Salary and benefits are still the top priority for STEM candidates

Summary

STEM specialists know there is a shortage of people with their skills, and they know their own worth. When negotiating salary and benefits packages, they’re unwilling to compromise as much as they might have before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Specialists' expectations are boldly confronting outmoded pay structures set in rigid bands and grades. Employers have to realize that in an expert-driven STEM jobs market, flexibility is essential if they are to attract the best talent.

But that’s only a part of the picture…

From a candidate’s perspective, salary and benefits packages are almost always relative to wider economic imperatives, such as inflation rates and commuting costs. Other conditions that specialists look for in their employment – such as flexible working and career development have gained in importance.

But while some of these may be offset against salary expectations, money remains the primary metric by which STEM professionals/specialists evaluate a job opportunity.

From our research, salary and benefits packages remain a top factor when they are searching for new roles (Table 1). More than 60% of total respondents put salary or payment rate – as part of an overall benefits package – as a prime consideration.

However, remuneration is rated not that far ahead of flexible working options (54%) and work/life balance (53%) (Table 1). A further 59% of respondents also told us that being ‘financially secure’ is of uppermost importance in their life goals (Table 2).

Impact of the pandemic

We see strong connections between the survey respondents’ salary expectations and the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The post-pandemic trend towards remote working will prove another factor in shaping salary expectations. As many employers retain flexible working models adopted during lockdowns, they are being forced to reconsider their benefits packages. Some traditional benefits – travel loans and meal subsidies, for instance – count for far less when an employee is not coming into an office each day of their working week.

“Increasing demand for sought-after specialists has meant that they are increasingly in control of job offers and so can be much more selective and demanding when finding roles that are right for them”

The after-effects of the pandemic have only just started to play out. The so-called ‘Great Resignation’ threatens to exacerbate the skills shortage in some areas of engineering and technology, leaving savvy STEM job seekers feeling confident enough to hold firm to their salary demands.

Increasing demand for sought-after specialists has meant that they are increasingly in control of job offers and so can be much more selective and demanding when finding roles,” Timo Lehne CEO of Specialist Staffing Group's parent company. “Companies are being forced to act quickly and decisively, offering enhanced packages to secure the talent they want to take their businesses to the next growth level. In short, candidate confidence means employers need to offer them better packages if they’re serious about competing for the best STEM talent.”