LHH Releases 2027 Salary Guide and Trends Report

LHH, the integrated professional talent solutions provider and a global business unit of the Adecco Group, has released the 2027 Salary Guide, accompanied by a new Salary Trends Report. These resources provide comprehensive insights into compensation strategies and workforce trends, offering valuable benchmarks and actionable insights for organizations and talent professionals.

The 2027 Salary Guide, developed in partnership with Lightcast, an industry-leading labor market analytics organization, offers detailed salary data, job titles, role-specific benchmarks, and practice area overviews. Every salary benchmark is validated against real-life placements made by LHH recruitment leaders across North America, ensuring the data reflects current market conditions.

The Salary Trends Report, a thought leadership piece, supports smarter talent decisions and a more resilient workforce strategy. It includes an Employee Value Proposition Assessment and an AI Compensation Valuation Framework, along with a benchmarking tool to identify capability risk indicators. The report highlights several key findings, including:

- A false sense of stability in low attrition rates is masking real risks. Issues such as stalled progression, weak manager support, and burnout can lead to unexpected departures. - AI skills now command a 56% wage premium, but only 45% of organizations offer any premium or equity for employees building these skills. - Compensation remains a top issue, alongside progression and capability. 46% of HR leaders cite a compensation gap versus market as their primary reason for failing to attract quality candidates. - Health coverage, flexible PTO policies, and transparent retirement options are emphasized as important components of a total rewards strategy.

Britta Kroupa, Group SVP of Recruitment Solutions at LHH, emphasized the importance of a holistic approach to compensation. "Organizations invest significant effort in attracting talent, but retention requires just as much focus," she said. "Competitive compensation and benefits are an important part of a strong employee value proposition, but long-term retention is also shaped by company culture, opportunities for skill development, career mobility, and growth."

Laura Schroeder, Head of Commercial Operations at LHH, highlighted the gap between roles and pay structures. "Roles and pay structures haven't evolved quickly enough to address emerging in-demand skills," she explained. "Organizations pay a premium to hire AI talent from the market while asking existing employees to build those same skills, often without a clear way to recognize or reward that growth."

The guide and report are designed to help organizations navigate these challenges. They provide actionable benchmarks and insights to inform workforce planning, pay decisions, benefits, talent mobility, workplace flexibility, and transforming job responsibilities. By connecting pay, skills development, and mobility, organizations can attract and retain top talent in a competitive market.

In a market that favors employers, metrics such as low attrition rates and high applicant volumes can create a false sense of stability. Beneath the surface, challenges related to employee morale, skills readiness, productivity, and organizational capability may be quietly undermining workforce performance and risking future growth.

LHH's 2027 Salary Guide and Salary Trends Report offer valuable tools for organizations to align their compensation strategies with the evolving needs of their workforce. By leveraging these resources, companies can better understand the current landscape and develop strategies that support both short-term and long-term success.