Why organisations need to think beyond money to retain talent

Organisations in the Philippines may need to be more creative when it comes to retaining their best talent, seeing that that many will struggle to offer more attractive salaries.

According to the latest Salary Budget Planning Report by WTW, over one-third (34.6%) of organisations in the Philippines reported a reduced salary budget in 2024, when compared to 2023.

The overall median pay rise for 2024 stands at 5.6%, slightly lower compared to the 5.7% recorded for 2023. For 2025, overall salary budget increases are expected to remain flat at 5.6%.

Clearly, organisations in the Philippines are now looking beyond financial remuneration to keep their best employees, and to attract new ones. According to WTW, almost one in four (24.4%) organisations plan to increase headcount in 2025, a task made more challenging by the average voluntary attrition rate over the last 12 months standing at 12.5%.

If salary budgets continue to remain conservative, what can organisations to avoid a talent gap?

Chantal Querubin, Rewards Data Intelligence Leader Philippines, WTW, told HRM Asia, “Organisations can retain top talent by building a positive company culture, offering a clear employee value proposition incorporating wellbeing into the human capital strategy, and providing clear and realistic career paths for employee development.”

The WTW report also highlighted how organisations in the Philippines are focusing on creating more impactful and inclusive retention and workforce planning strategies that focus on leadership visibility, communication, employee wellbeing, and DE&I.

It is also perhaps worth noting that employee resignations are a normal part of the organisational lifecycle, and organisations largely have mechanisms in place to replace lost talent while also bringing in new capabilities and perspectives, Querubin reminded.

The real challenge, he highlighted, is losing critical talent, or employees who are critical to long-term organisational success.

READ MORE: Healthy work-life balance top factor for talent retention

“To address this, companies are adopting flexible strategies, such as targeted talent and reward programmes. Additionally, workforce planning underpinned by talent analytics helps anticipate future needs and manage risks related to market volatility through succession planning, continuous capability development, and personalised rewards,” Querubin concluded.