Candidates and employees expect more benefits than ever before, so how do you nail your offer? You’ll want to check which things matter most to candidates based on their job profiles. 

You might not think it, but a software engineer likely won’t value the same thing from their workplace as Martha from Accounts. Ignoring these nuanced preferences could lead you further into talent-shortage strife. Heck, our stats show that candidate motivators are different within the same tech industry. 

Let’s explore what different job families expect from your total compensation package and assess how it’s changed since 2022. 

Software Developers 

If you’ve got some solid software developers you want to keep on board, or you’re looking to secure some expert engineers, knowing what they want from their workplace is the key. 

Right off the bat, one of the first things that struck us was the lack of internal mobility for software developers at the moment. Our stats show that 41% have changed jobs to a new organisation in the last 12 months, while only 3% have changed roles within the same organisation. 

Let’s dive a little deeper into why. 

What’s currently keeping a software engineer up at night? Getting a promotion, maintaining a work-life balance and keeping their job. 

These make sense when you look at the top drivers for this group. In first place we have a good work-life balance (46%), followed closely by flexible working (44%). In third we have career progression (37%) and, tied for fourth spot, was long term job security (33%) and balance and wellbeing (33%). 

One of the major patterns we’ve been seeing across the board with our 2023 results has been the declining importance of having a good pay cheque. Not that salary doesn’t have any importance to this group, with 68% of them choosing to change jobs within the last 12 months in order to get a better salary.   

But what’s even better than cold hard cash? Unbeatable benefits. 

More than half of the software developers we surveyed have recently changed jobs in order to receive better benefits and 75% said that non-monetary benefits are extremely important to them - the numbers don’t lie. 

They want time to switch off their screens and go bathe in the sun, or maybe just sit in front of a different screen. Either way, more me-time is a must. 

Coming in at number three on the list, career progression is also coupled with a healthy training budget. 58% of our respondents said they used their learning and development budget in the last 12 months, however 15% weren’t offered any training allowances at all. While the numbers are pretty good, there’s definitely room for improvement there. 

Lastly, half of our respondents told us they decided to switch seats to a new organisation due to a mismatch in personal values - our developers want to have passion for their projects. 

Business Analysts 

Often the journey to the world of business analysis isn’t exactly a linear one. Over 14% of respondents who pivoted down this pathway in the last 12 months were previously senior managers. With there being quite a few crossover skills between these roles, sometimes your best business analyst doesn’t even know it themselves yet. The pay is another plus, with every 3 in 13 respondents who changed roles also getting a salary increase by 6 - 10%. 

This might also explain why nearly 45% of respondents told us they plan to change jobs within the next 12 months - sometimes these pivots don’t exactly go to plan. 

For those happy hanging out in their new norm, it seems they are ready and willing to learn, with over 49% of respondents utilising their training budgets in the last 12 months. In fact, non-monetary benefits are a big hit for those in business, with every 3 in 7 respondents agreeing they would choose one employer over another based on benefits (truthfully, we’re not really surprised at this point). 

This circles us back to that work-life balance, with over 54% of respondents agreeing their ideal employer should support a little more time to enjoy the finer things in life, or a sleep-in every now and then. 

Cyber Security Professionals 

We’ve been saying that salary hasn’t been such a big player this year, but the cyber security professionals would disagree with us. They were the only specialisation to rank salary as their number one driver. 

As an emerging industry, there’s still some work to be done on the finer details (namely a solid salary). Though there has been an increase in the bank balances of cyber professionals over the last 12 months, candidates still aren’t completely satisfied with what they’re seeing. This is probably why every 7 in 13 respondents said they plan to move to another organisation within the next 12 months and why 55% already have. Seems it was the right call, with over 34% of respondents who did change employers seeing their salary increase by more than 20%. 

But you still can’t beat those benefits, with over 94% of respondents saying that when it comes to choosing one employer over another, it’s all about those non-monetary must haves. 

The recent rise in hybrid and remote working might have helped people find more time for their morning walks and coffee runs, but it hasn’t come without its challenges. Managers and their relationships with their teams have certainly had a shake up, with many unsure exactly how to adapt to this new norm. As a result, over 31% of respondents who switched roles in the last year did so due to poor relationships with their managers and/or colleagues. 

Projects & PMO Professionals 

The life of a project and PMO specialist can be an uncertain one, with many working on a contract basis. So, when the three things keeping these professionals up at night turned out to be maintaining a work-life balance, boosting their salary and finding a new job, it made sense. 

It also explains why their top five drivers were flexible working (61%), attractive salary (60%), good work-life balance (57%), strong management and leadership (46%) and career progression (40%). 

As a group who tend to deal with lots of different stakeholders, it’s hard to get poor leadership past them. That’s probably why strong management made it into spot number four and why 43% of respondents said they’ve changed jobs because of poor relationships with colleagues or managers. 

One of the biggest things project and PMO professionals are faced with is change. Being on top of what’s happening in the industry and staying up to date with the knowledge and skills to succeed in a rapidly evolving market is key. So, when 45% of respondents say they weren’t even offered a training budget and only 20% managed to use theirs in the last 12 months, it’s a little cause for concern. 

With solid salaries not being a stand out contender this year, it’s interesting to see those in this specialisation rank it number two. On average, project and PMO professionals tend to have a higher wage than those in other job families, and it seems they’re not afraid to chase it. With 58% of respondents changing jobs in the last 12 months to find a higher salary, 15% of them saw their bank balances jump between 16 - 20%, while another 23% saw it go up another 22%. Smash avos all round. 

Money isn’t the only thing that makes the world go round, and our PMO and project professionals know it. More than 1 in 3 respondents said they changed jobs recently due to feeling a lack of purpose in their projects. On top of that, 28% said a company with a strong moral compass and values is a big must have. 

So what did we learn….. 

Each job family has their nuances when it comes to their top drivers - whether it’s cyber security with their solid salaries or project professionals pushing away from poor leadership. No matter what the profession, if you want to attract and retain the best talent in the market, me-time is a must! 

Want to know what else we uncovered? Click here to download Talenza’s 2023 Candidate Motivator Report.