Financial: Salary analysis
| Level | Average range | Median | Average bonus | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managing director | £119,500 | - | £250,000 | £185,000 | 34% |
| Director | £82,500 | - | £119,500 | £98,500 | 25% |
| Associate director | £52,500 | - | £75,000 | £62,000 | 20% |
| Senior consultant | £37,000 | - | £53,000 | £39,500 | 15% |
| Consultant | £24,000 | - | £36,500 | £30,000 | 14% |
The view from here
What a year for financial PR. Despite credit crunch, consultancies were flying and many had their most profitable year to date. Recruitment needs were high and salaries increased marginally from the year before, although candidates' salary requests were not as excessive as they were in 2007. Bonus payouts were affected and the average bonus decreased by 3%.
The demand for account managers remained the highest by far, followed by equal demand for associate directors and directors, as consultancies continued to build teams and replace roles where necessary. New business flair was a key skill requested by all the consultancies.
Finding good calibre candidates remained an issue and looking outside the industry to other professions for industry expertise and transferable skills continued. Journalists (broadsheet and broadcast) were received well by large and small consultancies, offering potential door opening contacts and superb media training skills. Larger consultancies were most interested in hiring industry sector analysts and several consultancies requested investor relations expertise, as well as public affairs experience as they looked to broaden their service offering. It was also noted that candidates with fluent Russian language skills and Arabic were in demand as clients built up their international portfolio.
The sectors most in demand were oil and gas, renewables and financial services. Financial agencies also built their corporate communications offering, often focusing on financial services, leading to a demand in financial services experience.
The request for in-house roles remained high, although pure financial PR roles are scarce as the majority are outsourced to consultancies, so financial candidates requested and competed for pure corporate communications roles.
The most common reasons why directors wanted to move on from their current consultancy were that they found the environment too political and had been spread too thinly (working long hours including weekends). The most common motivators for senior consultants (account managers) and associate directors to move jobs were to make a step up and to enhance the scope to learn and develop their skills. Executives' reasons for leaving were that they wanted to learn more, felt there was no support underneath so it was hard for them to move up, they were working across too many clients or they simply wanted to change disciplines.
After Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in September, the mood in the market changed overnight, offers were withdrawn and final stage interviews were cancelled as reality hit. The demand for hiring dropped considerably, consultancies started to lose clients as they went under, were taken over or budgets were cut. Redundancies started as consultancies saw the need to cut costs.
2009 has been a quiet year for hiring in financial PR. There are a few 'cash rich' consultancies still looking for directors who can bring a portfolio of clients with them and those which can house a small team if the opportunity were to present itself. At the end of Q1, further financial consultancies had made redundancies and some are on 'round two'. The consultancies with a broader service offering and more international clients have fared a little better.
The impact of the economic downturn on financial PR agencies compared to other disciplines was the fastest and most dramatic as they are so dependent on Capital markets. So far in 2009, pay rises have also been minimal or non-existent.
The views from the market