Most companies prefer not to tinker with their compensation strategy — unless they absolutely must. Salary structures are difficult to get right, which is why it's tempting to adopt an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach. But your compensation strategy doesn't exist in a vacuum. External factors are constantly impacting employee expectations, whether you like it or not.

One of the most common pieces of hiring advice is this: "always make sure that your salary offer is close to the market average". That's great in theory, but in practice, you're left with one big question: what is the market average?

Hiring in the IT field is more difficult than ever right now. In the private sector, around 59% of employers say that their businesses are suffering because they don't have access to the digital skills they require.

Growing your team is one of the hardest things about running a small business. If you're new to recruitment, you might find that even getting candidates to apply is surprisingly difficult—especially if you need people with specialist skills.

If you’re struggling to recruit, you’re not alone. Hiring has gotten harder in recent years, and two-thirds of hiring managers say that they struggle to track down suitable candidates.

If you’ve had trouble recruiting recently, don’t worry. It’s not just you. A worldwide survey of employers found that 45% of companies can’t find the people they need, with 67% of larger companies reporting recruiting problems.