A rising salary: this is the hope of the young hire who compares his employment contract to that of alumni from previous years, the dream of every worker, the quest of those who are invited to the annual evaluation interview. However, 64% of employees think that it will be more difficult to obtain an increase in 2025 compared to last year (“2025 Salary Guide”, Robert Half firm). Except for some, thanks to their profile.
“We are seeing a salary increase of 2% to 3% across all the professions that we follow,” indicates Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, managing director of the recruitment firm Robert Half International France. Namely, the areas of finance and accounting, information technology (IT) and digital, support functions, the legal sector and human resources. There are even surprises: “Office managers are on the rise.” A winning double-digit return: “A salary increase of 15 to 20% on average for their positions.”
The consequences of returning to the office
How to explain it? “These functions had diminished because of teleworking. But we are seeing a return to the office and an accelerated reorganization. So that everything can be done quickly, reorganize the desk, plan the canteen, check that everything is working, their skills are in high demand, explains Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard. 62% of employers believe that presence in the office has an impact on the promotion of employees, as well as a positive effect on teams, in particular to maintain the corporate culture and allow new hires to avoid be alone.” Support, train, supervise. “People who leave a job quickly after being recruited give the explanation that they were not supported enough,” he continues. It was obvious before the health crisis, it has become a necessity with the gradual return to the office: in such a volatile job market, the sustainability of employees requires on-site support.
“Teleworking has been positive on a professional level. I discovered other ways of working but ultimately, today, everything is back to the way it was before,” estimate 20% of employees, “the disenchanted,” according to Ipsos Lead ( September 2024). For the CEO of Robert Half International France, “managers must return to the office, be more present in the premises, not to work hours when the manager is there but to ensure the proper development of skills of the people for whom they are responsible. responsibility and that everything goes well on site.
Be careful of meetings scheduled for the end of the day. “Some refuse to take management positions due to geographical distance and a different quality of life, but this is not the majority of cases, the managerial vocation is still there,” believes Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard. A nuanced analysis by a Toluna Harris Interactive/Alan study made public in May 2023: 7 out of 10 non-manager employees do not wish to become managers in the future. Furthermore, if the relationship with the hierarchical superior is not affected, managerial practices have, for two years, been judged to be “deteriorating” by 36% of employees (Ipsos Lead).
“2025 will undoubtedly be a better year than 2024”
In addition to office managers, the Robert Half survey highlights other sought-after profiles. “In accounting professions such as payroll, management control or treasury, we see an increase of 10 to 12% in salary on average. When these specialists have sought-after skills, as in business intelligence (BI) and technology, the increase in salaries is even greater because these profiles are in shortage and highly sought after. More specifically, in technology, these are skills related to analysis, data interpretation and prediction.”
Tool specialists business intelligenceof robotic process automation (RPA), a technology that is nevertheless dated and which makes it possible to automate business processes based on rules, is in demand. Furthermore, artificial intelligence is found in professions in a transversal way and generative AI projects are arriving. “44% of employers plan training in AI and 1 in 2 employees request it to improve their employability.” Finally, customer relations managers and customer relations managers are also sought after.
Expert’s conclusion: “2022 and 2023 were years of post-Covid euphoria, of records. We have returned to a more balanced labor market. For 2025, the hiring prospects are rather stable, but it will be without doubt a better year than 2024.” Notice to the 52% of employees (35% of senior managers) who are considering leaving their job and their company (Ipsos Lead).