etail Sales Compensation Survey Summary Report

Transcription

1 etail Sales Compensation Survey Summary Overview of the Western Management Group s annual etail Sales Compensation Survey prepared by Axiom Consulting Partners Spring 2006

2 Background The Western Management Group (WMG) etail Sales Compensation Survey was launched in 2004 and has grown in participation, becoming an important business planning tool for organizations. This Overview and Summary was prepared by Axiom Consulting Partners at the request of WMG and includes: an industry overview and outlook, quick facts about the survey; highlights and insights about the 2004 and 2005 survey data and finally Axiom s observations about what it all means. We welcome your feedback on this overview, and hope that it adds value to your organization. Industry Overview and Outlook Pay is expected to increase in 2006 at a greater rate than in prior years for the retail industry.1 Salary structure adjustments will be greater across all employee segments, particularly for nonexempt salaried employees whose structure adjustments are projected to increase from 2.1% to 2.5% (see Table 1). Budgeted variable pay dollars Source: WorldatWork 2005/2006 Salary Budget Survey are also projected to increase in the retail industry by 5% for nonexempt hourly employees to as much as 12% for salaried employees.2 This is a significant increase in pay levels, and it shows that organizations are moving pay levels up quickly to stay competitive. Furthermore, this is not a phenomenon just in retail, but across all industries. These higher retail industry pay increases can be attributed to a number of factors, most notably increased levels of inflation as well as a tightening labor market. Inflation has increased steadily since 2003, with a 25% jump in 2005 to 3.39%. The current inflation rate 2

3 is 3.60%, and does not show signs of slowing.3 The labor market has been tightening due to lower unemployment levels and a strengthening of consumer confidence in 2005 that is continuing so far in At the same time, there is increased pressure in the retail industry to lower costs and improve economies of scale. etail is a highly saturated, mature industry and competition is fierce. Consumer spending is growing at a slower rate, due to a weakened economy (thanks to Hurricanes Katrina and ita, increased oil prices, and the Iraq War) and changing demographics (consumers are less interested in shopping than they were a decade ago and are more value conscious). There is an inability to raise prices, due to frequent price promotions that have created the low price expectation in the consumer, not to mention the existence of everyday low prices (i.e., Wal-Mart). It is therefore imperative for retailers to focus on things they can control, such as lowering costs and improving economies of scale. As a result of the current business environment, retailers are keeping a close eye on expense ratios (calculated by dividing selling, general and administrative expenses by sales revenue), which include compensation expenses. etailers are carefully watching profit/loss statements on a store-by-store basis, and looking for any opportunity to streamline processes and costs.6 In light of these pay movements and increased pressures on cost control, ensuring costeffective but competitive pay levels is now more critical than ever. The Western Management Group (WMG) etail Sales Compensation Survey is an invaluable tool for compensation practitioners in planning and advising senior management on compensation matters. Survey Participation Already in its third year, the survey is going strong and boasts an impressive list of participating organizations. Fifty percent of participants are in the Fortune 500, and over eighty percent are Fortune 1000 companies. epresenting every facet of the retail industry from big-box/value retailers to department stores and premium/luxury goods providers the average participant has over $2 billion in global sales revenue. Participation grew 25% over the 2004 study up to 80 retailers in 2005, and a similar growth in participation is expected for the 2006 study. Over 150 jobs were surveyed representing nearly 1.5 million nonexempt and exempt employees throughout 96 distinct geographic areas across the United States. 3

4 Focus of Overview While over 150 jobs are included in the study, this overview focuses on sixteen (16) store operations benchmark jobs (Cashier through District Manager/ Director), as well as six (6) key purchasing and customer service positions. These jobs, referred to as Core Benchmark Jobs and identified in Table 2, are those mission critical retailing roles that are prevalent at most participating companies. Trend data reflects full-time employees only, and only those companies that participated in both years of the study (to ensure meaningful year-over-year comparisons). In particular, this overview looks at the prominent forms of pay, specifically trends in base pay from 2004 to 2005, and the degree to which companies offer variable pay to employees. Information is organized by job. 4

5 Base Pay Findings Actual base pay wages increased an average of 3.0% in 2005 for all core benchmark job families (see Table 3). The most prominent increases were among the sales management personnel. Sales Team Leaders and Sales Supervisors both responsible for maintaining high levels of customer service within a department or similar unit received increases in base pay rates of 13.7% on average. Such spikes in base pay levels might be attributed to a shallow talent *Trend data not available pool in 2004 and a greater level of importance being placed on these positions across the industry. The Senior Buyer 3 benchmark job the most experienced level of purchasing manager surveyed saw an increase in salary of 9.4% over 2004, while buyers at the intermediate and career levels saw no significant change in their base pay levels, resulting in a 3.1% base pay increase for the entire job family. 5

6 Variable Pay Findings It is interesting that except for three core benchmark jobs (District, Single Store and Department Manager) variable pay is not a majority practice among retailers (as seen in Table 4). From one perspective, this is surprising given that these people interface directly with the customer, or are directly responsible for the profitability of the department or store, and their performance is measurable and highly variable. On the other hand, most cashiers and sales associates are young people working part-time for a year or two, and may not respond well to pay-at risk. etail segments also determine variable pay practices, as it is more likely that luxury retailers offer variable pay to their sales associates and more competitive base wages versus the department or specialty store sales associate. Luxury store sales associates are expected to acquire a significant amount of product and customer knowledge in order to engage with their customer and sell high-priced items. When offered, levels of variable pay (as a percent of base pay) were relatively consistent among participants from job to job. One notable exception is the Customer Service epresentative benchmark job, where there is a wide range of variable pay practices in the industry. Some companies offer customer service representatives significant incentive opportunity (up to 20% of base salary), some organizations extend more modest opportunity (about 3% of base salary), and a majority of companies (around 60% of participating companies) offer no variable pay opportunity to Customer Service epresentatives. The fact that some retailers offer significant variable pay opportunity could be a reflection of the relative importance of the job for that particular industry segment (e.g., service retailers in telecommunications), or might also signal a new trend. Peter LeBlanc, Managing Partner at Axiom Consulting Partners notes it would be valuable to examine the correlation between 6

7 companies that offer significant variable pay opportunities to Customer Service and their levels of performance and/or customer service. When implemented properly, variable incentives are powerful tools for providing focus on the things that matter and motivation to perform higher for these kinds of jobs. The highest level of variable pay was found in the Sales Specialist benchmark job, where 50% to 60% of salary is the average target incentive. Dave Danesh, a partner with Axiom Consulting Partners, observes that this level of short-term incentive is typically found only in highly leveraged commission plans or incentives for top executives. In fact, the typical target variable award for a retail trade CEO is about 65% of salary. It is also important to note that the Sales Specialist is not the everyday run-of-the-mill sales clerk you d find at a specialty clothing retailer. This benchmark job typically requires additional training and expertise, as you might find in a specialty store like ecreational Equipment Inc. (EI), the outdoor gear and clothing outfitter. For instance, there are specific individuals at EI that have expertise in rock climbing and require additional training to become an expert in selling that equipment, enabling them to have greater influence over the sale. The high degree of leverage in the sales-related variable pay is not surprising for these folks, as they have a relatively higher level of influence over the sale, says Toni McGrath, Survey Manager with WMG. An Opportunity to e-examine Pay Practices As has been noted, with unemployment down, inflation up, consumer spending and consumer confidence growing (albeit slowly), all forces are compelling retailers to raise compensation levels. Peter LeBlanc adds, The most cost-justified way to increase compensation levels is through the delivery of variable pay. Given the maturity of the industry and the focus on margins, there seems to be a need to re-examine pay practices, particularly variable pay. However, expanding the application of variable pay requires clarity of performance objectives and a measurement and tracking system that is integrated into the existing business process, factors which will lead some companies to simply increase base pay. Variable pay would seem like a desirable option among customer facing jobs, where performance is more easily defined but harder to manage to a consistent standard and a little bit of pay could go a long way. 7

8 WorldatWork 2005/06 Salary Budget Survey Ibid. 3 All inflation data provided by inflationdata.com, as of March As reported in the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, as of March Cited in Standard & Poor s Industry Survey on etailing, November 17, Ibid. 1 2 Since 1972, Western Management Group has been a global leader in the design, development and conduct of compensation surveys. Their practice is dedicated towards providing timely, valid and accurate market data to compensation professionals through the use of state-of-the-art tools and analyses. Axiom Consulting Partners specializes in helping companies improve their results by hardwiring their people to their business strategy. We ask the right questions to uncover and remove the disconnects that commonly exist among the boardroom, middle management and the front line. Our clients find that Axiom uncovers insights and generates recommendations that have a quantifiable business impact. 8