Companies are activating various levers to compensate for the erosion of remuneration. While only 19% have a separate budget for cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) this year, nearly half of the more than 1,000 survey respondents have increased their budgets on merit since their last review cycle. remuneration to fight against both inflation and a tight labor market. Additionally, half of respondents have adjusted their salary levels to reflect current market premiums. Salary.com conducted the survey between February 25-March 7, 2022.

“Companies are investing in merit raises at the highest levels in recent history,” said David Touretsky, Vice Chairman of the Board at Salary.com. “Most organizations (73%) are now targeting 4% or more of the payroll budget for merit increases, compared to last fall the majority were targeting 3%. This is a notable pivot, but time will tell if that’s enough to fight inflation at levels that have reached their highest level since 1982.”

Overview of merit-based budget increases
Forty-six percent of employers have increased their merit budgets since their last compensation review cycle.

Overview of COLA budgets
Nineteen percent of employers with a separate budget for COLA adjustments are funding it at much higher levels in 2022:

Salary increases and variable compensation
Fifty-one percent of companies have adjusted their salary levels to reflect current market bonuses, with hourly-paid employees and non-executives the main beneficiaries. Only a quarter of employers offer more compensation in the form of variable compensation to offset the effects of inflation, with a third doing so in the form of hiring bonuses and 25% in the form of training and apprenticeship programs and development. .

“Despite their best intentions, 80% of companies told us they didn’t think their efforts were helping them retain employees,” Turetsky said. “Thanks to these historic inflation rates, the Great Resignation may continue for a little longer.”

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Survey methodology
The survey was conducted between February 25-March 7, 2022, by Salaire.com. There were 1,173 responses from organizations across the United States. The survey collected data from seven different roles ranging from executive to individual contributor. Results represent company size in five FTE size bands

ABOUT SALARY.COM
Salary.com is the leading provider of data, software and analytics in the compensation market, bringing more reliable data and intuitive software that organizations need to get their compensation right. The fastest growing compensation management company in the industry, Salary.com serves more than 30,000 survey-participating organizations, more than 8,000 business-to-business software subscribers, and more than 45 million employees worldwide. HR professionals rely on Salary.com’s 360° view of their compensation practices to effectively and accurately achieve internal pay equity and adapt to market changes. Salary.com’s state-of-the-art CompAnalyst® accelerates compensation workflows, delivers real-time data, and delivers accurate, fair, and competitive compensation through an intuitive platform. For more information, visit www.salary.com.

Media Contact:
Julie Murphy
Salaire.com
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SOURCE Salary.com, Inc.