A recent study shows most executives agree talent hiring and retention is paramount for 2022, yet many say they are not necessarily willing to keep bonuses or raises they have implemented for employees, Forbes reported Jan. 28.
Professional services firm PwC conducted the survey, the results of which were released Jan. 27. It asked nearly 700 C-suite executives, the majority of whom work for Fortune 1000 companies, about their predictions and priorities for the year ahead.
Seventy-seven percent of business leaders said they see ability to hire and retain talent as critical to achieving growth and responded that increasing investment in the area is very important. They also expect workforce challenges to continue throughout 2022, with only 31 percent of respondents expecting those challenges to ease this year. Staffing issues were also cited as the biggest risk of 2022.
However, when it came to making pay incentives permanent, executives were not all enthusiastic. Thirty-one percent of respondents said they had implemented compensation increases and will maintain them, while 32 percent said they had implemented increases but will revisit the strategy. Another 22 percent said they were considering boosting pay but had come to no final decision.
Some companies have been shelling out bonuses in an attempt to keep staff, but not all see it as an effective long-term solution.
"You can’t simply buy your way out of this with raises," PwC U.S. Chair Tim Ryan told Forbes.