Swiss negotiate less about their wages than their neighbors
Employees in Switzerland negotiate pay rises less frequently than in Germany and France. According to the latest study by Michael Page on salary negotiations, 30 percent of employees and job applicants in Switzerland stated that they had sought a salary increase in the last twelve months. In Germany and France, the figure was 40 percent. Only 66 percent of respondents in Switzerland felt confident or very confident about negotiating a pay rise, compared to 80 percent in Germany and France.
Jobseekers in Switzerland were more than twice as pessimistic about the outcome of a pay rise compared to those in Germany and France. 18 percent had decided against asking for a pay rise in the last twelve months because they were not optimistic about the outcome. In contrast, only eight percent of German and French respondents said that this was an obstacle for them to ask for a pay rise.
Compared to German jobseekers, respondents in Switzerland were only half as likely to mention a specific salary target (19% compared to 41%). More than half (58%) preferred to talk about a salary range rather than an exact figure.
The most important sources of information on salary are specialized websites such as Glassdoor (53%), followed by reports from recruitment companies (44%) and job advertisements (39%). The majority of respondents update their salary knowledge at least once a year using these sources.
Wages are not everything
In addition to salary, the most important financial benefits for jobseekers in Switzerland were an attractive company pension scheme (85%) and private health or life insurance (73%). Access to further training was the most popular non-financial benefit. 35 percent of jobseekers negotiated this as part of their salary.
Employers must take a proactive approach to pay talks
Yannick Coulange, Managing Director of PageGroup Switzerland, says: "It is crucial for employers to take the lead in salary discussions. Applicants tend not to talk about their salary expectations as this is often seen as a taboo subject in the application process. It is therefore important that employers proactively lead the discussion on the different elements of pay. They need to show how salaries are set within the company and whether there are opportunities for performance-related increases."
Source: www.michaelpage.ch
