One of the most important factors in retaining top talent in the financial industry is employee satisfaction with their compensation arrangements. Despite this being such a critical leading indicator of potential turnover issues, many firms in the industry do not actively survey their employees on how happy they are with their pay. This can be a critical mistake for firms, especially as the demand for top talent increases as the private equity and venture capital industries grow.
Perhaps not surprisingly, we’ve found that overall pay satisfaction is highly correlated with overall job market conditions within the industry. During times of struggle and declining employment, pay satisfaction tends to increase. However, once the economy heats up and jobs become more numerous, it seems as though employees grow increasingly interested in how much their peers are earning across the street.
2013 Survey Showed an Upward Trend in Satisfaction
That said, despite increased hiring intentions and a relatively robust industry, we’ve seen a markedly upward trend in satisfaction with compensation. According to our 2013 survey, 56 percent of respondents reported they were happy with their pay packages, which is up from 41 percent and 36 percent in the last two years respectively. As the over trends in hiring intentions and employment seem positive, we suspect that the considerable growth in average industry compensation this year is likely a driving factor behind the satisfaction numbers we’ve recorded. However, if our historical understanding of compensation satisfaction holds however, we would expect to see this number begin to decline as hiring intentions begin to shift into real competition for top industry talent.
It is also important to note that satisfaction with pay can fluctuate wildly throughout the year, perhaps with employees feeling underpaid at peak workload periods and adequately compensated during less intense periods. Even a bad day in the office can impact whether someone perceives themselves as being fairly paid.
Overall, the private equity and venture capital industries do reward the hard work of their employees with exceptional compensation. In a broader United States or global employment context, the industry is amongst the most highly compensated in the world. However, that doesn’t mean that some individuals can feel slighted, with much of the dissatisfaction present in the industry is simply competitive tensions and employees wondering if they could make more at another firm. Managing this dissatisfaction is critical to firms that are looking to retain their top talent as competition in the industry heats up.
