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Business Travel Salaries – always a hot topic!!

This week, we took a call from a jobseeker who was hesitant in telling us she’s looking for a £6k pay rise.

Her current salary just isn’t covering the new mortgage rate, her increase in bills, her car insurance has gone up, shopping bills are on the rise… it was all adding up.

But she felt awkward saying it out loud (generally most people do when talking about money!).

And another candidate reminded us that to come in to London from where she lived was now verging on £6.5k for an annual train and tube pass. But there was no way she could afford to live closer to London for work as housing was so unaffordable for someone single and her age.

Yet, despite rises in cost of living being splashed all over the news for months, we’re still continuing to see a disparity between it and business travel salaries in 2023.

Why?

Well, as recruiters for the sector, we’re often asked to find experienced talent but without the compensation to attract them. And there’s a general consensus amongst job seekers that they’re expected to do more work & longer hours than ever before.

We’re still educating companies that they have to stop offering what they paid 4 years ago. Jobseekers are MORE willing to step out of their comfort zone post covid, have seen what other industries are paying and can find a job with less stress for more money.

We’re also still trying to get companies to recognise that whilst hybrid working is often a brilliant compromise for those not looking to work fully remote/office based, it’s not always as clear cut as 3 days in the office, 2 from home and invariably, that comes down to high commuting costs.

So here’s a few points from us if you’re a business looking to recruit in the corporate travel sector. Don’t forget, we talk to those people looking for jobs on a daily basis and when you’re wondering why you aren’t getting CV’s through… here’s why:

Quibbling with a job seeker over  £1-2k on their required basic salary makes a stand from the onset over how much you value them. It puts people off.

If you want quality AND experience, you need to pay for it.

If you genuinely don’t have the budget for both,  you need to be open minded on lowering your criteria for the role.

Respectfully, don’t assume people are simply being unrealistic or greedy. They’re trying to earn a liveable income and you don’t know their personal situation or what that looks like for them.

Offering the lowest of your salary bracket just to “see if they’ll take it” is a risky move. You’re showing a prospective employee that you’re trying to lowball them and that’s never a good start to any working relationship.

If you aren’t able to be flexible with your basic salary, what other financial rewards do you offer? Bonuses, commissions, incentives.. maybe something based on productivity rather than merely turning up? Can you make these lucrative and appealing ALONGSIDE a decent basic?

Remember:

It’s harder than ever to get a mortgage and rents are through the roof. Salaries are important to people.

Childcare costs are a huge financial burden for many working parents.

Never be cagey about potential earnings, grossly inflate them or fail to mention that the person earning XYZ is also working 24/7.

And finally..

You don’t need to know what the candidates current salary is.  

You must simply decide what their knowledge, expertise and potential is worth to you and your business.

We are happy to share our insight, market rates and knowledge with any organisation within the business travel and travel tech space – please don’t hesitate to get in touch!