The recruitment industry has long been telling its clients that successful attraction of good quality candidates is less about pay and more about the wider factors that influence employees' quality of life. So it is good to see that your salary survey (BSj 05/06) reflects the shifting importance of benefits including work-life balance, training and employer flexibility.

Project volume growth and skill shortages are among the forerunners in the blame stakes when employers search for reasons to explain recruitment difficulties. However, many fail to see what is frequently all too obvious - that they do not offer a good employment option in a competitive environment where simply increasing a basic salary is not enough.

Those companies with sound resource planning and retention strategies - and who do not simply respond with knee-jerk salary reactions - have a greater chance of maintaining their workforce and attracting the high-value candidates as demand flexes across the sector.

Richard Lawrance, managing director, Resourcing Solutions

Source

Building Sustainable Design