The Middle East's banking and finance sector has entered a period of rapid growth, with both international and local institutions competing aggressively for talent. To remain a market leader and retain top performers, Standard Chartered Bank recognised the importance of offering competitive salaries and benefits packages across all levels of its organisation.
To achieve this, Standard Chartered engaged mselect to conduct a comprehensive compensation benchmarking exercise covering employees from junior staff to C-suite executives.
The Challenge: Identifying Compensation Trends that Matter to Employees
Workforce retention encompasses many aspects, and compensation and salary are factors that can trigger unnecessary employee turnover.
mselect's scope had to include:
Conducting a full market benchmarking of salary and benefits across the Middle East's financial sector.
Comparing compensation packages for C-suite, senior management, mid-level professionals, and junior staff.
Identifying market trends, emerging benefits, and incentive structures to ensure Standard Chartered remained an employer of choice.
Delivering actionable insights and recommendations to align the bank's compensation framework with the market.
Our Data-driven Approach
There were five core facets of our research:
1. Market Data Collection
We sourced up-to-date salary and benefits data from multiple channels, including competitor banks, financial institutions, recruitment market intelligence, and mselect's extensive candidate network.
And collected information on both base salaries and total rewards (bonuses, allowances, medical coverage, training, and non-financial perks).
2. Job Role Mapping
We developed a role-by-role comparison across Standard Chartered's structure.
And matched internal job titles to market equivalents to ensure accuracy, from CEO and C-suite executives through to junior support roles.
3. Quantitative & Qualitative Benchmarking
We conducted a quantitative analysis of salaries, identifying the average, median, and upper quartile benchmarks.
And conducted qualitative interviews with industry professionals to understand broader benefits and retention strategies.
4. Gap Analysis
We compared Standard Chartered's existing salary structure against the market.
And highlighted areas where compensation was above, below, or aligned with competitors.
5. Recommendations & Reporting
Finally, we delivered a comprehensive report segmented by job level. This provided clear recommendations for adjustments to ensure competitiveness while balancing cost-effectiveness.
And we presented our findings to senior management to provide strategic insights into future workforce planning.
Results: An Updated Retention and Attraction Strategy
Through the benchmarking exercise, mselect provided Standard Chartered leadership with reliable data to guide compensation adjustments, thereby avoiding risks of overpayment or underpayment.
The data given in that report helped Standard Chartered Bank achieve market alignment by ensuring that its salary and benefits packages were aligned with those of both local and international competitors.
They also strengthened employer branding by positioning their company as a top choice for banking professionals in the Middle East. This reduced the risk of talent loss to competitors and established a structured compensation framework that could support future growth and expansion.
Considering a Salary Survey for Your Own Company?
mselect has helped many businesses with compensation benchmarking, strengthening their strategic understanding of candidate attraction, employee development, and retention.
You can be assured that our data is always precise and that our reporting guides you through actionable insights that inform your competitive advantage.
Contact us today to get started.