Real employment costs top 100% of salary

The real – total – cost of employment is typically 50% to 100% above the salary. The true cost of employment can be shocking. People often look at a salary as the total cost of employment, but it is only the tip of the iceberg.

There are employer taxes, insurance, and pension contributions. Plus, most countries have private healthcare, or some sort of healthcare contribution.

Then there are the office costs, infrastructure, hardware, and all the tools they might use.

On top of all the basics are the recruitment costs, training costs, and also the costs of churn – or retention.

There are also staff perks, and bonuses. Plus all of the admin staff, and HR people that help manage your internal staff, and keep payroll and compliance in check .

For a little extra spice, you can factor in a certain amount for the occasional potential lawsuit, insurance claim, or employee complaint process.

All of these basic costs can easily add up to 20%-40% on top of a salary. The office, infrastructure, and recruitment costs can easily take these costs to 50% to 100% on top of a paycheck.

So that $80k employee is probably costing you $112k to $160k all-in!

When you add the Great Resignation, labor shortages, rising inflation, and soaring salaries – things are looking pretty expensive.

Hiring people can’t be taken lightly – or cheaply.

No wonder employers are sweating right now.

And even if you do have the money to hire – it’s not easy to find the people you need

Same same, but different

If you offshore to the Philippines, you will also incur costs on top of the salary. This is just like employment in your own town or country. Employment costs in the Philippines can also add an additional 50% to 100% of costs. It’s a pain, but it is the reality of employing people. You have to pay their benefits, taxes, healthcare and also get them somewhere decent to sit – so that they are productive.

The benefit, though is that you get full-time dedicated staff, for a fraction of the cost, plus all of the mechanics of employing someone and providing facilities and infrastructure – is all done for you.

So yes, the costs also add up.  Even when outsourcing.  But remember: offshore staffing should still save you 50% to 70% on your all-in staffing costs.

Offshoring via a good outsourcing firm, allows you to focus on your core business – while the rest is taken care of

The question for your business:

What are the true all-in employment costs for your business? How much are you really spending?