Employers and employees in Cayman’s private sector appear to have very different expectations of what makes a company an attractive place to work, with the two sides differing widely over the importance of flexible working options.
A recent report by a Cayman Islands-based recruitment agency showed that in a poll of job candidates the company had interviewed, their top priority in considering taking up a new post was whether the working conditions were flexible.
Noting that flexible working options are no longer a perk, they’re “almost an expectation”, the researchers in the survey carried out by Nova Recruitment found that professionals want more say in where and when they work.
“The remote work practices and nontraditional schedules that grew out of necessity as businesses weathered the early pandemic have become flexible options that many professionals seek — and many employers now embrace,” the report states.
Ambrose Guilfoyle, co-owner of Nova Recruitment, said jobseekers, as well as considering competitive salaries, are increasingly valuing other benefits highly, in particular flexible/agile working options, comprehensive benefits “and a clear understanding of their career progression potential”.
“In such a candidate-driven market,” he said in the introduction to the report, “it will be important for employers to consider these factors as part of their recruitment marketing to attract passive talent [those currently employed] and widen what feels like an ever-narrowing candidate pool.”
The report noted that job security is also high on the list of priorities for potential employees, especially in these uncertain economic times.
“Whilst higher salaries are generally what many candidates are looking for due to increased cost of living across Cayman, some are wary that they do not want to be the last in on the highest salary in case they are the first out should things take a drastic downturn,” it states.
‘Productivity paranoia’
Nova cited a recent Microsoft report on workplace trends that identified so-called ‘productivity paranoia’, which refers to a manager’s suspicion that employees are not working as efficiently as they expect because they are out of the office, where they can’t see them.
In its survey of 20,000 people in 11 countries, Microsoft found that 87% of workers said they were productive when working, while only 12% of managers said they were fully confident that their team was productive.
It noted that, with managers not having confidence that their staff were pulling their weight, some organisations are using technology to track their work activity, leading to an undermining of trust among employees.
Nova, in its report, says such productivity paranoia is “counter-productive to helping staff thrive and can lead to high levels of turnover”.
It added, “With hybrid work and remote work here to stay in one form or another, managers need to push past productivity paranoia and into a new way of managing that delivers results for their team while also embracing the flexible working that their staff has come to enjoy.
“Organisations should consider providing [the] support to help managers pivot in these changing times, arming them with the technology and tools needed to refresh their traditional management styles from working in the office.”
Salary survey
Using data and forecasts based on the agency’s job placements and the results of its own salary survey to active Nova candidates, the report included an analysis of wages for a variety of roles within the white collar field.
In many instances, the lower end of the salary range was below what candidates said they expected to be paid.
For example, the report noted, administrators are paid between US$30,000 and US$42,000 a year, with the average pay being $37,000, while candidates expected a pay range of $32,000 to $45,000.
Candidates for senior administrator jobs expect salaries of between $45,000 and $65,000, but the actual range is between $40,000 and $60,000, with the average being $48,000.
Operations managers, the survey found, were paid an average of $88,000 a year, with the range being $70,000 and $120,000. Candidates for those jobs were expecting a range of $75,000 to $120,000.
To access the report, visit nova.ky/salary-guide-2023.
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