By Craig Zammit

SYDNEY: The results of the Australian Institute of Management’s (AIM) 2007 National Salary Survey has revealed that annual salaries have risen by 4.6 per cent in the 2006/2007 year, up from 4.4 per cent in the previous year and 4.0 per cent in 2003/2004.

Large companies in in the resource boom states of Western Australia and Queensland have been impacted the most, with salary increases outstripping the national average at 6.8 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively.

Based on the responses of 779 companies — 561 large companies (more than $10 million turnover) and 218 small companies (between $2 million and $10 million in turnover) — the survey revealed that the skills shortage has further taken its toll, with voluntary staff turnover rates at 12.6 per cent for 2006/07, up from 11.5 per cent in the previous year and significantly up from the 9.9 per cent rate in 2003/04.

As indicated in the survey by 60.9 per cent of large company employees, the number one reason for staff resigning was to pursue career progression or promotion opportunities.

“This raises the question of why organisations are not doing more to develop career pathways for their staff,” said AIM NSW/ACT chief executive, Dr Jennifer Alexander.

“Employers still believe that the key to staff retention is improving pay and financial benefits, but this alone is clearly not solving the problem. More needs to be done on training and career development to convince staff that the organisation cares about and can meet their career aspirations.

“In the current climate, staff need to be assured that they have a future with the organisation, so greater investment in training and career development should be a priority,” she said.

Also revealed through the survey was that the highest annual salary movement by job level was recorded for senior executives at 5.1 per cent, while salaried staff had the lowest average salary rise at 4.2 per cent.  

On an industry-basis, the lowest salary increases were recorded for the electronics/IT industry (3.2 per cent) followed by retail (3.6 per cent) and manufacturing/food/beverage/tobacco (4.0 per cent).

By job family, the highest salary increase was recorded for general management positions (4.8 per cent) and the lowest was for the manufacturing/supply/distribution and administration job families, at 4.1 per cent.  

Western Australia registered the highest salary rise of 6.8 per cent, followed by Queensland (5.1 per cent), Victoria/Tasmania (4.6 per cent), South Australia/Northern Territory (4.3 per cent) and New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory recorded the lowest salary rise of 4.1 per cent.