Let’s talk about something that quietly chips away at business performance: underpaying for talent.
I recently provided HR support to a small business through my role as their contracted HR Solutions Manager. One of the first things I noticed was a pattern that’s unfortunately pretty common- wanting high-performing employees without offering competitive compensation.
The business was hiring for a role that involved fieldwork. It required a decent level of physical effort, awareness, and the ability to keep pace with a fast-moving supervisor. While it wasn’t a highly technical role, it was crucial for day-to-day operations. Still, the company chose to offer a wage well below the local market rate.
To complicate things, the role involved frequent driving between sites, something that was never mentioned in the job description or during the interview process. While the company offered mileage reimbursement, many applicants didn’t have reliable transportation. Originally, the plan was for workers to carpool with the supervisor, but that quickly became unrealistic as project demands grew.
Because of the low pay, the company attracted mostly entry-level candidates, many of whom didn’t have the experience or commitment needed for the role. This created delays in the field. The supervisor constantly had to pause and provide extra training, slowing everything down. The result? Burnout, missed deadlines, and a lot of frustration.
When I raised the issue of compensation with leadership, their response was simple: they wanted to pay less. No interest in adjusting the rate, even when shown data from similar roles in the area that paid significantly more.
What happened next was predictable. New hires struggled, morale dropped, and employees either quit or were let go. The company was stuck in a loop, reposting the job, retraining, starting over.
Here’s the hard truth: paying below market rate doesn’t save you money in the long run. It costs you in lost time, higher turnover, poor quality of work, and management fatigue. And it sends a clear message to applicants and employees: this role isn’t valued.
When businesses, especially small ones, align pay with expectations, they create more stability. You get better candidates, faster onboarding, and teams that can carry out the work without constant supervision.
Compensation isn’t just about attracting talent, it’s about setting the tone for how your business operates. If you’re struggling to keep roles filled or constantly retraining staff, take a closer look at what you’re offering.
You either pay to invest or you pay to repair. One of those paths costs far less in the long run.
