Raises are coming back – will they arrive in your department?

Spring is just a few weeks away, but there’s an even more encouraging thaw looming: on your salary.

A whole slew of sources report this will be the year merit raises return to the vast majority of companies.

Despite the fact that the economy has yet to recover (far from it, in fact), most employers have decided they need to re-open their wallets to reward their people for a job well done.

And they’ll do it at the highest rates we’ve seen since the recession began.

To get an idea of what’s expected for Finance (and other) salaries in 2011, take a look at what the experts say about how the average merit pay increases will shake down:

• 3% says Towers Watson
• 2.8% according to the Hay Group, and
• 2.5% based on the Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey.

Of course, that’s not to say no one has been giving raises out these past few years. In fact, the cream of the crop at many places still managed to see significantly larger paychecks last year.

In 2010, some companies still managed to give folks who “far exceeded” their employers’ performance expectations averaged raises of 4%. Even those who simply exceeded expectations last year earned an extra 3.4% on average. But anyone who didn’t measure up saw their paychecks stay the same.

And plenty of your peers held the line across the board as a cost control strategy.  The good news for this year? Those pay raises should be significantly more widespread.

Keep ’em from getting crazy

Of course, word will get around that many employers are ready to devote more dollars to merit increases. And if you’re one of the folks who get to dole out raises at your company, you may feel some increased pressure to follow this trend.

That’s why it will be critical to manage expectations. Not every organization will be in the financial position to loosen the purse strings just yet. So you may have to make that clear. Better to do that sooner rather than later.

If your company will follow this trend, it’s still smart to make sure there are clear performance expectations for each finance staffer so he or she understands just what it takes to increase the size of his or her paycheck.

So will your company be more forthcoming with pay increases in 2011? Share your thoughts here.