- Accountancy & Finance
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- Accountancy & Finance
- Accountancy & Finance
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- Accountancy & Finance
Changing careers
How are employees faring?
Three quarters have asked for
a pay rise, with just over half of
requests being successful
Fewer than half of Sales
professionals are feeling positive
about their career prospects
in the next 12 months
57% are considering changing
jobs in the next 12 monthsSalaries are a hot topic in Sales. This is possibly not surprising for a specialism built on monetary growth. Our data shows that just 55% of Sales employees have had a pay rise in the last 12 months – 20% lower than the benchmark figure of 75% across the Professional Services' sector.
Have you had a pay rise
in the last 12 months?Would you be willing
to accept a pay cut?What matters to employees?
A simple explanation could be the fact that a large number of Sales roles have a base salary, which is then incentivised by commission and bonuses. This is backed up by our findings; 80% of employees told us they have received a performance related bonus in the last 12 months. So, while Sales staff may not always have the highest of salaries, their roles come with added perks that make their take home figures a lot more competitive.
However, according to our findings, salary isn’t necessarily the number one concern for many Sales employees. Nearly three quarters said they’d be willing to take a pay cut for either a better work-life balance or a job with more purpose.
How are employers responding?
Employers’ thoughts on salaries are less positive than those of employees. Over a third of businesses have chosen not to make counter offers to departing staff in the last 12 months because they believe they can find new talent for the same salary.
Alongside this, one third of employers believe that applicants with unrealistic salary expectations will be the biggest blocker to recruiting new staff over the coming year.
Whilst they may differ on salary expectations, employers are aligned with employees on the importance of providing extra perks. All those businesses who took part in our survey said they offer a range of benefits as standard. These include a company car or car allowance, cycle to work scheme and employee loan scheme, among others.
What benefits do you
offer as standard?Read next section
