Annual HR Salary Survey - 2000 SHRM/Mercer Human Resource Management Compensation Survey - Brief Article - Industry Overview - Statistical Data Included

Training & Development, Nov, 2000 by Patricia Schaeffer

Pay for training and development positions continues to rise, and the American Society for Training & Development is providing more specific compensation information. Here are some highlights from the 2000 SHRM/Mercer Human Resource Management Compensation Survey.

As corporate mergers and acquisitions, downsizings, and global competition persist and people issues grow more important, the roles of training and development professionals take on greater value. According to the 2000 survey, pay for HR professionals who facilitate effective career and leadership development is continuing to rise. Additionally, a growing number of people in t&d positions are eligible for incentive pay, indicative of their contribution to developing and retaining employee talent.

The survey, considered the benchmark source of competitive pay information for HR professionals in the United States, is sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management and published by human resource consulting firm William M. Mercer.

The 2000 Survey

Respondents include

* 1,091 companies from all industries

* 31,615 employees

* 97 HR jobs.

For each job, the survey report contains statistical summaries for

* base salary

* annual bonus and incentive

* total cash compensation (base plus bonus)

* base salary ranges

* annual bonus-incentive eligibility

* long-term eligibility incentive (for example, stock options).

Together, ASTD and Mercer have enhanced the survey to capture pay data that's accurate and relevant for t&d positions. The number of t&d positions included in this year's survey has nearly doubled. Job descriptions were updated to reflect changes in recent years. By distinguishing between trainer and training manager, for example, it was possible to differentiate subtleties between designing versus delivering training.

Presented is a summary of key findings from the 2000 survey as well as some comparisons to data reported last year. In general, the survey shows that t&d salaries are rising faster than salaries overall in the United States, annual bonuses have been increasing consistently, and a growing number of t&d professionals are eligible for incentive pay, including stock options.

Pay Trends

Base pay for HR professionals has been accelerating in recent years, rising 5.4 percent this year, compared to a 5.3 percent rise last year, 4.3 percent in 1998, and 3.5 percent in 1997. By comparison, overall salary increases in the United States have remained level at 4.2 percent for the past five years.

Positions in t&d follow the general HR trend. The largest pay increases are seen in top-level development jobs, reflecting the ability to think strategically and facilitate organizational change. Of the 13 t&d positions in this year's survey, the highest-paid professionals include top corporate organization development executives, top corporate training executives, and OD or training managers.

The tight labor market has forced employers to understand what it takes to attract and retain the necessary talent. Employer research has shown that, in general, pay is not at the top of the list of incentives but is usually eclipsed by development opportunities, especially among highly skilled employees. This finding has probably escalated demand and pay for training and development professionals.

Relevant factors such as organization size and industry affect pay for all t&d positions. The survey assessed company size in six revenue categories, ranging from less than $500 million to more than $10 billion. Although company size plays a role in determining compensation, size and salary do not necessarily go hand in hand.

A case in point: Median total cash compensation is $56,800 for a training manager at a company with less than $500 million in annual revenue, rising to $58,400 for a company with $500 million to $1 billion in revenue, $72,800 for a company with $1 billion to $2.5 billion in revenue, $75,000 for a company with $2.5 billion to $5 billion in revenue, and $77,300 for companies with $5 billion to $10 billion in revenue. However, median total cash compensation dropped to $69,000 for companies with more than $10 billion in revenue.

Similar patterns emerge in most other t&d jobs included in the survey, with some upward movement in salaries correlating to organization size but with the largest companies not necessarily paying the highest salaries for a particular position.

Industry also affects pay levels for executive and nonexecutive t&d professionals. For example, the median total cash compensation for a top corporate OD executive can vary from a low of $93,500 in the health-care industry to a high of $167,000 in the insurance industry--a difference of 79 percent. Pay for a training coordinator can range from $26,000 in transportation to $43,000 in government and the nonprofit sector--a 65 percent difference.

Overall, high pay levels (in terms of median total cash compensation) typically are found in the nondurable manufacturing and banking and financial services industries; health care and government and nonprofit industries commonly show lower pay levels.