Two in 3 workers say a pay rise is not enough to make them stay

Two in five employees expect their base salary to increase by up to 5%.

Almost 90% of employees surveyed by Hudson expect their base salary to increase at their next review with their manager, but only 1 in 3 said that a pay rise would be enough for them to stay with their organisation for another 12 months.

Hudson surveyed almost 3,500 employers and employees across Asia to canvass their views on talent trends.*

The research found that in a competitive hiring market – with 93% of Hong Kong employers either increasing headcount or replacing staff who leave – most professionals are keeping an eye on the market in case there are better opportunities elsewhere.

In Hong Kong, only 17% of employees surveyed said they were planning to stay in their current job, while 30% were actively seeking a new role and the remaining 53% were open to new opportunities.

“Professionals want to keep their options open, especially those who have niche skillsets or technical skills, as they know they are in high demand,” said Siddharth Suhas, Hudson Regional Director, Hong Kong.

“Professionals are managing their digital profiles and maintaining relationships with specialist recruiters so they can be alerted to good opportunities when they come up – even if they’re happy in their current organisation or indeed even if they receive a pay rise.”

When asked what outcome they expect from their next pay review with their manager, 39% of employees expected their base salary to increase by 0-5%, 30% expected an increase of 6-10% and 20% expected an increase of more than 10%. Only 11% expected their pay to remain the same and 1% expected a decrease.

However, a pay rise alone does not guarantee that good employees will stay. When asked ‘If your salary increased, would you stay with your organisation for another 12 months?’, 34% of employees said yes, while 52% were not sure and 14% said no.