By Kari Porter

Historically, employers tend to follow the basic process of giving employees a yearly performance review, and if the economy is doing well, offer a standard 3% cost of living raise. In the Valley, where the population and overall economic growth continues its steady upward trend, this traditional approach is proving less effective. The result is a new trend called job hopping.

With more options than ever, employees have become less loyal and more choosey. To get the salary and benefits they want, some are changing jobs and, when on the market, are holding out for the right offer. For a company to be competitive, they’ll need to give raises to match the market or present higher starting salaries to fill their open positions.

Nathan Perry, PhD, associate professor of economics at Colorado Mesa University explains: “The labor market is insane right now,” he said, referring to employers. “You’re not going to be able to stop raising wages.” When an employee feels they can make more money somewhere else, they may leave, costing companies more money, time, and resources – forcing them to do a search, interviews, onboarding, and training. And if the employee isn’t a fit or finds something better, they have to start the process all over again.

This is where Hot Jobs comes in. By keeping a close pulse on compensation trends in the Valley, we work to find employees that will be a good fit from the start. We take care of searches, interviews, background checks, onboarding, even payroll. In addition, our longer-term temp programs (3+ months) offer both the employee and employer the chance to confirm the working relationship is good fit on both sides. This helps eliminate surprises down the line. If it’s not a match, the employee can move on at the end of the assignment, and if it is a match, there is the opportunity to negotiate and ensure both parties are happy upon rolling over to the payroll. Hot Jobs also provides headhunting and recruiting services for direct hires, so we can negotiate packages upfront, helping employees start off confident and ready to work.