Recruitment in Kenya: Why Salary Matters

Know why salary matters during recruitment in Kenya

A common issue among employers in Kenya is how to retain top talent in their organization. In this article here, we explained what employers in Kenya should do to retain top sales employees. And in another post here, we talked about how employers can retain top employees without having to increase their salary. From those two posts, one thing is common; salary is a great determinant when it comes to the recruitment and retention of top talent.

For an organization to end up with top talent, a working recruitment process and strategy is of great importance. This then means that for recruiters and employers to ensure they are working with the best, salary should not be left out during the recruitment process.  So, whether you are recruiting in-house or have outsourced your recruiting process to a leading recruitment firm in Kenya, you need to remember that salary matters. This post explains more on why salary matters.

Why Salary Matters During Recruitment in Kenya

Before we even proceed to list the reasons why salary matters in the recruiting process, according to this survey conducted last year, employees feel more engaged when they are compensated well. You could have great talent in your workforce but if you do not pay them a salary that matches their responsibilities, then your employees are not engaged enough to be productive. To add on to this, here are 3 reasons why salary matters when recruiting in Kenya.

1. Defining a salary guarantees you top talent

When you have done your bench marking on salaries and identified the market rate for the positions you are hiring for, you can expect to attract top talent. Having the wrong salary or lacking to set one during the recruitment process, puts you at risk of struggling to find quality candidates. What does this mean? If you do not include a salary range for the position, chances are you will attract all kinds of candidates. This will then give you a hard time in the selection process.

Again, if you include a salary that turns out to be lower than the market rate, you risk experiencing a low response rate and poor quality candidates. On the other hand, if you offer a very high salary you might end up with overqualified candidates or experience difficulties later leading you to adjusting the amounts.

So, if you are an employer looking to recruit and don’t have a well versed team, consider outsourcing the process to a recruitment firm or do your due diligence and define a market salary.

2. A set salary helps ease the selection process

If you have tried filling a position before then you know how some positions can be difficult to fill. They attract so many applicants that sifting through the pile becomes overwhelming. Sometimes this is common when the job advert appears too general, leading to a larger pool of candidates than should be the case.

Defining a salary beforehand helps cut down the number of applicants to only those who are okay with the set salary range, or who are close enough to negotiate. This means you will not have to deal with candidates who are already earning more than the offered amount. It will also mean that you attract only the right calibre of candidates for the role, making the recruitment process a lot easier.

3. Salary brings order to your recruitment process

There have been cases where employers advertise a position without being sure of the salary to offer. With such cases, employers end up with a large pool of candidates but only a few or none suit the role in question. Like explained in point number one, employers and recruiters end up with CVs they cannot use and the position starts to become hard to fill. Such positions take months with employers not realizing that the salary is the big issue.

By defining a salary, you portray that you know what type of candidates you are looking for and establish a starting point for any negotiations. It also acts as a way to eliminate candidates without so much thought and helps your organization fill a certain position without wasting too much time and resources. Establishing a salary brings order to the recruitment process and ensures that you hire only the best.

Bottom Line

When it comes to salary and recruitment in Kenya, you cannot separate the two. You cannot bypass setting a salary range and expect to get quality candidates for the positions you seek to fill. Most employees in Kenya thrive on good compensation among other factors that affect their productivity. For this reason, it is important to think of salary when recruiting in Kenya if you want to attract and retain top talent. Also, if you are looking for a fast and effective recruitment process, picking out a salary that falls under the market rate is the most important step.

Are you looking to recruit for your organization? Contact muthoni@corporatestaffing.co.ke

3 Comments

  1. Hi, it is just a concern that Agriculture is a major employer in Kenya and you don’t have a category for Agriculture related jobs!

  2. Morning,
    i just want to ask something.Do we have a grading system for the following proffessions in kenya ;
    1-Draughtsman.
    2-Autocad.
    3-Designer.
    4-Sheet metal worker.
    4-Fitter general.

    and if we do what’s the scale (Ksh.)?

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