Despite an increasingly stronger economy in Hong Kong in 2018, many employers are planning to take a conservative line on salaries with almost half planning increases of only 3 to 6 per cent, according to recruiting experts Hays.
The Hays Asia Salary Guide includes salary and recruiting trends for Hong Kong, but also Mainland China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. It is based on a survey of more than 3,000 employers, representing over six million employees.
“Our Guide shows that most companies in Hong Kong are taking a conservative approach to salary increases for the most part, but are more than willing to go well above the average when hiring those with niche skills and in areas of skill shortage,” said Dean Stallard, Managing Director of Hays in Hong Kong & South China.
“For example, specialised roles in some areas of the Financial Tech industry such as threat intelligence and information security management are experiencing skill shortages and thus commanding substantial salary increases,” he said.
“Candidates are advised to do their homework on what their job role and industry is paying before deciding to move job roles in search of a higher salary.”
“For employers, communicating to staff about the process behind salary increases will be even more important in 2018, particularly if the economy continues to show the strong improvements we seen in 2017 and likely to see in 2018, creating the perception that there should be more budget for salary increases,” said Dean.
Salary reviews
The 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide shows that most employers in Hong Kong (50 per cent) awarded salary increases from between 3 to 6 per cent during their last review period. A further 20 per cent of employers increased salaries by more than 6 per cent, 19 per cent of employers increased salaries by up to 3 per cent and 11 per cent gave no increases at all.
Looking ahead, 49 per cent of employers will increase salaries by 3 to 6 per cent in their next review while 22 per cent plan increases of more than 6 per cent. 24 per cent plan salary increases of up to 3 per cent and 5 per cent will offer no salary increases at all.
How Hong Kong compares
The 2018 Guide shows employers in China are again the most generous when it comes to salary increases with 51 per cent planning increases of more than 6 per cent in 2018 and 35 per cent intending to increase salaries from between 3 and 6 per cent. 9 per cent expect to award increases of up to 3 per cent and 5 per cent will offer no salary increase.
In Malaysia, 49 per cent of salary reviews will result in an increase from between 3 to 6 per cent and 39 per cent will offer more than 6 per cent. Three per cent of employers plan no increases and eight per cent modest increases of up to 3 per cent.
In Japan, 60 per cent of employers plan salary increases of only up to 3 per cent in their next review and 12 per cent plan no increases at all. Only 18 per cent will award increases from between 3 to 6 per cent while a modest 10 per cent plan increases of more than 6 per cent.
49 per cent of employers in Singapore will increase salaries from between 3 to 6 per cent, six per cent will offer no salary increase, 32 per cent will increase salaries up to 3 per cent and 14 per cent will increase salaries by more than 6 per cent.
Benefits
The majority of employers in Hong Kong (86 per cent) award staff benefits against the average 83 per cent reported for all five markets surveyed. The most popular benefit in Hong Kong by far is ‘health/medical’ benefits nominated by 94 per cent of employers. Next up was ‘life assurance’ (47 per cent) and a ‘pension scheme’ for workers (45 per cent).
Bonuses
In our 2018 Guide, 47 per cent of employers in Hong Kong plan to award bonuses to more than 50 per cent of staff, a 4 per cent decrease from the figure reported last year.
Most of our Hong Kong respondents said bonuses would be based on ‘company performance’ (86 per cent) and ‘individual performance’ (83 per cent). 31 per cent cited ‘team performance’.
Candidate salary expectations
Of the candidates surveyed in Hong Kong, 51 per cent are unhappy with their current level of compensation, but 58 per cent did not ask for a pay rise during their last review.
The largest proportion of candidate respondents in Hong Kong (40 per cent) expect a pay rise of between 3-6 per cent along with another 40 per cent expecting more than 6 per cent.
Get your copy of the 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide by visiting www.hays.com.hk/salary-guide
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Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.
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Hays is located in Hong Kong at 6604-06, 66/F, ICC, 1 Austin Road West, West Kowloon, Hong Kong.
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2017 the Group employed 10,000 staff operating from 250 offices in 33 markets across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2017:
– the Group reported net fees of £954.6 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £211.5 million;
– the Group placed around 70,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 240,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 24% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 49% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 27% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;
– the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following markets: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Mainland China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA