It might be a time of crisis in the cost of living, but marketing salaries are set to increase, according to Hays latest Salary Guide.

According to the guide, an overwhelming 93 percent of employers will be increasing marketing salaries in the next review, which should happen around the new financial year. After surveying 14,000 employers, 62 percent of employers will raise salaries above three percent of the current ones.

Marketing salaries to get a boost

According to Hays, there are four key factors motivating employers to increase salaries in their next review:  

• Competition amid a growing skills gap crisis: Many employers have offered higher salaries than planned to attract marketing professionals in response to the skills shortage – 26 percent ‘substantially higher’ and 42 percent ‘nominally higher’. 

“Many employers find that the pipeline of skilled marketing professionals doesn’t meet their needs,” says Kian Myers, Hays’ business director. “As candidate supply continues to tighten, employers face increased pressure to proactively attract and retain talented employees.” 

• The ripple effect of falling real wages: 76 percent of employers and employees combined say it’s reasonable to expect pay rises to keep up with inflation.  

“Employers are sensitive to the hidden cost of falling real wages on employee engagement, mental health and wellbeing, morale and job satisfaction,” he said. “While few employers can match inflationary pressures, they are stretching their salary increase budget as far as they can to support their staff.”   

• The impact of pay transparency: Many employers are transparent with employees about how salary levels and increases are set to improve fairness and build trust – 20 percent are transparent with all employees and 23 percent with select employees. 

“We expect these figures to rise in the months ahead, with the abolition of pay secrecy in Australia prompting more employers to audit salaries, scrutinise disparities and make adjustments when required to ensure fair and equal pay,” says Kian.  

• ‘The great ask’: This year, 55 percent of professionals plan to ask for a pay rise. 

“Employees still feel they have bargaining power and are more confident to negotiate for better pay,” Kian concludes.