The latest reward survey of 2,000 personnel professionals, conducted by Croner Reward in association with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), shows that changes to company car taxation have led many HR workers to accept cash rather than the offer of a company car. The proportion of personnel directors who receive a company car has dropped from 62% in 1999 to its current level of 37%.
A reduction in the number of personnel staff who receive a final salary pension scheme is the other major trend, with 61% currently in receipt of one compared with 79% three years ago. The survey also shows that HR professionals can hold their heads high in relation to their salaries, which compare favourably with the national average.
Steve Flather, Managing Director of Croner Reward comments, ìChanges to company car taxation have left individuals with a choice of doing without or swallowing hard. Meanwhile, the switch away from defined contributions not only reflects their high costs, but also the wider demand for pensions choice and flexibility among employees.î
Charles Cotton, CIPD reward adviser comments, ìThe relatively high levels of satisfaction and pay settlements show that the personnel profession is a rewarding profession to join in every sense.
ìThis is hardly surprising given the capacity for people mangers to make a positive difference and contribution to their organisations. With so many topical issues on the agenda such as pensions, equal pay, work-life balance to name but a few; people managers have never been in a more influential position.î
The survey shows a number of positive trends. Firstly, the gender pay gap within the personnel profession is closing at all levels, including at director level where the pay gap has closed from 30% to 1% in the past 10 years.
The trends also show that pay settlements, both within and outside the personnel profession, remain reasonably buoyant in spite of the economic downturn. Cotton concludes that this owes largely to the continuing skills shortage across the board and recruitment and retention problems which remain the biggest challenges for people managers.
Other key findings:
The top three biggest issues facing personnel professionals today are skill shortages, recruitment and retention.
The average Personnel Director receives 57, 449, 4.3% below the average for Directors of other functions who receive around 60, 000.
The equal pay gap has narrowed significantly in the personnel profession. For instance, pay of female directors is now 1.3% below that of their male colleagues compared with 5.6% in 2002 and 30.2% 10 years ago.
At Director level, Fellows of the CIPD can expect to earn around 12, 500 more than their non-members counterparts.
Pay for personnel professionals rose by an average of 3.5% in 2002 compared with a national average of 2.7%.
The proportion of personnel staff who receive a final salary scheme has fallen from 79% in 1999 to its current level of 61%.
Compensation and Benefits specialists are the highest paid, 20% ahead of their HR colleagues
Tax changes push senior execs out of company cars
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