Robert Half 2027 Salary Guide shows rising transparency and tech-driven pay shifts

The Robert Half 2027 Salary Guide highlights significant shifts in compensation strategies and skill valuation across Belgium and France. In Belgium, there is a strong movement toward wage transparency, with 87% of employers implementing or planning to implement clear salary scales for various roles. Additionally, 83% of Belgian companies are utilizing external market data for salary benchmarking. This transparency has direct implications for employee retention, as 33% of Belgian workers indicate they would actively seek new employment if transparency revealed they were underpaid.

In the French market, particularly within the IT, digital, and marketing sectors, specialized technical skills are driving higher compensation. Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are identified as the most sought-after expertise. To attract candidates with these specialized skills, 37% of IT and tech recruitment managers report offering salaries above their initial budgets. The increasing integration of AI, cloud computing, and data platforms is forcing recruiters to adjust pay scales to match required competencies, with 37% of recruiters offering higher remuneration to candidates proficient in AI.