Wage bonanza for skilled and talented staff, says new report

Lack of trained employees is forcing Kenyan companies to spend more to keep talent within their organisations.

A study by audit firm Deloitte & Touche Ltd says companies are paying high salaries to retain talent.

The problem, The Human Capital Report says, has a great impact on senior management and specialised skills, which are increasingly becoming rare in the job market.

“There are very few people to provide services in senior management, leading to a high demand that has made retaining the few available very expensive for businesses,” Deloitte’s consulting director Kimani Njoroge said.

Organisations now need to focus on developing and retaining staff as it is more expensive to hire another employee to fill the gap left behind by talent that goes to rival firms.

Mr Njoroge was speaking at the firm’s launch of this year’s edition of the best company to work for survey.

The study examines several parameters that influence workers’ performance and continued stay in a company.

“In our previous surveys, we found that there seems to be a mismatch between what workers need and what employers think they should provide to the workforce,” he said.

Last year, Craft Silicon, an information technology firm, was named the best company followed by Procter & Gamble with Kenya Women Finance Trust taking the third position.

This year’s survey, said Mr Njoroge, seeks to expand participants from the 17 covered last year, to at least 30 firms across different industries.

According to the human capital study, which covered 2,500 participants from 90 countries, development of leaders is a problem for Kenyan business just like it is globally.