Spring is nearly upon us!

It's hard to believe we're nearing the end of the quarter – and signs of spring are starting to unfold at last! Over the last few weeks I have been having plenty of coffee meetings with senior leaders from lots of enterprising brands - delving into market insights, discussing emerging trends, and forecasting the future of ecommerce (of which stay tuned for my upcoming article on ecommerce innovations, which I will be publishing soon!)

There are signs that the market is moving, ever so slightly - so provides optimism for the year ahead. In this edition, I share our 2024 Salary Census preliminary findings, the importance of International Women’s Day, and market insights and trends. I hope you enjoy!

Latest insights

We are excited to announce our initial results from our - with this year’s being our biggest yet, with over 3700+ responses, touching on 130,000+ data points. This is the industry’s most extensive survey on careers, salaries and workplace trends.

One of the most striking discoveries is that 53% of permanent employees feel they are not being compensated fairly, while an additional 20% are uncertain about their pay - leading to a general sense of being undervalued and underpaid. In addition, our ‘Future of Work’ report found that many businesses looking to hire are worried about offering competitive salaries due to financial constraints during uncertain economic times. What will happen if employees can no longer negotiate higher pay by changing jobs? Additionally, we found that in the past year, the gender pay gap has decreased from 15.1% to 9.6%, showing significant progress, yet there is still much work still to do be done. Our MD, Joanne Lucy, wrote a piece on why businesses need to invest more in their women - and stop performative actions on International Women’s Day. This day should serve as a call to action, and we highlight what business can do to ensure women are properly remunerated.

Be Better

March is B-Corp month and we're proud to share what we are doing to create a more sustainable future for us all. We certified as a B-Corp in 2022, and we still firmly believe that businesses should be used as a force for good, putting people, communities, purpose, and the planet alongside profit in decision-making.

You can discover our latest B Impact Report, and our the commitments we’re making for the future here. If you’d like to find our more about our journey to B Corp, then please reach out to me.

Brand of the month...

Talking of being better - my brand of the month goes to a fellow B Corp, Tony’s Chocolonely. I adore brands that put their money where their mouth is. Tony's is a top favourite of mine, not only for their incredibly delicious chocolate but also for their principles, company values, and marketing strategies. The Tony’s mission is to shed light on significant cocoa industry issues like insufficient wages, child labor, and deforestation. Through limited edition bars, they spotlight major companies that fail to pay fair prices, leading to exploitation. Despite facing a legal challenge, they reintroduced one of their bars, garnering additional publicity for the brand. Tony's confronts these challenges head-on and takes pride in their stance.

Have your say

We’re still looking for professionals from across the digital, marketing, product and creative sectors in The Netherlands to take part in our 2024 Salary Census - we invite everyone to take part and influence the future of work. Once published you’ll be able to benchmark your salary versus those of your peers, understand the effects of AI, and keep on top workplace trends.

Need additional market insights, hiring support or just fancy a chat? Call me directly on +31 6 16 996 755 or email me: [email protected]