A survey has revealed that 56% of finance employees in Nigeria are dissatisfied with their salaries, primarily due to reduced spending power.
The 2024 Salary Report highlights a significant drop in satisfaction, with only 3% of respondents expressing contentment with their pay, a sharp decrease from 14.8% in 2023.
The survey by Duplo, a Nigerian B2B payment automation startup, which collected responses from 593 finance professionals across sectors including finance, technology, manufacturing, oil and gas, consumer goods, real estate, education, and agriculture, sheds light on the growing discontent in the industry. Participants ranged from interns to chief financial officers, with varying roles in both large and small organizations.
According to the report, 90.8% of respondents reported that Nigeria’s high inflation and foreign exchange volatility have negatively impacted their earnings.
The soaring cost of living, driven by naira devaluation and rising inflation, has put significant pressure on workers’ purchasing power, forcing employers to reassess salary structures.
While some commercial banks have raised staff salaries in response to the macroeconomic challenges, 37.7% of finance professionals surveyed reported no salary increase in the past year. As competition for talent in the finance industry intensifies, attractive compensation packages are becoming increasingly crucial to retain top professionals.
Dissatisfaction is particularly prominent among employees earning less than ₦250,000 monthly, with one-third of them feeling uncomfortable negotiating higher salaries.
In contrast, only 7.2% of finance professionals earn over ₦1 million monthly, and those within this income bracket tend to be the most confident in negotiating salaries, highlighting a significant income disparity within the sector.
This salary dissatisfaction is contributing to a growing trend of talent migration. According to the report, 22.8% of respondents have relocated in the past five years in search of better pay and stability abroad.
Economic instability remains the primary challenge to retention, cited by 41.4% of respondents, followed by migration trends (34.5%) and shifting employee expectations (31.7%).
Despite the turnover in the finance sector, the report suggests that professionals are seeking more than just higher pay. Career growth opportunities, work-life balance, and transparent pay structures are increasingly important to employees.
Organizations that offer inflation-adjusted salaries, professional development opportunities, and benefits that align with employee needs are better positioned to retain top talent.
CEO of Duplo, Yele Oyekola, emphasized that companies can explore innovative benefits to attract and retain talent without significantly increasing their budgets. “Flexible work arrangements, performance-based incentives, and adequate technology solutions can help organizations get the best from their employees,” he said.
The survey also highlights a growing trend of upskilling among finance professionals. Over 79% of respondents have pursued training in the last five years, with a focus on skills like digital transformation, fintech, cybersecurity, compliance, and data analytics.
However, even with these enhanced skills, many professionals continue to feel dissatisfied with their pay, especially when salaries do not reflect the current economic realities.
As the finance sector faces increasing challenges in retaining skilled professionals, businesses must rethink their compensation strategies and offer opportunities for career growth that meet employee expectations. “CFOs and finance leaders need to prioritize transparent and inflation-adjusted compensation packages to mitigate current economic pressures and improve their chances of retaining talent,” Oyekola added.
