Pay rises most in Queensland
Large Queensland-based companies are predicted to offer the highest salary increase of all states in 2007/2008, according to an Australian Institute of Management survey.
AIM's National Salary Survey 2007 found Queensland's large company employees received an annual salary rise averaging 5.1 per cent in 2006/2007.
This was well above the national average of 4.6 per cent.
It also found large companies were struggling to retain skilled staff with a 12.6 per cent voluntary staff turnover for 2006/2007.
The survey, which looked at responses from 779 companies, found more than 60 per cent of large company employees said staff resigned to pursue career progression or promotions.
AIM Queensland chief executive Carolyn Barker said that raised questions of why organisations were not developing the career pathways of their staff.
"Employers still believe the key to staff retention is improving pay and financial benefits but this alone is clearly not solving the problem,'' Barker said.
The survey indicated only 52.3 per cent of large companies had a dedicated training budget while only 54.5 per cent of salaried staff in large companies had a development plan in place.
Many large employers were striving to improve non-salary benefits by absorbing the cost of fringe benefits tax on behalf of staff across all job levels.
Despite that, the proportion of large companies making additional superannuation contributions for employees (39.1 per cent) fell by 4.7 per cent from the previous year.
"Staff need to be assured they have a future with the organisation so greater investment in training and career development should be a priority,'' Barker said.
The Courier-Mail, June 9, 2007.
