Dive Brief:

• Workers are more willing to tell their employers they want more pay and benefits or they will head for the exits, according to research from Spherion Staffing, which surveyed 416 HR managers and 2,810 American workers.
• Spherion found that 51% of employees believe the expanding job market gives them real power to negotiate higher salaries either with their current company or with a new one.
• Employee Benefits News reports that those results may collide with how HR currently runs benefits, as benefits and pay have been kept flat over the last several years. EBN cited a recent WorldatWork report that found salary increases have stalled at 3% for the third straight year.

Dive Insight:

Sandy Mazur, Spherion division president, warned employers that this scenario will raise the pressure to increase compensation and benefits or the risk losing top talent. She said today's economy and job market give workers an edge for the first time in a long time – so it's only natural workers would look to make up for lost time when cash and benefits were frozen during the recession.

So logically it would seem this predicted new mindset will force HR and benefits professionals to relent and reevaluate, so they can figure out how to stanch turnover and keep recruitment productive. After all, Spherion found 78% of businesses say they are more worried about a talent shortage today than they were last year, yet 62% can't afford to meet these new demands even though they think it's right to do so.

Looks like it's time for employers who can't raise pay and/or benefits to get creative in trying to stem the tide and keep their talent from looking for that greener grass.