'We've given everybody a 5% pay rise' - Telefonica Tech boss Hess

CEO says he wanted to ‘get ahead of the market’ by bumping up pay for all staff as he claims that talent retention is the biggest threat to the industry

Telefonia Tech has given all of its staff in the UK and Ireland a five per cent pay increase, claims CEO Martin Hess, as the company looks to get ahead of its competitors in the job market.

Singling out staff retention and recruitment as the biggest threat to any channel business in 2022, Hess said the blanket pay increase will help reduce staff attrition rates at a time of wage inflation and an abundance of vacancies across the channel job market.

The Covid pandemic has prompted a "Great Resignation" across several industries including tech, logistics and manufacturing.

A 2021 study by Microsoft found that more than 40 per cent of the global workforce are looking to move jobs within the next year, while a survey of 6,000 UK workers by recruitment firm Randstad UK found that 69 per cent of workers are confident they will move to a new role within the next few months.

The trend is also affecting the channel. Last September, channel recruitment firm Robertson Sumner witnessed the highest number of vacancies in the industry for more than 20 years as people began to reassess their careers following the uncertainty of the pandemic.

"I think there's less friction in moving jobs now, and I think in key areas there's a shortage of talent which is driving up packages. That's probably my number one issue out of everything that could stop me from making my numbers this year," Hess said,

"You've got big wage inflation in our industry and a lot of people moving jobs. I think working from home has made it easier for people to interview. Place is not such an important criterion anymore - I personally think place is very important - but it certainly doesn't hold quite the importance it did two years ago."

Hess said that staff attrition rates are higher now than this time last year, but added that the company has put a lot of effort into making Telefonica Tech an attractive place to work for current and future staff.

The pay increase is a way for Telefonica Tech, which employs almost 600 staff in the UK and Ireland, to "get ahead of other companies" in the job market, he said.

"The consumer price index rose by 5.4 per cent in 2021 and its going even higher. We recognised that no pay increases equal a significant drop in their standard of living - and we don't want that," he said. "We want to make it a fantastic place to work which in turn will help keep people in the company."

German reseller Cancom sold off its UK and Ireland business to Telefonica Tech in July 2021 for €398m.

Following the acquisition, Hess said that the Spanish carrier was aiming to become the leader in cloud and cyber in the UK and Ireland market.