Zurich/Geneva, 24 July 2024. Swiss-based employees are less likely to negotiate a salary increase than their German and French counterparts. According to the latest study around salary negotiations from Michael Page, 30% of Swiss-based employees and candidates reported seeking a salary rise in the past 12 months compared with 40% in Germany and France. Only 66% of job seekers in Switzerland felt confident or very confident about negotiating a salary increase, compared with 80% in Germany and France.
Job seekers in Switzerland were only half as likely to propose a salary objective compared with their German counterparts (19% vs 41%). Over half (58%) preferred to discuss a salary range rather than a specific salary objective.
Key sources of information about salaries were found to be specialized websites such as Glassdoor (53%), followed by salary reports from recruitment firms* (44%) and job ads (39%). The majority of respondents updated their salary knowledge at least once a year using such sources.
Employers need to be proactive about initiating salary discussions
According to Yannick Coulange, Managing Director of Michael Page Switzerland, “It is crucial for employers to take the lead on salary discussions. Candidates tend not to discuss salary development processes as this is largely considered a taboo subject in the interview process. So, it is important for the employer to have a pro-active discussion about the elements of compensation, outlining how salaries are determined in the organization and the opportunities for performance-related increases.”
*The Michael Page Salary 2024 Salary study can be found here.
