Research reveals compensation remains top priority for employees
Benefits offered by employers in Singapore are falling short of employees' pay expectations, according to a new report, making organisations implement trade-offs to attract talent.
Findings from SEEK's latest report found that employers in Singapore are offering well-intentioned benefits that are not very impactful.
According to the report, more than half of employers are offering reasonable working hours (55%) and performance bonuses (52%). Others are also providing work flexibility (43%) and career growth (36%).
But 90% of employers have observed that employees' expectations shift after they start working for their organisation, leaving them to catch up with their evolving needs.
"This shifting goalpost adds to the pressure: employers are chasing evolving priorities that they cannot always anticipate," the report read.
"Some of these shifts follow predictable patterns - younger workers tend to prioritise growth, mid-career staff look for balance, and older employees value stability - but employers still struggle to keep pace with how quickly these priorities evolve."
Pay as top priority
SEEK's findings indicate that 46% of employees consider pay as their top priority when looking for a place to work.
In fact, the report found that around half of employees would not accept a pay cut even in exchange for full flexibility (50%) or a four-day work week (49%).
But only 18% of employers offer above-average pay, the least common benefit across organisations, according to the findings.
"Employers tend to overestimate intangible benefits while underestimating the importance of compensation," the report read.
But the focus on intangible benefits is driven by operational challenges, where 42% of employers point out that offering competitive salary and benefits is the hardest employee priority to deliver.
"Employers are striving to meet rising expectations but are often constrained by cost pressures and market realities," said Yuh Yng Chook, director, Asia sales and APAC service, Jobstreet and Jobsdb by SEEK, in a statement.
"They want to deliver, but they struggle to consistently meet employee expectations, which may not be surprising if they are constantly changing between jobs, ages, and life stages.
To address these challenges, 64% of employers said they are open to hiring a less experienced candidate with a good attitude.
Around a third said they would accept candidates with lower experience in exchange for lower salary expectations (36%), and would be open to providing training for a lower starting salary (35%).
What can employers do?
The report urged employers to be transparent towards employees when it comes to what they can provide to avoid a mismatch between what employees signed up and what they can offer.
"If you cannot offer competitive pay now, understand that talent will not put up with this for long," the report read.
"Provide new hires with a development and action plan to get them to the compensation they desire in an agreed-upon timeframe."
It urged honesty about growth and pay in job descriptions, while also highlighting what benefits they can offer despite resource limits.
"Be honest about your ability to meet these expectations," the report read.
Employers are also advised to open their doors for feedback to immediately spot a potential job mismatch, according to the report.
"Employers need to catch shifting priorities or job mismatches early. Create lightweight systems during onboarding or the probation period for regular check-ins and two-way feedback," the report read.
