Smaller companies in all of Belgium's regions are struggling with unrealistic salary expectations of job applicants. Existing employees, meanwhile, largely have more realistic hopes.
Hiring teams in many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Belgium, representing around 99% of the total number of companies in the country, are frequently faced with job applicants with unrealistic expectations about what they will be paid monthly.
In Brussels, exactly half of SMEs receive applicants with unrealistic salary expectations (50%), compared to 51% in Flanders, and 54% in Wallonia, a recent survey by HR specialist SD Worx showed.
"One in three SMEs indicates that they see unrealistic salary expectations among all types of applicants, from school leavers, to less experienced to experienced profiles," said Anneleen Verstraeten, SME advisor at SD Worx.
Among blue-collar workers, candidates with little professional experience are most likely to have unrealistic expectations, while among white-collar workers, it is mainly school leavers.
"Applicants with extensive professional experience have the most realistic expectations. The reasons for excessive salary expectations can be diverse: from conscious strategy to insufficient knowledge of a correct salary package for that new position and possibly useful professional experience."
The larger the organisation, the more SMEs face unrealistic wage expectations.
Need for transparency
The survey shows that salary expectations differ significantly between job applicants and employees: about a quarter of SMEs (26%) note that employees do not have realistic wage expectations.
The gap between expectation and reality is the lowest in Flanders (21% expect more than they get), followed by Brussels (27%) and Wallonia (34%). Again, the larger the company, the more unrealistic expectations are.
Verstraeten stressed that a transparent pay policy can help narrow this gap. "To attract new talent and keep current talent on board, it is important to work out a structured pay policy," she said. This is often based on benchmark data from other comparable employers.
"In this way, employers ensure their employees receive market-compliant pay packages. An objective and transparent wage policy immediately provides objective guidance, both to candidates and employees."
By 2026, Belgium must implement the European Wage Transparency Directive, meaning companies will then be obliged to give employees and job applicants insight into their pay policies.
