Compensation Generally On the Rise Through Benefits Packages
Special to PR NEWS
By Kathleen DesRosiers, Larry Marshall, Hugh McCandless
Compensation for communications professionals rose by 6 to 7 percent last year, about the same as 1996, though professionals with functional and industry specializations experienced greater gains, such as healthcare and high-tech.
Many in these high demand areas received 10 to 15 percent or better increases. While salary increments were relatively moderate, often higher bonuses and better perks were given.
These key findings by Marshall Consultants, a corporate communications executive search firm in Malibu, Calif., and New York, were first published in PR NEWS. This is the firm's second annual compensation review.
Survey Taps Thousands
In the study/survey, Marshall Consultants used its national database containing compensation information about more than 16,000 communications professionals with agency and corporate backgrounds, and with specializations in corporate communications, public relations, investor relations, public affairs, marketing, advertising and marketing communications.
"Confidence in executive suites and boardrooms has been strong, and most business leaders are likely to raise salaries and bonuses this year by at least as much as last year," says CEO Larry Marshall, who launched his executive search firm in 1967.
"The past two years' surge in hiring and today's low unemployment in the communications field suggest that compensation levels will move higher in the coming year resulting in real income gains as compensation again outpaces inflation," he says.
However, raises have not been evenly spread across all functional or industry areas, Marshall adds.
"Functionally, for example, investor relations professionals now take home higher than average pay - perhaps 30% more. So do media relations people who work with business and financial editors. This recognizes the extra body of knowledge these people have had to acquire in order to do their jobs, he adds."
Industry and functional specializations aren't the only factors affecting compensation.
Regional Differences Noted
Regional differences show higher rates in the Northeast, and especially in the New York City metropolitan area (including New York City, New Jersey, Westchester and Southern Connecticut), as well as in other urban areas where living costs are also high.
"However, for employees of national companies such regional differences matter less. And in hot specializations like High Technology it scarcely matters whether you are based in California's Silicon Valley or Manhattan, Los Angeles, Boston or the Research Triangle [N.C.]," Marshall says.
"By contrast, demand for public relations professionals with consumer product or industrial-based business-to-business trade publicity backgrounds was relatively soft last year, but stronger than the prior year," Marshall says. " Also, there is little demand through recruiters for those whose experience has been gained in non-profit settings, except in cause-related or "mission" marketing which is now on the rise in corporations and agencies and is transferable experience."
"As a generalization," Marshall says, "people with strong media relations skills are always in demand, and in our experience less than one in 20 communications people offers real strength in media relations."
No Longer Gender Gap
Gender no longer is a factor when it comes to compensation, says Marshall. In fact, many female communications practitioners are earning more than their male counterparts.
"Our people and our clients agree that there are many more highly qualified women entering the field today than there are men, and so it should follow that they will earn more in the future."
Generalizations about pay by title seem to be more reliable, Marshall warns. "Given variables like functions and industry specialization, company or agency size, urban location and region, there are big differences in the compensation of, say, vice presidents of corporate communications
And, often, it's not the size of the company that matters, but a combination of factors such as parity with similar corporate staff function executives in human resources, law, finance and administration, " Marshall says.
Corporate-side salaries in the database are for staffers at larger companies and operating groups with sales volumes above two billion dollars, mid-sized companies with sales volume in $400 million to $2 billion revenue range and smaller companies with less than four hundred million revenue.
"An anomaly here is the willingness of some smaller, fast evolving companies in high growth industries, especially those in high tech, telecommunications, financial services and health care related fields, to openly compete for senior level execs, paying them the equivalent of much larger companies," he adds.
Large PR agencies are those with net fee incomes in excess of $5 million mid-sized are those in the $1- to $5-million range and smaller firms have less than $1 million. On the ad agency side, large agencies have gross fee billings above $15 million, mid-sized in the $5- to $15-million area and smaller agencies billing below that.
Most of Marshall's database candidates are with mid to large sized corporations and agencies since these firms employ most communicators and are where most of Marshall's better candidates gain sophisticated communications training.
Nevertheless, general ranges at all size companies and agencies are included in the survey geographically.
Cost Of Living Always A Factor
The study indicates a disparity in salaries between higher cost-of-living areas such as the metro New York region and Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay area (higher salaries in high tech in SF on par with entertainment in LA), larger cities (over one million population), and smaller cities (under one million population). However, in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, D.C. salaries are higher than in Cincinnati, Miami, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Diego, the survey indicates.
A couple of other points from the Marshall survey: Corporate employers include both conservative and progressive paying companies.
Agency CEO/president salaries are for "hired guns," not for the agency entrepreneurs who are principals and equity holders, where the amount taken out as "salary" is a very arbitrary issue, depending on tax and other issues.
Both companies and agencies are broken down into industry specialization and specialty practice areas to be consistent, although some may be combined.
As one employer surmised, "if an employee isn't worth a 10 percent raise, I question whether that person's worth keeping." To attract and retain top health care and/or high tech executives firms must do "whatever it'll take!"
Larry Marshall founded Marshall Consultants in 1967. The company specializes in communications search, recruiting and placement and has offices in Malibu, Calif. and New York. Hugh McCandless, executive vice president-general manager in New York and Kathleen DesRosiers, executive vice president-general manager in Los Angeles, as well as the firm's other recruiters and research staff contributed to the survey and analysis. (Larry Marshall, 212/628-8400.)