Many companies are taking measures to increase pay equity among workers, research from talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half shows. Nearly seven in 10 C-suite executives surveyed in Canada (69 percent) said they have observed salary discrepancies between new hires and more tenured staff in the past year. Of those, 57 percent are regularly reviewing compensation plans and increasing salaries for existing employees, when appropriate, to align with current market rates.
There are several factors at play when it comes to wage growth, and employees’ expectations are among them. In a separate survey of more than 500 Canadian workers, 41 percent of respondents said they have not had a raise in 12 months. In addition, half (50 percent) plan to ask for a raise this year, with the top reasons being:
- To adjust for the higher cost of living (31 percent)
- To account for additional job responsibilities (18 percent)
- To reflect current market rates (16 percent)
If workers don’t get a raise:
- 36 percent will look for a new job with higher pay
- 25 percent will ask to revisit the salary conversation in a few months
- 17 percent will ask for more perks
The online surveys were developed by Robert Half and conducted by independent research firms. They include responses from 234 C-suite executives across a diverse range of industries (collected February 25 to March 8, 2022) and more than 500 workers 18 years of age or older (collected March 3-11, 2022) in Canada.
