Companies in Thailand gave smaller salary increases last year than did those in other countries, says Towers Watson & Co, the New York-based global human resources consultancy.
Employees whose performance exceeded expectations in Thailand received only a 7% increase in salary compared with 11% globally.
Those who far exceeded expectations, the top 10%, received a 9% increase in Thailand compared with 15% globally.
"If Thailand continues in this way, we'll not be able to differentiate between normal and top-performing employees," said Pichpajee Saichuae, managing director of Towers Watson (Thailand).
A company study indicated employees in Thailand also have less understanding how performance-based recognition awards are determined compared with other countries in Asia-Pacific.
Instead, many employees here achieve career advancement through mobility.
The data was presented at the Towers Watson 2012 Talent Management and Rewards Study.
Researchers surveyed 1,605 participants in 30 markets globally.
Among the 507 participants from Asia-Pacific, 41 were from Thailand.
Almost half the Asia-Pacific participants reported larger increases in hiring activities than turnover, implying a gradual economic recovery.
"Asia-Pacific's fast-growing countries including Thailand showed more churn in their employee populations. Most have increased hiring, in part to cope with higher attrition rates," said Ms Pichpajee.
The study also showed Thais can adapt to work with colleagues from other countries.
"Thais tend to be more culturally adaptive in a way that is not as critical in countries such as Japan," said Wai Yee Tham, the practice director of Towers Watson's Southeast Asia's organisational surveys and insights.
Kongpob Watanasin, the executive vice-president for human resources at CIMB Thai Bank (CIMBT), said the most challenging factor for the company is retaining talented staff.
"In Thailand, various banks are trying to attract employees at an unstoppable rate. Although the base pay of employees is higher than that of our parent company in Malaysia, the turnover rate remains high at about 20%," he said, adding that managers also play a large role in people leaving organisations.
Employees with the highest turnover rate include salespersons and Generation Y employees.
"Some university graduates consider being a salesperson as something that looks good, but they always run away when they have to meet a sales target," said Mr Kongpob.
CIMBT has 4,200 employees, while the CIMB Group has 43,000.