More employers offering promotions without raises

Many workers willing to accept them: Survey

More employers offering promotions without raises
More than half (55 per cent) of professionals said they'd be willing to accept an advanced title that doesn't include a raise, found the survey of more than 300 HR managers and 1,000 workers. Shutterstock

A better job title doesn't always come with a bigger paycheque, according to a survey from staffing firm OfficeTeam.

Nearly half of Canadian HR managers (47 per cent) said it's common for their company to offer employees promotions without salary increases, up 22 percentage points from a similar 2011 survey.

Fourteen per cent said it’s very common (compared to two per cent in 2011), 33 per cent said it’s somewhat common, 20 per cent said it’s not common at all, while 33 per cent said they don’t offer promotions without raises (compared to 52 per cent in 2011).

"While providing advancement opportunities can be a valuable way for companies to motivate employees and reward success, many professionals expect a promotion to come with a raise," said Koula Vasilopoulos, a district director at OfficeTeam. "If limited resources make that difficult, employers should be prepared to deliver alternate perks like more vacation time or enhanced benefits to keep staff satisfied."  

More than half (55 per cent) of professionals said they'd be willing to accept an advanced title that doesn't include a raise, found the survey of more than 300 HR managers and 1,000 workers.

Additional findings:

  • More male employees (59 per cent) are open to taking a promotion without a salary increase than women (51 per cent).
  • Workers ages 18 to 34 (62 per cent) are most willing to take a new title that doesn't include a raise, compared to those ages 35 to 54 (52 per cent) and 55 and older (45 per cent).
  • On average, professionals are promoted after three years in a role.

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