The report highlights significant challenges for tech leaders, with 62% of organisations struggling to fill roles over the past year. Over half (52%) of these companies pointed to salary expectation mismatches as their biggest hurdle.

The 2025 Salary Guides provide insights based on an analysis of hundreds of roles, detailing recruitment demand, popular positions, and hiring timelines across 15 sectors in the UK.

For the tech industry, hiring and retaining skilled talent has been the top concern over the past 12 months. The report warns that businesses without a clear recruitment strategy or a compelling employer value proposition are at risk of missing out on the best candidates. Given the dominant focus on salary, understanding broader market trends has become crucial for employers navigating this competitive landscape.

James Barrett, Managing Director at Michael Page Technology, commented: “With many businesses not yet fully prepared for the integration of AI, as we approach 2025, we can expect to see hiring managers actively seeking out candidates who don’t just manage current objectives, but are also prepared for the next wave of AI adoption.

“This presents its own set of recruitment challenges for leaders, with candidates needing to address both current and future needs. We’re seeing that a high proportion of the workforce still favours flexible or fully remote work, while more than half say salary is the most important factor when accepting or applying for roles. Businesses need to remain agile in their offers when hiring as we move into a competitive space for technology in 2025.”

Beyond mismatched salary expectations, 57% of business leaders said that finding candidates with the right skills was a significant hurdle. For almost one fifth (19%) the lack of candidates available in the market was amongst their main challenges, reflecting a growing need for specialised recruitment strategies.

Barrett added: “There are plenty of options available to businesses to ensure they’re not falling foul of mismatched expectations – from looking at total package offers, where salary is bolstered by other provisions, through to benchmarking salaries against the industry standard. Expert consultants and tools like the Salary Guides are readily available to help businesses articulate what sets them apart, and ensure they’re not falling behind in the race for top talent.”

In addition to recruitment challenges, the report also shows that 33% of organisations are battling retention issues. Similar to their hiring obstacles, the main challenge in retaining staff for 48% of UK leaders is offering a competitive salary.

An additional 31% said that work/life balance has affected employee retention, with 40% also saying career progression has impacted the number of workers staying in role.

This data spotlights the opportunity for businesses to rethink their recruitment strategies in order to futureproof their teams – shifting from hiring as an immediate solution to creating a long-term talent pipeline. From drawing on specialist knowledge to working with recruitment partners to reach a broader set of candidates, the report highlights the need to forge a clear path to the talent businesses require, both now and in the future.