Smaller Salary Adjustment Budgets Expected in 2024
C2HR’s Annual Compensation Surveys revealed that average 2023 merit increases, which are part of company salary adjustment budgets, rose to 3.8% for connectivity companies and 3.3% for content developers, below the national average of 4.4%.
However, softening markets, 2023 labor disruptions and fewer resignations are expected to impact 2024 compensation. Increases will be smaller this year, as survey data forecasts that 2024 industry merit increases will average 3.4% for connectivity and 3.5% for content creators in contrast to the projected 4.1% national average. (See Figure)
“Budgets take into account the competitive market, inflationary pressures and what’s affordable, so companies don’t have to lay off people,” noted Hali Croner, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Croner Company, the research and compensation consulting firm that conducted the surveys for C2HR. “Everyone had a more challenging year in 2023. Our hope is that 2024 is a regrouping, and that 2025 will take off.”
Alternatives to Salary Increases
What can you do, if your company is not able to offer raises or bonuses because of uncertain market conditions? Data published by ADP Research, in People at Work 2023: A Global Workforce View, suggests that employees are amenable to other forms of compensation.
The report reveals that nearly four in 10 workers would accept additional paid leave (39%). Following closely on the list of alternative compensation methods are: shorter working weeks (32%), grocery or shopping vouchers (28%) or a one-off payment to help with the cost of living (26%).
“Companies that take an innovative approach to finding new (and potentially more cost-effective) ways of rewarding staff in difficult financial circumstances could find that there are benefits on both sides,” write the study’s authors.
