Consumer: Salary analysis
| Level | Average range | Median | Average bonus | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managing director | £94,500 | - | £140,500 | £134,500 | * |
| Director | £66,000 | - | £95,000 | £80,500 | |
| Associate director | £52,500 | - | £63,000 | £57,500 | |
| Account director | £40,000 | - | £51,000 | £42,000 | |
| Account manager | £28,500 | - | £38,000 | £33,000 | |
| Account executive | £18,333 | - | £27,000 | £23,000 | |
| *Insufficient data | |||||
The view from here
For the majority of 2008, the need for outstanding consumer PR professionals continued as it has done over the last few years. Demand across all levels was strong, in particular for account directors, with consultancies looking to add strength and depth to client services, new business development and team management. Consultancies were also hiring account directors/associate directors with digital experience, CSR and crisis management expertise as they looked to diversify their offering.
As in previous years, the consumer PR recruitment market continues to move at a very fast pace. Talented people were snapped up quickly and staff turnover remained relatively high compared to other disciplines.
Key influences for people moving varied at different levels, although the desire to move in-house was prominent at all levels with 90% of candidates registering interest in an in-house role.
Common motivators for directors and associates to move included a change of senior management, company direction and personality differences, as well as the consultancy moving away from their core area of expertise and interest.
For account directors, a lack of progression and opportunities was a key factor for wanting to move. Account managers and senior account managers had perhaps more traditional reasons for moving on, feeling under-paid and overworked, triggering them to look for higher salaries. Ambition and self motivation remained a very common and positive reason for junior staff to move.
Overall, consumer salaries increased in 2008, with junior and mid level staff seeing smaller increases (around £1,000 to £3,000), whilst associates upwards saw slightly larger increases, as more consultancies were looking to hire staff that had the potential to grow the business. On the whole consumer salaries tended to be lower than other disciplines at all levels in 2008, with the most popular sectors such as public sector, fashion and beauty frequently offering the lowest salaries as candidate demand for these sectors remained highest.
Up until Q3 2008, it was a candidate driven market, where they sought roles that offered a supportive working environment, training and development, along with a general sense of respect and feeling appreciated, coinciding with salaries reflective of their level. An increasing number of savvy candidates also looked for the opportunity to broaden their skills in new areas such as digital PR, CSR and crisis management, areas that consultancies have subsequently strengthened in order to expand their services and expertise to clients.
In Q4 2008, the credit crunch took hold of the recruitment market and consultancies hired cautiously, only when absolutely necessary.
In 2009, as the recession continues to bite, consumer consultancies started to make redundancies in order to cut costs as clients reduced their PR budgets or brought their PR in-house. Interestingly, senior staff particularly associates in smaller consultancies, were the first to feel the impact of the recession.
On the whole, it has been larger and mid sized consultancies that diversify across sectors and have a broader offering that remain the strongest and continue to hire.
At present, consultancies on the whole are trying to service existing clients with their current work force. Across the board new business has clearly been a focus for all consultancies, building on existing relationships but also working on areas outside their original expertise, whether that involves widening sector expertise or as mentioned increasing focus on evolving areas such as digital and CSR. With the number of positions available for candidates shrinking considerably, the market has become a client-driven one. However as in 2008, our challenge still remains in 2009, good calibre candidates are hard to find.
The views from the market