 1.5% per year right now, thank goodness. If the overall external competitive market (with its outlier ups and downs) moved any faster, things would be even worse. This means only a 1.5% per year incremental improvement against the open market rate for the normal employee. Updated grade penetration by compa-ratio would be merely 1.5% per year. The average person hired at 80% of the market rate would then expect 14 years to pass in that job before they would reach the competitive norm. Yikes! They will quit before reaching their fifth year of "below-average" pay, IMHO. Even hiring folks at a 90% compa-ratio only reduces the closure time to 7 years before you reach market norm.

It is totally ironic that this statistical reality requires hiring folks with entry rates very close to the current annually-adjusted "midpoint"... or you will have great difficulty retaining them for long.

[Ann Bares]

Jim:

You're so right. I've posted on this before, more than once in fact. Salary ranges, in their current incarnation, must die. They purport to direct salary growth in a way that is totally out of sync with market and talent management reality.

[sto credits]

Reading your article, many thoughts and feelings, as a staff, I am poor and low wage, primarily did not have good technique to master. Are now employed in the job market can not find jobs, the company needs a well-paid professionals could not find. For me, a lot of pressure now,also for many people.

[Ann Bares]

STO:

There is indeed a lot of pressure for organizations - and all those who work within them - to step up, expand their skills and capabilities. It will be increasingly hard to improve our earnings and standard of living without learning and developing - and it is key that we impress this fact upon our children as well.

[Jamie Davis]

Ann, since you seem to have the courage to tackle the tough subjects, I am going to ask your opinion on something called stealth inflation.

The grim stats we are analyzing are based on dollars whose value in real inflation adjusted purchasing power is FALLING at a faster rate than the published inflation data indicate.

Take a look at

http://www.shadowstats.com/article/consumer_price_index

and

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts

It seems to me that if retention and engagement are as important as we say, then we need to understand stealth inflation and have some strategies in place to deal with the unpublished realities.

I am interested in your thoughts on this.

[Ann Bares]

Jamie:

Thanks for the note and the article links - I'll take a look.