reach the best talent and Don't overpay
Salaries and benefits are the biggest cost for most employers. Hiring the best talent - rather than the best person who happens to be looking - starts with a simple question:
What Is Market Rate?
When an employer approaches us with a role, the conversation almost always starts with "We want to pay market rate."
There isn't one market rate, there are two. Confusing them is precisely why many good roles remain vacant or fail to attract the caliber of candidate the employer needs.
The first rate is what people stay for. It's the salary your current team accepts to remain in their roles, built on stability, familiarity, and the history you've negotiated with them over time. It covers their mortgage, funds their life, and represents a value proposition that's worked well enough to keep them engaged without disruption.
The second rate is what people move for, and it's understandable if it's higher.
When a candidate considers leaving their current role, they're not just evaluating the new opportunity in isolation. They're walking away from something certain—their established routines, professional networks, and the institutional knowledge they've built—to bet on something unknown. That's not the same.
Why the gap can widen in uncertain times
In a fast-moving labour market, this gap is understandable but it can widen further when economic uncertainty enters the picture. This is precisely where we find ourselves now. Job security has become more valuable. Candidates aren't simply evaluating the new opportunity on its own merits—they're factoring in what they're giving up by leaving the role they're already in.
The internal equity pressure
This creates a difficult dynamic when hiring. You don't want to upset your current staff by offering a new hire more than they're earning. It feels unfair to them, it creates tension, and it runs counter to the internal equity principles you've built into your organisation. That instinct makes complete sense but it's worth articulating the consequence.
Employers who anchor to internal pay scales may well find themselves struggling to attract the talent they want. They're offering a role with no additional benefit beyond the inherent risk of changing jobs—and for many candidates, that's simply not enough reason to move.
The three paths forward
The result is straightforward, even if it isn't always comfortable. Employers need to consider three realistic options.
1. Meet the market rate for recruitment, accepting that it may sit above what your current team earns.
2. Hire someone less skilled or experienced than you ideally want, adjusting the role to fit the budget.
3. Or you can choose not to hire at all, preserving your budget for a time when circumstances shift.
None of these are necessarily easy choices but they allow you to make a conscious decision about which trade-off you're willing to accept, rather than holding out for a candidate who simply doesn't exist at the rate you've set.
How Liftpass approaches this challenge
When we run a campaign, we invite every candidate to share their salary expectation for that specific role, factoring in their own circumstances. This approach benefits everyone involved.
Candidates have the opportunity to apply without being filtered out by a misjudged salary ceiling before they've even had the conversation. If there's a gap between what they need and what you're able to offer, they can simply remain in their existing role without resentment on either side—no one's time has been wasted, and no one walks away feeling short-changed.
For employers, this means visibility over the full pool of available talent, along with a realistic understanding of the price point at which that talent can be secured. There are no late-stage surprises, and no wasted process on candidates whose expectations were never going to align with the budget.
The practical takeaway
Stop asking what you pay your current team, and start asking what it will take to bring the right person to the table. These aren't the same question, and they shouldn't produce the same answer. One is about retention. The other is about recruitment. Understanding the difference—and being honest about which one you're solving for—is the first step toward filling the role you actually need filled.
If you can meet the market rate for recruitment, you're in a strong position to attract the calibre of candidate you're looking for. If you can't, it's worth having an honest conversation about whether a less experienced hire might still move the dial for your business, or whether now is simply the right time to hire at all.
