We’d like to offer you $700,000,000 per year

Mbappe to Saudi pro league? Smart business or silly money?

I’m sure everyone has seen the recent headlines regarding French footballing superstar Kylian Mbappe and the massive $700 million he was recently offered by Saudi pro league side Al Hilal. Aside from the obvious moral questions over the Saudi pro league and the countries laws which are a different matter, is this good business or a gaudy flaunting of cash? Al-Hilal aren’t the only ones at it, Netflix recently came under huge stick for an AI product manager role they posted with a $900,000 salary advertised.

Paying top $ for top talent is one thing but is there a limit to this?

If there’s a super niche skillset in high demand how much is to much to pay?

Obviously, these are extreme examples, but this is something I’ve seen in the tech recruitment scene. When demand outweighs supply for certain skillsets, salaries can jump drastically, and it can feel like a bidding war at times. I’ve had a candidate receive a 62.5% pay rise before with the new employer fully aware of their previous salary.

This is costly to businesses though and paying so much for top talent isn’t always sustainable or profitable. So how do we avoid this scenario? What can we do to be better prepared?

1 – Know the market

These things don’t happen overnight. It takes time for a market to get to the state where someone is throwing around 40, 50, 60% pay rises for a certain skillset. Make sure you do regular pay reviews of the market, the demand for that skillset vs the supply in your region. Use this to identify vulnerable areas and plan ahead.

2 – Know the talent you have

What skillsets do you have in your business? What are they worth on the market and what would your competitors pay to take that person away from you? Mapping out your own talent pool can help you ensure you are paying fairly and don’t end up losing the talent you’ve already secured. Avoid getting yourself into a desperate spot in the first place and you will be in a stronger position.

3 – Upskill, retrain and progress

Don’t let the talent you have stay stagnant. Create graduate programmes, internships, training schemes. Identify more accessible skillsets that can be easily cross trained or upskilled to more niche areas. There is big pools of talent out there crying out for an opportunity to train, upskill or transition into other things, figure out how you can utilize this to your advantage.

4 – Keep people engaged & happy

Rarely is it purely money that causes people to leave. Ensure you do regular reviews with staff, keep them engaged and ensure they are happy with other aspects of their role. You’ll be surprised just how often someone will take a bit less money to go with the perfect role/opportunity for them.

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If you’ve found it difficult to keep certain skillsets or talent in the business or need some support to understand how you can improve hiring processes and employee retention feel free to reach out, I’d love to chat.

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