A survey by Salary.com found that 62% of organizations in the US plan to increase base salaries to attract new hourly and salaried employees within the next six months. And 67% said their starting base salaries are above the market reference point.
Salary.com also found that 50% of companies are offering signing bonuses, although only 20% plan to continue at the end of the year.
Hourly employees are getting a median bonus of $1,000 while salaried employees are getting a median bonus of $5,000.
In addition, 21% of companies are offering retention bonuses, according to the survey.
“The prevalence of signing bonuses to attract workers in high demand and short supply has proven to be a short-term phenomenon, as organizations move to a post-pandemic reality,” said Garry Straker, compensation consultant at Salary.com. “The shift to salary increases for new hires will have greater long-term impact, so organizations will have to move with care to attract new hires while retaining existing employees.”
Salary.com’s survey took place between June 9 and July 15, 2021. It included 405 organizations in the US and Canada.