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Staff retention rates nosedive in the North West despite bonus bonanza
ORGANISATIONS
across the North West are struggling to hold on to their employees, despite the frequency and value of bonus payments. The 2005 National Management Salary Survey also shows that benefits packages have improved as companies battle to attract staff. The survey, launched this week by the Chartered Management Institute and Remuneration Economics, reveals that 80% of executives in the North West received a bonus in the year to January 2005 – the 3rd highest average in the country. But in spite of the high number of people given bonus payments, 45.4% of companies are reporting retention problems – the worst reported figure for 15 years.
Asked why their employees leave, nearly 62% blamed competition from other organisations and 45.4% admitted they offered little in the way of career progression or training. Salaries 43.2% and job security 40.9% were also cited as reasons for job changes.
The findings reveal that the average total earnings for managers in the North West are £44,340, putting the area above the North East in the UK ‘earnings league table’. It is interesting to note that managers’ salaries account for a large proportion of ‘guaranteed take home pay’ because at £5,627 (for managers in the North West), their bonus is worth 12.7% of total income. Directors, in contrast, rely on bonuses for 38.6% of total earnings. This differentiation is important as company and personal performance affect bonuses for 65.7% of directors, compared to 56.2% of managers.
The survey, of 20,989 individuals, also shows changes to the nature of benefits packages. 30 years ago the norm was 4 weeks holiday per year, with 61% taking 20 days. That figure is now 78%, with executives taking between 21 and 25 days annual leave. ‘Signing on bonuses’ have almost doubled over the last year to 14.1% and many businesses 51.4% offer ‘referral payments’ to staff recommending potential recruits.
There is clear evidence in this year’s survey that organisations are finding it difficult to attract staff. 43.4% said they had experienced recruitment difficulties, up from 30.9% last year. Of those companies facing recruitment problems, more than 69% put them down to a lack of candidates with specialised skills, especially those in IT management, engineers and salespeople.
Mary Chapman, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute, says:-
“The reported shortage of managers and staff with relevant skills is a concern because competitive advantage can be threatened if employees lack the ability to carry out their roles. Worse still, many organisations admit that they fail to provide adequate development initiatives, even though it is a major reason for leaving. If employers are serious about reversing the current recruitment and retention trend, they must address this issue and develop incentives that suit employees’ needs.”
In an effort to tackle the recruitment and retention problems, organisations are boosting their incentive schemes, with most 91% now giving cash alternatives to traditional perks. The popular benefits are:
Invest in your future: provision of a personal pension scheme 98.9%. Although those offering final salary schemes have dropped significantly – from 76.9 to 32.7% in 5 years – 1 in 5 companies provide non-contributory plans for all employees.
Rest assured: almost 67% give life assurance cover of up to 4 times the salary (compared to just over half in 2004).
Health check: Almost all organisations provide private medical insurance and more than half will not even ask employees to pay the excess in the event of a claim. 20% also provide dental health care.
Commenting on the findings in this year’s report, Paul Campfield, director of Remuneration Economics, says:-
“This year’s survey shows that movements in salaries have remained consistent to last year’s figures. However, the value and frequency of bonuses means that movements in overall earnings have changed significantly.”
Salaries for all managers in the North West rose by 3.4% in 2005, against a national average of 4.3 and 2.7% in London. Combined earnings in the North West, however, rose by 3.0%, compared to 5% across the country. It is also the lowest increase in the UK, with managers in the South West gaining the most in terms of combined earnings up to 7.1% increase. Managers in the engineering sector did least well with a 3.5% rise, but they fared considerably better than directors in the same sector, whose earnings rose 0.9% – the lowest UK movement.
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ARMY
BAND PLAYED AT LIVE 8 CONCERT
SOUTHPORT musician joined line-up for the Live 8 concert. The Band of the Coldstream Guards from the Corps of Army Music once again made history when they perform the opening fanfare at the Live 8 concert, that took place in London's Hyde Park on 2 July. The Band performed twenty years ago at the original Live Aid concert held at Wembley Stadium on 13 July, 1985.
A fanfare team consisting of 12 members of the Coldstream Guards band, including Southport local Musician Michael Ashton, will join the likes of U2, Madonna, Paul McCartney and REM who performed in front of millions of people at the ground-breaking concert that formed part of a day of action across the world.
Musician Ashton (26) joined the Corps of Army Music in 2003 so he could have a full-time job playing music. "At times the work is demanding and pressurised but always rewarding. The job gives me the opportunity for a wide variety of experiences and travel," he said. When asked about being part of the fanfare team to open Live 8, Ashton said:- "It is an absolute honour to perform at the Live 8 concert. We play at some amazing venues around the world from Buckingham Palace to Osaka Symphony Hall in Japan, but it's not often we can say that U2, one of the world's greatest bands' will be our following act!"
The Band of the Coldstream Guards are based at Wellington Barracks and perform at State Occasions such as Trooping the Colour and the Opening of Parliament. They will shortly be undertaking a series of concerts on a tour of Japan from mid September to mid October.
NEW ERA FOR MATHEW ST FESTIVAL
27 August to 29 August 2005!
THE BIGGEST free city centre music festival in Europe is entering a new era. Liverpool's Mathew Street Festival, which is organised by the Liverpool Culture Company and attracts more than 300,000 people each year, is to showcase top bands for the first time in its 13-year-history.
Rock legends The Stranglers are to headline the Pier Head main stage on Sunday, August 28 at the 3-day August Bank Holiday Festival.
Jean Jacques Burnel, bass player of The Stranglers, who are currently touring Europe, said:- ''It's a great privilege to be playing the Mathew Street Festival. The name is so closely associated with Liverpool's rich musical history, and also with The Stranglers' history. On our first visit to Liverpool we played at Eric's in Mathew Street.''
The Liverpool Culture Company has also signed critically-acclaimed Amsterdam to perform their only festival date this summer on the Monday, on the Pier Head new bands stage in front of an estimated crowd of 20,000. Ian Prowse, lead singer of Amsterdam, whose single 'Does this train stop on Merseyside' earned huge acclaim from the late John Peel, said:- ''We can't wait to play. This is going to be the biggest crowd we've ever played to.''
Ian, whose band is to release its third single 'Taking on the World', from their debut album 'The Journey', on September 26, added:-
''We love playing live and have been itching to give a big show and to play by the Mersey will be really special. This will be the highlight of our year.''
The 2005 Festival will also the biggest to date with an extra 2 new outdoor stages. The Pier Head, which will host live music on all 3 days, gains the new bands stage. Bank Holiday Monday, August 29, will see the addition of a 6th stage in Birkenhead as Wirral joins the festival for the very first time.
The makeover is part of plans to develop the FREE festival into a major highlight for 2008, when the city stages European Capital of Culture. More household names are to be announced by the Liverpool Culture Company in the coming weeks. And as part of the festival's biggest ever shake-up, the Culture Company will be introducing a host of new cover bands who have never played the festival.
Councillor Warren Bradley, Liverpool City Council's Executive Member for Culture, said:-
''The Mathew Street Festival is entering an exciting new chapter. Attracting bands such as The Stranglers and Amsterdam is a major turning point for the festival. It's the first step to create one of the world's best city centre music festivals.''
Joining The Stranglers and Amsterdam will be a mammoth 150 bands from 20 countries, from as far as Brazil and Japan, performing live on the 6 outdoor stages and at more than 40 indoor venues.
Professor Drummond Bone, Chairman of the Liverpool Culture Company said:- ''Liverpool is known the world over for the diversity of its music and for the amazing crowds. The Mathew Street Festival is the perfect vehicle to show why we are the World Capital of Pop and what Capital of Culture can do to enhance the city's cultural offer.''
Carole Jackson, Wirral Council Head of Tourism, said:- ''Wirral is delighted to be able to play its part in the world renowned Mathew Street Festival. We have been working with Liverpool's Capital of Culture team for several months and will shortly be confirming a fantastic line-up of acts.''
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