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DESPITE the gloomy headlines in national newspapers about the state of the economy, a pay trends mini survey among companies in Peterborough suggests the city could be bucking the national trend.

The survey of 16 leading companies in Greater Peterborough carried out by Paydata and Anne Corder Recruitment suggests that:

– 43% expect to increase their order books in the next 12 months;
– 57% expect to increase business revenue;
– 53% expect to be more profitable;
– and 27% expect to increase their headcount.

“There is cautious optimism among those participating in this mini survey,” said Tim Kellett at Paydata, a UK-based reward management consultancy, based in Lynch Wood.

Almost half of survey participants expected to see pay settlements in 2013 of between one and three per cent – although 40 per cent said it was too early to make that judgement. Inflation is currently running at around 2.7 per cent.

Sixty two per cent of participants said their pay actions would be focused on the highest performing staff and of those companies that operated bonus schemes, 60% expect that bonus levels would remain the same as in 2012.

“Although this mini survey gives us a useful benchmark for how businesses are expecting to perform and their rewards plans, our main Greater Peterborough Salary Survey, that provides detail on key locally employed roles, will launch in early summer and any businesses keen to be part of the survey should contact us,” added Tim.

Participating companies are assured of complete confidentiality and will be able to access the full survey findings once complete.

“The survey results can help businesses to benchmark their own salary/reward plans against the averages in Greater Peterborough which in turn can make a significant difference when it comes to attracting the right staff,” added Karen Dykes, recruitment partner at Anne Corder Recruitment.

Companies keen to take part in the main summer salary survey should contact Karen@annecorder.co.uk or timk@paydata.co.uk.