The 2017 Hays Salary guide is out, and it contains all sorts of useful information. Not just insights into what HR is being paid today but also what employees are expecting at their next salary review.

One of the key findings in the Hays report, which surveys nearly 3,000 organisations and can be read here (sign-up required), is that even though businesses are generally more confident, and expect to hire more people in the coming year, they are more hesitant about increasing salary.

Employees are not hopeful

Anticipating their next salary review, 11 per cent of the organisations surveyed did not expect to increase salaries while 65 per cent expected to increase them by less than 3 per cent. Only one industry, IT and Telecommunications, came close to having a majority of respondents (48 per cent) planning on increasing salary by more than three per cent.

In a separate survey they asked respondents what their expected salary increases were and very few thought they would receive much of a hike. Twenty-seven per cent expect none, and 42 per cent expect less than a 3 per cent increase.

“Such small salary increases will test the loyalty of employees,” Nick Deligiannis, managing director of Hays in Australia and New Zealand, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “But Australia’s strengthening economy, rising business activity, growing headcounts and skill shortages cannot be overlooked for too long.”

What about employment trends for HR?

It’s good news for the People Department. According to the report, over the past 12 months nearly half of HR departments have grown, 40 per cent have remained the same, and only 15 per cent have decreased. This trend is expected to continue into next year – with 47 per cent expecting growth, 43 expecting stability, and a mere 10 per cent predicting they’ll let HR staff go.

Despite the increased demand, companies have not found it difficult to hire HR staff, especially when compared to other sectors like operations, and finance and accounting. Only one per cent nominated junior or entry level HR professionals as difficult to hire, with five per cent finding it difficult to hire mid-management candidates and three per cent find it hard to fill HR senior management roles. Compare that with the 16 per cent who found it difficult to recruit mid-level technical staff.

One way to interpret this information is that it’s an employers’ market and HR candidates’ need to distinguish themselves is of utmost importance.

Modern HR in the spotlight

Across Australia there is a trend of employers offering both flexible work (80 per cent) and having a diversity policy for hiring new staff (53 per cent). Within the organisations who do offer flexible work, by far the most common policies are flexible working hours (76 per cent), part time employment (64 per cent), and flex-place (64 per cent). The least offered policies were career breaks (19 per cent) and phased retirement (17 per cent).

And on the diversity front, a promising 69 per cent of respondents feel recruiters adhere to their organisation’s diversity policies.

Employer branding, which is something we’ve written about before, was another modern HR concern that was highlighted by the report. Respondents feel the aspects of their employer branding that had “major importance” were a work-life balance (42 per cent) and an individual’s “fit” with the company (46 per cent). Only 33 per cent felt salary was of major importance, and a mere nine per cent felt the same about their company’s online and social media presence.

Salary for HR in Australia and New Zealand

Learning and development, and change managers are among the most in-demand HR candidates, with both commanding high salaries. A change manager in NSW could expect to earn between $140,000 to $240,000, while an L&D manager in the same state would be looking at $150,000 to $250,000.

(Read the report for a full breakdown.)

And in terms of what’s up ahead, the report says, “As the economy continues to strengthen, businesses will continue to show confidence in increasing headcount to cope with business demands. In the short-term at least, this will require the immediacy and flexibility of contract specialists.”

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