Why are people getting “survival salary” instead of “comfortable salary”?

Everyone works to ensure they have a home, can put food on the table, and afford all the basic necessities for their families. With the cost-of-living increasing day by day, people are desperate for money, even if it’s in small amounts. Just to make sure they and their family are able to get by. On the other side of the coin, organisations facing fast-changing market trends and inability to perform adequate job evaluations have led to some jobs being unable to meet even the minimum salary or wage requirements, resulting in underpayment.

As someone with only surface-level knowledge of salaries and compensations, attending the HR training on Drawing Salary Structures, Compensation & Benefits Plans was an eye-opening experience for me. Through it, I learned about the growing issue of people receiving a “survival salary” instead of a “comfortable salary.”

The session emphasised the critical importance of conducting thorough and structured job evaluations to ensure that salary structures are both fair and competitive. As the saying goes, "Compensation is not a cost; it's an investment in your people." By accurately assessing the responsibilities and requirements of each position, compensation can be aligned with market standards and internal equity, ultimately leading to higher employee satisfaction and retention. Best of all, I have the privilege to immediately apply what I have learnt through the current project that I am working on together with my leaders who are further guiding me through the entire process!

Today, with the government also encouraging salary reviews to propagate fair compensation to the workforce, the job evaluation is indeed the first step to get there. If you haven't yet reviewed your organisation's compensation framework, now is the time! Proper job evaluation is the cornerstone of an effective salary structure. Take the first step today to ensure your team's compensation reflects their true value. Contact us at HumanCap to make sure your people are being taken care of!

Shared by Kautsar Alia (Katt) Mazlan.