The Kathy Freeman Company is an executive search firm for asset and wealth management firms, industry service providers, and investment technology companies.

Fewer executives switched jobs last year than any other since 2009, in a sign that employers will need to be more aggressive and strategic with their recruitment endeavors in 2015, new survey findings suggest.

This could be bad news for smaller firms with high-growth ambitions and limited resources to compete, but good for those that can offer attractive compensation plans. Indeed, the research acknowledges that, this year, “compensation is king.”

“In 2015, the recruiting advantage may finally swing back to the larger firms that have the resources to offer the bigger jobs at more compelling compensation levels,” said Kathy Freeman Godfrey, CEO of the Kathy Freeman Company, which has released its Sixth Annual Executive Survey of sales and marketing leaders in sectors such as wealth and asset management.

It recommends that those firms with fewer resources to offer a competitive compensation package should “be creative” by emphasizing the value of a particular role and how assuming it will have a significant impact on an individual's career, for example.

More generally, it emerged that although over half (58 per cent) of this year's survey participants said they would consider pursuing a new job opportunity in 2015, respondents were “overwhelmingly motivated” to do so back in 2009.

Not coincidentally, compensation levels “rose nicely” in 2014. Sixty per cent of respondents' compensation increased while 30 per cent said it didn't change and 10 per cent suffered a pay cut (although this appears to be the trade-off for an increased equity position.)

Similarly, it emerged that equity continues to be a top priority for employees, with 63 per cent saying this was more important in 2014 than was the case five years ago.

“The double-digit increases in compensation and the willingness to accept equity are very bullish signs for 2015,” the report said. (It noted, however, that participants “likely have highly leveraged compensation packages that are predicated on performance.”)

All other factors at play being equal, employers will likely be at a competitive disadvantage without an equity component, it added. In the absence of equity, the report recommends that firms create profit-sharing plans that demonstrate its commitment to sharing business upside. Another strategy is to outline a path for equity ownership going forward.

“With the financial markets rising, candidates have a strong desire to benefit from the increasing value of their company,” the report said. “Even if a firm isn't publicly traded today, candidates are well aware that a liquidity event in the future is possible, especially given the success of many financial IPOs in the past year.”

Meanwhile, the biggest (24 per cent) challenge cited by executives related to attracting talent was that their firm doesn't pay sufficiently, while a similar amount (23 per cent) pointed to a “critical shortage” of available talent.

Even though 58 per cent of respondents said they'd consider switching firms in the year ahead, the report said that, in reality, many only have a tepid interest in doing so. And most candidates will play hard to get, it said.

“...Be sure to delve deeply to understand their real motivation for looking at a new position. You must find the missing element or uncover the trust dissatisfaction in a candidate's current role.”