Each year, PayScale releases a Compensation Best Practices Report with great insights for business leaders to learn and grow from. It is vital for leadership to keep a finger on the pulse of compensation practices and trends in order to stay competitive, attract top talent and retain those quality team members that they already have.

The report strongly indicates economic growth, which is great! –But a competitive economy will bring with it challenges for growing businesses, when it comes to finding that sweet spot in compensation that allows for continued growth. That’s what PayScale’s yearly report is all about; bringing to light the data that is essential for organizations to be able to make informed decisions about their current and future compensation practices. Let’s see what it looked like!

We will start off with what appears to be a drastically climbing concern in business, and a great reason to stay in the loop when it comes to compensation practices.

In 2009, only 28% of companies considered retention a main concern. Fast forward 5 years to 2014, and 57% of companies are now putting retention on that list of main concerns. Tweet this stat.

This intense focus on retention might be the reason we’re seeing companies starting to dig a little deeper. Offering competitive compensation packages has been known to improve retention rates. Employees will surely keep an eye on fair compensation, even if the organization isn’t.

88% of companies plan on doling out raises in 2014. This figure is up 5% from last year. Tweet this stat.

Companies are projecting financial gains to come in 2014, and when companies make more money, they can spend more money. So aside from the need to stay competitive in pay practices, more companies can actually afford to do it.

72% of companies are expecting their financial situation to improve. This figure is up from 66%, just last year in 2013. Tweet this stat.

Only 5% of companies are expecting their financial situation to weaken, and this figure is down from 7% last year. Tweet this stat.

Along with these positive financial projections, naturally, hiring is expected to keep climbing with the economy. As well all know, financial compensation is only one aspect of talent attraction. Companies are going to have to step up their entire recruiting game to attract talent this year because…

54% of companies reported plans to continue expanding in 2014. Tweet this stat.

Along those lines of competitive recruiting, attracting talent is expected to remain a concern for businesses of all size. Just a few short months ago, 2013 concluded with…

1/2 of companies reporting having a difficult time filling skilled positions. Tweet this stat.

Why is all of this important again? Although competitive and informed pay structures are a vital issue in retention, not many companies involved in this study were confident in the data they use to set compensation standards in their own organization.

Only 26% of companies reported being very satisfied with the salary data they use to set compensation. Tweet this stat.

Among many other points, it is clear that most companies are going to have to invest in recruiting and HR this year. As the economy keeps getting healthier, retention and attraction are continuing to become main concerns in businesses across the board.

The proper HR technologies and tactics will be needed to improved brand awareness, create a stellar candidate experience and provide smooth onboarding. Would you like information on how to get your HR and recruiting team ready for what 2014 has yet to bring?

Head over to our main blog.

photo credit: Tax Credits via photopin cc