With economists are predicting a cheerful 7.5% GDP growth for Singapore this year, the question on Singaporeans’ minds is how will this affect my salary and bonus this year?
Based on data drawn from Hay Group’s PayNet – one of the world’s most comprehensive online compensation and benefits portal – the outlook is also just as optimistic. Here are the key highlights:
Any increase in your base salary will be pretty much the same as last year. (Table1)
Table 1:Average Base Salary Movement by Management Level
2007
2008
Blue Collar
4.3
4.3
Clerical
4.7
5.0
Junior Management
5.3
5.5
Middle Management
5.0
5.3
Senior Management
4.3
4.8
On average, bonuses are likely to be the same as last year at around 2.6 to 3.5 months (depending on management level) as companies are cautiously optimistic about the economic boom that Asia and Singapore are enjoying currently.
Hot jobs are to be found everywhere and companies will find that retaining employees will be a full-time job!
What does this mean for employers? Training and development of staff continue to be a priority so as to retain staff. We also see a trend amongst high-performing companies to implement proper and systematic talent management programmes to ensure long-term business success.