Retention policies in action as permanent staff salaries increase

Employers'' efforts to boost retention by increasing salaries was evident yesterday in the latest Report on Jobs published by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG.

The report showed that the rate of inflation of permanent staff salaries reached a 20-month high in February.

It also showed that employees are able to demand higher levels of pay, either to do with boosting retention or because of a lack of alternative qualified staff.

There were also suggestions of candidates becoming more confident in their jobs and so pushing for an enhanced pay package as a result.

Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, said: "The latest figures seem to confirm the UK job market is on the road to recovery.

"Permanent job placements are growing at their fastest pace since July 2007, with both salaries and vacancies increasing."

Last month, Stephen Hester, the chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland admitted that thousands of his staff quit last year in a massive retention failure that damaged the firm''s profits. Back