There’s good news on the horizon for employees - leading indicators show that there will be plenty of opportunities in 2007 to improve your total compensation package through a better salary, bigger bonus and better work/life conditions.

Salary Trends to look for in 2007 include:

Bonuses will be a major part of many employees’ pay package.

Look for employers to use bonuses and other variable pay to reward their employees. The economic slowdown of the early 2000’s still lingers in most employers’ memory and they will make efforts to keep their fixed costs down including employee salaries. As a concession, many will offer bonuses to stronger performers in lieu of larger pay raises. Employees who know they are seen at top performers can leverage this opportunity to negotiate performance-based bonuses and spot bonuses to balance out a smaller-than-expected pay raise.

Flexibility and Work/Life Balance continue to gain prominence.

Technology and employee demand for more flexible hours or the ability to work from home has led to the increasing adoption of work/life benefits by many employers. While your company may not overhaul its workplace philosophy, they may be more likely to allow workers to check in from home a few days per week or adopt flexible hours so employees can take care of personal and family responsibilities particularly child and elder care during traditional work hours. If you’re looking to incorporate greater flexibility in your work week, now could be the time for you to see if your employer can accommodate those needs.

Thinking about being your own boss? 2007 may be the time.

Many companies are looking to keep their headcounts to a minimum and are opting to hire external contractors, freelance workers, or agencies to help them meet their immediate resource needs. If you have experience and/or expertise, you may be able to launch a small business or be an independent contractor for one or several companies giving you the freedom and control you seek.

Opportunities for retirees to work a second career will continue to increase.

With the Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, there will be increased efforts by human resources departments to retain the value of their senior workers knowledge, experience and expertise. Retirees who are not ready to leave the workforce entirely or just want to try something new can look to employers to offer them flexible schedules and engaging positions that will help companies fill potential workforce shortages.

Leadership development will descend into the middle manager ranks.

Companies will increasingly take leadership development down from the executive level to the middle manager level, especially as systems improve making it easier for companies to flag the future leaders, identify their development needs, and track their performance. The company will benefit by growing its own future leadership from inside the organization and you, as one of those leaders, will benefit from greater satisfaction now and quite possibly a much larger pay package in the years to come.

Training Programs will help all employees to fine-tune new skills.

Internal and external training programs will gain momentum as the US workforce continues to evolve and respond to the global economy and aging baby boomers. The US economy is becoming more of a knowledge-based economy. As such, the jobs that will pay the best will be knowledge jobs. If you company provides training opportunities for you, consider taking them. This is your opportunity to gain useful skills that will help you progress your career more quickly and enter new roles within your company ¦ or elsewhere.

Broad-based equity plans may play a role in 2007.

With the strong performance of the stock market and the return of the IPO, broad based employee stock and stock option plans will start to have real value to employees (for the first time since 2001). This could trigger more employers to institute more aggressive broad-based equity plans to limit the direct cost of employee compensation while still offering attractive pay packages. With an equity plan, you may see your net worth on paper increase faster than if you secure a stronger cash compensation position, but understand what the and risks and potential rewards are when evaluating the full value of such a compensation package.

Human Resources industry changes may help you rise to the top.

Pay-for-performance and talent management will be the HR industry buzz phrases for 2007. While they may seem distant and remote to you now, they are likely to impact your pay and day-to-day activities. These phrases are the outcome of trying to attract, retain and reward top performers. Many employers will continue to move to automated review processes that allow them to identify top talent and reward them accordingly. So staying on top of your game and tracking your performance will be important to get that next raise, bonus or promotion.

Be prepared for more executive pay scandals in 2007 but is there an end in sight?

Executive pay is reaching new heights and there have been numerous scandals in late 2006 of stock backdating and excessive pay packages that are not always aligned with company performance. That’s just the beginning. New disclosure requirements from the SEC will likely translate into new scandals and stories as executive compensation becomes more transparent. Stories about executive pay, board of director pay, and shareholder activism will fill the press in 2007. It’s worth paying attention to, because changes in pay philosophy at the top do tend to trickle down. Your organization is likely to see more rigor around incentive plans, more accountability, and more focus internal controls.

This year will be an interesting one for all of us. It’s a time of change which means it’s a time of opportunity. If you take advantage of the opportunities as they become available, you may have a chance to increase your pay, find a more rewarding job, and even create a better balance between your work and family demands. Overall, it should be a good year.