Sales, shop staff top wage gains

By JULIE MIDDLETON

So how did general staff - everyone below the top-tier executives and CEOs - fare in the last year? According to the yardstick CubikSurvey, which comes out every six months, the average base salary movement for general staff in the year to September 1 last year was 4.4 per cent - a little less than the 4.6 per cent they gained the year before.

A definition is required here, however - base salary increase means the amount of increase to those in the same job with the same boss in the year to September 1.

The proportion of general staff in their jobs at least a year getting an increase last year was 81.1 per cent, up 5.2 per cent on the previous year.

But there weren't many getting double-figure increases. Just 9.4 per cent of general workers got more than 10 per cent, a slide from the year before, when 12 per cent did.

General staff are more likely in any given year to get an increase than top executives. As survey manager Kevin McBride explains, general staff often have cost-of-living increases built in to their contracts, while execs' pay is often tied to performance.

In which industries were the biggest rises?

Those working in marketing, sales and retail in the full year to September 1 got the biggest rises - they enjoyed an average base salary increase of 5 per cent.

This, says the report, shows "high levels of reward for people remaining in these positions over the full 12-month period" - unsurprising given the difficulties the industry can have holding on to its bright sparks.

But if we look at median market movement - which collapses together newcomers' lower pay figures as well as that of long-stayers - the figure was minus 2 per cent.

This reflects a reduction in bonus payments staff earned and lower starting rates for new arrivals.

Which industries were lowest?

The trades recorded the lowest pay rises - on average, those working as electricians and the like in the same job for 12 months got pay increases of 3.4 per cent.

However, the electrical products field recorded the highest average movement in base salary: 7.2 per cent. The lowest average movements were in construction and contracting and local government, which sat at 3.1 per cent.

What about perks for general staff?

The survey finds that 14 per cent of general staff get company cars - but as with top executives, the proportion is shrinking as bosses try to streamline costs. A total of 28.4 per cent of general staff got bonuses, a decrease from 33.3 per cent.

Those most likely to attract bonuses are those in sales: sales managers, sales reps, marketing managers, product managers and the like. The average bonus available to these people in the year to September dropped slightly to $6362.

But bonuses are rarely paid out in full, and on average, general staff eligible for bonuses received $4400, a pay-out of 69.2 per cent.

Few general staff are issued shares - just 3.6 per cent in the year to September; the average value of the shares was $1488.

* The CubikSurvey is available only online at CubikSurvey. Direct membership inquiries to Kevin McBride on (04) 384-834 or kevin@mcbrideHR.co.nz.