The True Cost of Getting Salary Wrong
About the Authors
Nick Koop
Director
(Building Services Engineering)
Nick specialises in building services recruitment across Australia, with a focus on mechanical, electrical, and fire engineering. He works closely with consultancies delivering major healthcare, infrastructure, and commercial projects, and has a strong track record placing senior engineers into technically demanding roles. Known for being straight-up and reliable, Nick spends most of his time in the detail, not the sales pitch.
Lee Stevens
Director
(Architecture & Design)
Lee is one of the founders of Vivid Recruitment and focuses on architecture and design studios across Australia. With years of experience working closely with directors and senior hires, he’s built long-term relationships based on trust and consistency. Lee’s approach is simple: understand what a business actually needs, cut out the noise, and get the right people in place without the usual recruitment carry-on.
Contact Nick and Lee
Nicholas Koop, Principal Recruitment Consultant, Engineering & Planning -
📧 nick@vividrecruitment.com.au
Lee Stevens, Principal Recruitment Consultant, Architecture & Design -
You can also connect with Lee on LinkedIn and Nick on LinkedIn or follow the Vivid Recruitment LinkedIn page for more industry insights, news, jobs and general chit chat and tips!
Salary is one of the biggest factors influencing recruitment and retention in the built environment. But the cost of getting salary wrong can extend well beyond the number on an employment contract.
A candidate asks for $10,000 more.
The employer says no.
The candidate walks.
At the time, it can feel like a sensible commercial decision. Why increase the salary when there are other candidates in the market?
But what happens next?
The role remains vacant. The project still needs someone. The existing team carries the additional workload. The recruitment process starts again. More interviews take place. More management time is spent.
And suddenly, that $10,000 doesn't look quite so expensive.
At Vivid Recruitment, we're seeing this conversation play out more often across architecture, interior design, engineering and planning.
The market is changing, and salary expectations are not moving at the same speed everywhere.
Brisbane is particularly competitive, with growing demand for skilled professionals and an increasingly tight talent pool. Melbourne is a different market, with more measured demand in some areas. We've even seen Brisbane studios establish a presence in Melbourne to access a deeper pool of talent.
For employers, this creates an important question:
What is the real cost of getting salary wrong?
Why does salary matter so much when hiring?
Salary matters because it is one of the most tangible parts of an employment package.
Culture matters. Career progression matters. Flexible working matters. Interesting projects matter.
But salary pays the bills.
For junior and intermediate professionals in particular, an additional $5,000 or $10,000 can represent a meaningful difference to their financial position.
That means an employer can genuinely believe they are offering a great opportunity, while the candidate is looking at the same offer and seeing a salary that doesn't reflect their experience, their market value or their financial needs.
Neither side is necessarily wrong.
The question is whether the employer understands the market well enough to make an informed decision.
Is $5,000–$10,000 really enough to lose a candidate over?
Sometimes it is.
But sometimes it isn't.
This is where salary negotiation needs to be looked at commercially rather than emotionally.
If a candidate is asking for an additional $7,000 and the business genuinely cannot move, then that may be the right decision.
But if the business can afford it, and the candidate is difficult to replace, it is worth considering what happens if the offer is rejected.
How long will the position remain vacant?
How many more candidates will need to be interviewed?
How much management time will be spent on another recruitment process?
What happens to the project in the meantime?
And how much will it cost to eventually replace the person you could have hired for an additional $7,000?
The cost of salary is easy to see. The cost of a vacancy is often harder to quantify.
A great project isn't a substitute for salary
This is a conversation we think employers need to have more openly.
A great project is valuable.
So is working for a respected studio or consultancy.
So is career progression. So is flexibility. So is a good team and a positive culture.
These things all form part of an employment package.
But they shouldn't be used to justify paying materially below market.
A candidate can be genuinely excited about the work and still decide that the salary doesn't work for them.
The two things aren't mutually exclusive.
The same applies to flexibility.
Some people will happily trade some salary for the ability to work from home, reduce commuting or achieve a better balance around family and life outside work.
Others won't.
There is no universal employment package that works for everyone.
The important thing is understanding what your target candidates actually value and where your salary sits in the market.
What happens when loyal employees fall behind the market?
Recruitment isn't only about attracting new people.
It's about retaining the people you've already invested in.
This is where salary reviews become particularly important.
We've spoken to candidates who have stayed with the same employer for several years, only to discover that their salary has gradually fallen behind the market.
They may have received pay rises.
They may be valued by their employer.
They may even be told they're doing a great job.
But if their salary has not kept pace with the market, the gap eventually becomes noticeable.
And when that person starts looking elsewhere, an employer can find itself trying to replace someone who already understands the business, its projects, its systems and its clients.
That replacement comes with a cost.
The cost of replacing an experienced employee can include:
- Recruitment fees
- Advertising and sourcing
- Management and interview time
- Notice periods
- Lost productivity
- Project knowledge
- Client relationships
- Onboarding and training
- Pressure on the existing team
- The risk of making the wrong hire
This is why salary reviews shouldn't simply be viewed as an annual HR exercise.
They are part of workforce planning and retention.
Why is the salary market different between Brisbane and Melbourne?
Salary expectations are influenced by more than someone's job title.
Location, demand, project pipelines, skills shortages, experience and the availability of suitable candidates all play a role.
This is particularly important when comparing markets such as Brisbane and Melbourne.
Brisbane has experienced strong demand for skilled professionals across the built environment, while the talent pool in some areas has become increasingly competitive.
Melbourne is operating differently.
That doesn't mean one city is “better” than the other. It means employers need to understand the market they are actually recruiting in rather than relying on a national salary assumption.
We've seen this play out directly in architecture and interior design.
Some Brisbane studios have looked towards Melbourne to access additional talent, including establishing a Melbourne presence rather than relying solely on the Queensland market.
For employers, this is an important reminder:
Salary expectations are local as well as professional.
What attracts an experienced architect in Brisbane may not be the same as what attracts someone with the same title in Melbourne.
Should employers always pay what a candidate asks for?
No.
A candidate's salary expectation isn't automatically the correct market salary.
Employers still need to consider experience, capability, technical skills, project exposure, leadership responsibilities and the overall employment package.
But employers should know why they are saying no.
There is a big difference between:
“That's more than we're prepared to pay.”
and:
“We have benchmarked the role, understand the market and believe our package is appropriately positioned.”
The second is an informed recruitment decision.
The first can sometimes be an assumption.
What should employers consider when setting a salary?
Before advertising a role or making an offer, employers should consider:
1. What is the current market paying?
Look at comparable roles, experience levels, technical skills and location.
2. How difficult is this person to replace?
The more specialist the skill set, the greater the potential cost of getting the decision wrong.
3. What does the candidate value?
Salary may be the priority for one person. Flexibility, leadership opportunity or project type may carry more weight for another.
4. Where does your existing team sit?
There is little value in attracting new people on competitive salaries while allowing existing employees to gradually fall behind the market.
5. What happens if the candidate says no?
Have a realistic view of how long it could take to find another suitable person.
6. What is the total cost of the vacancy?
Consider the impact on projects, productivity, management time and the wider team.
Salary is only one part of the package. But it is still a very important one.
There is no argument that salary is everything.
It isn't.
We've all seen people accept a role for reasons other than money. A better culture, greater flexibility, stronger leadership, better projects or a shorter commute can all influence a career decision.
But salary still has a place at the centre of that conversation.
Particularly for people early in their careers, the difference between an offer that works financially and one that doesn't can be significant.
And for employers, the difference between paying market rate and losing a great person can be much larger than the salary gap itself.
You don't have to pay the highest salary in the market.
You do need to understand where you sit in it.
The real cost of getting salary wrong
The question for employers shouldn't simply be:
“Can we afford another $5,000?”
It should also be:
“What happens if we don't?”
If the answer is that you may lose a strong candidate, extend a vacancy, put additional pressure on your team or eventually need to replace an existing employee, then the salary difference deserves a closer look.
Good recruitment is not about paying the most.
It is about making informed decisions about people, projects and the market you're operating in.
At Vivid Recruitment, we work across architecture, interior design, engineering and planning, giving us a close view of what candidates are looking for and how employers are responding.
If you're unsure whether your current salaries are competitive, struggling to attract the right people or concerned about retaining key members of your team, a conversation about the market can be a useful place to start.
**You don't have to pay the most.
But you should know where you stand.**
Frequently asked questions
How much should I pay an architect in Australia?
There is no single salary that applies to every architect. Salary expectations vary according to experience, registration, technical skills, project sector, location, studio size and market demand. Employers should benchmark salaries against comparable roles in their specific market.
Why are salaries different between Brisbane and Melbourne?
Salary expectations are influenced by local demand, talent availability, project pipelines and skills shortages. Brisbane and Melbourne are currently operating in different market conditions, so employers should avoid relying solely on national salary benchmarks.
How much does salary matter when recruiting?
Salary is one of several factors candidates consider when assessing a new role, alongside culture, flexibility, career progression, project quality and leadership. However, particularly for junior and intermediate professionals, salary can be a decisive factor when competing offers are close.
Should I increase an employee's salary to retain them?
Not automatically. Employers should first understand the employee's current market value, performance, responsibilities and the wider package. However, if a valued employee is materially below market, the cost of losing and replacing them should be considered alongside the cost of a salary adjustment.
What is the cost of replacing an employee?
The cost can include recruitment fees, advertising, management time, lost productivity, notice periods, onboarding, training, project knowledge and disruption to the wider team. The exact cost varies by role and business, but it can be significantly higher than the salary difference that caused an employee to leave.
How can employers benchmark salaries?
Employers can use current salary guides, market data and specialist recruitment advice, while considering the specific location, experience and skills required for the role. A salary benchmark should reflect the current market rather than relying solely on historical internal salaries.
Does a higher salary always attract better candidates?
No. Salary is only one part of an employment package. Strong candidates also consider project quality, culture, flexibility, leadership, career progression and the reputation of an organisation. The strongest offers are usually competitive across the areas that matter most to the individual.
