The Flemish employee is only moderately satisfied with his or her level of wages and possible bonus; labourers are the least satisfied, executives and members of management the most. But what is especially striking is the dissatisfaction about the way in which companies draw up their wage policy. The lack of transparency and consistency in the area of wage increases and bonuses creates a sense of unfairness. In addition, there is a great lack of knowledge among all occupational groups about the components of their own wages, and especially about performance bonuses and extra-legal benefits.

All these things are brought out in The Great Remuneration Study, conducted by Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, in collaboration with De Standaard and Jobat. The study is based on an extensive survey of a little over 8,350 Flemish workers between the ages of 18 and 65.

“It’s noteworthy that no less than 33% of the respondents are employed in the public sector, which is even more than in the remuneration studies in 2002 and 2005,” says Xavier Baeten, Manager in the Centre of Excellence in Strategic Rewards, who conducted the study with researcher Charlotte Vande Walle. “Furthermore, we studied not only financial but also non-financial income, and how wages and the wage policy behind them are perceived.”

Some striking conclusions:

1. Satisfaction: the overall satisfaction score for each group of workers is as follows: labourers 42%, white-collar employees 49%, members of management 59% and executives 67%.
2. Determination of the evolution of wages: wage increases for government workers are primarily determined by indexation and seniority; in the private sector, primarily by indexation, seniority, performance and competencies. Performance is rewarded more highly in companies of over 1000 employees. It’s noteworthy that employees whose wage increases are determined on the basis of performance and/or competencies are more satisfied with the way in which the wage increases are calculated.
3. Bonus: The bonus is more established in the private sector than in the public sector: 35% of the executive employees in the private sector have the right to a bonus, compared to only 12% in the government. “But the ignorance about the bonus system is appalling,” Baeten remarks − “47% of the members of staff and 38% of the management do not know what their bonus depends on. Companies that introduce performance-related wage systems are on the right track, but they need to be mature enough to implement performance management in a sound manner. Otherwise, it only leads to greater lack of clarity and dissatisfaction.”
4. Non-financial remuneration: the non-financial wage components score markedly better than the financial. Mainstays are autonomy and responsibility, colleagues, the working hours and holidays. Particular points of attention are leadership and coaching, career possibilities, and communication from the management. It’s notable that job satisfaction and job security also receive high marks.
5. Wage policy: from the study, the wage policy stands out as the major difficulty. Baeten: “That’s especially because companies do not communicate transparently about how wages are determined, which gives employees a feeling of unfairness. In addition, a failing wage policy is a major reason to look for another job. Bonus and extra-legal benefits have a limited retention value.”