Put yourself in the shoes of a promising recruit with five to seven years of experience. Consider that you have an established track record with your current firm, and are fairly content there. However, the right offer that includes a chance to advance your career more quickly might be very tempting.

Although more money may not be your top priority, it certainly figures into any decision to change firms. How much more would it take for you to seriously consider a move to another firm in what could be a somewhat risky job change? What other factors would influence your decision?

Recruits can have several motivations to change jobs including the desire for more challenging, fulfilling work, a quest for more management responsibility, or the promise of ownership. No matter the main motivation, when you recruit someone who has a comfortable position with another firm, the recruit expects a legitimate offer to include a substantial increase in compensation.

We find that in most cases a salary increase of seven percent to ten percent is a minimum amount to get a recruit to consider a move. Why that much? You've got to figure that a good employee in the current job market is going to get at least a three percent to five percent raise next year if the individual stays put. You need to make a change worth their while to compensate for the risk.

When considering the risks, recruits will wonder:

• Will I be the first to be let go if there's a market downturn?
• Will I fit in with another firm's culture?
• Will I get along with my new supervisor?
• If I have to move to another city, will my family adjust well to the new surroundings?
• Will I actually get to work on the firm's marquee projects?

A significant salary increase can help justify taking on these risks. Some firms seem to think that their prestige in the field should be enough to attract talent. While having cachet in the industry is certainly a plus, it's often not enough to coax a talented recruit to jump ship.

Firms are sometimes hesitant to offer a recruit a 10 percent salary increase for fear of upsetting their salary structure. It seems unfair to pay a recruit more than someone with similar experience who has been with the firm for many years. That's understandable, and it's why firms should make sure that they review and revise their salary and compensation plans regularly.

You don't want to lose a key recruit because you can't offer him or her a few thousand dollars more than what you are paying your current staff, especially if it turns out that you are underpaying your workers. On the other hand, if your salary structure is competitive, and the price for a recruit still seems high, you may be able to devise a creative compensation package that can close the sale.

For example, a lower base salary with high bonus potential might be attractive to many candidates. Or, a tiered salary structure-one that increases after a year-could do the trick.

Sometimes upping the ante on benefits can help tip the scales. This strategy can include offering extra vacation days, flextime, stock bonuses, and a sign-on bonus. If your firm offers any extraordinary benefits, such as on-site daycare, make those a prominent part of your pitch.

Employers who are flexible and creative with compensation and benefits packages will be able to accommodate the needs of many recruits. Remember, though, that for many people when evaluating an offer, the bottom line is the top priority.

What do you think? Let us know...

Jeff Simeone is a Project Operations Manager for SullivanKreiss. He can be reached at 508-393-4933 ext. 17 or jsimeone@sullivankreiss.com.

SullivanKreiss announces the promotion of Tim Johnson, Frank Rivelli, and Jeff Simeone to Project Operations Managers. Press Release

Congratulations to Judy Nitsch and her firm, Nitsch Engineering!