INTHEBLACK May 2025 - Magazine - Page 8
FAS T F O C U S
Number crunch
Words Susan Muldowney
84%
of companies globally feel underprepared for future
macroeconomic and geopolitical disruptions.
Source: Resilience Pulse Check: Harnessing Collaboration to Navigate a Volatile World
white paper, World Economic Forum
32%
of employers plan to focus on upskilling current employees
to address skill gaps, and 30 per cent will work on creating career
paths for long-term growth.
Source: Talent Trends 2025: Progress over Perfection report, Korn Ferry
8 INTHEBLACK May 2025
CFOs signal
salary slowdown
Finance chiefs are keeping salaries
in check in 2025, with a survey from
Gartner showing only 61 per cent
of CFOs are planning to increase
average employee compensation
this year, compared to 71 per cent
in 2024 and 86 per cent in 2023.
While employee compensation
remains a key area for budget
boosts (second only to enterprise
technology spending), pay increases
are easing, with experts stating
the slow down reflects falling rates
of inflation and lower levels
of voluntary employee attrition.
Gartner’s survey also shows
a shift toward smaller pay increases,
with the proportion of CFOs
planning to boost average employee
compensation by 10 per cent
or more falling from 16 per cent
in 2023 to 11 per cent in 2025.
While 70 per cent of respondents
planned increases of 4–9 per cent
in 2023, only half are planning
the same this year.
Read the survey
