Salary.com Unveils Top 10 Salary/Compensation Trends to Watch for in 2006; Employers Will Focus on Bigger Bonuses Next Year!!

Business Wire, Dec 14, 2005

NEEDHAM, Mass. -- Salary.com, the compensation experts, today released a list of the Top 10 "hot button" salary/compensation trends in the U.S. for 2006. Companies will focus mainly on offering their employees added flexibility, more incentives based on performance, and earlier bonuses and salary increases this coming year. These trends will aim to bolster employee retention, as a strengthening economy will have more employees looking for new jobs in 2006. The 2006 Salary/Compensation trends ranked from one-to-ten are:

1. The industry will face a continued movement toward pay for performance---with greater emphasis on incentives.

2. Companies and their boards will be looking to re-evaluate, cut back or eliminate components of their executive pay programs.

3. Stock option usage will continue to slow.

4. Commitment by employers to expand their use of work-from-home programs for employees because of family situations, high gas prices and travel concerns.

5. The use of signing bonuses will return in moderation.

6. Workers may see an increase in pay for jobs with increased visibility and increased demand.

7. Employers will find creative ways to attract and retain older workers.

8. An increase in the use of spot bonuses will provide immediate positive feedback to key contributors.

9. Retraining will become a challenge for employers and employees.

10. Employees could start seeing their bonus payments and salary increases sooner than in years past.

The 2006 salary/compensation trends list was compiled based on extensive input from human resource executives at the more than 1,500 Salary.com clients and expert analysis by the Salary.com team of certified compensation professionals.

Bill Coleman, Salary.com's senior vice president of compensation and a nationally recognized expert on compensation, salary and pay, is available to discuss 2006 compensation trends. He can offer significant anecdotes and commentary on each of the trends on the 2006 salary/compensation trends list. To schedule an interview with Bill, please call 781-684-0770 and ask for a member of the Salary.com team.