Watson Wyatt Data Services Releases 2007/2008 Survey Report on Professional Administrative Services Personnel Compensation

Watson Wyatt Data Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Watson Wyatt Worldwide, today announced the publication of its 2007/2008 Survey Report on Professional Administrative Services Personnel Compensation, now in its 34th edition.

•        Durable Goods Manufacturing Sector garners largest industry-wide salary increase this year
•       At 23% of salary, Direct Sales personnel receive largest bonus payments in survey sample.

ROCHELLE PARK, N.J., July 18, 2007 – Watson Wyatt Data Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Watson Wyatt Worldwide, today announced the publication of its 2007/2008 Survey Report on Professional Administrative Services Personnel Compensation, now in its 34th edition.

This report is based on responses from 957 organizations encompassing 5,752 locations reporting data on 229,637 incumbents. A total of 198 geographic areas, including 136 metropolitan areas and 109 industry classifications, are reported on in this year’s edition.
Compensation data is organized by position and separated into three categories: All Organizations, For-Profit and Not-For-Profit. Within the For-Profit and Not-For-Profit categories, data is presented in a variety of geographic groupings, and in a variety of industry classifications ranging from All Organizations to individual industries. The report also covers a full range of professional administrative services personnel, including finance, human resources, occupational health and safety, administrative services, direct sales, legal and regulatory affairs, marketing and sales support and insurance.

On average, salaries and total cash compensation for professional administrative services personnel rose 3.2 and 3.3 within organizations responding both to this and last year’s (2006) survey. This compares to the 3.1 percent increase in salaries and the 3.3 percent increase in total compensation experienced in 2006 vs. 2005.

A total of 22 individual positions (within the overall sample) received salary and/or total compensation increases that exceeded the overall salary/total compensation increase by 25 percent or more.  A total of nine positions received salary increases of 4.5 percent or more, as listed below:

• Compensation and Benefits Administrator
• Editor
• Employment Law Attorney
• Immigration Specialist
• Long-Range Planning Analyst
• Pharmacist
• Sales Analyst
• Security Coordinator
• Shareholder Relations Administrator

 Moderate differences existed among the five geographic regions regarding salary increases. The West Coast Region (at 3.5 percent) showed the highest salary increase. The Southeast and Northeast Regions experienced the lowest average salary increase at 3.1 percent.
Within the industry sectors, the largest salary increase occurred in Durable Goods Manufacturing, where employees averaged a 4.1 percent increase. Both Health Care and Banking and Finance sector workers averaged salary increases of 3.5 percent. There was a significant increase in the percentage of employees receiving bonus payments in the Banking and Finance Sector (56.6 percent vs. 49.0 percent last year). The biggest increase in the average bonus paid to workers receiving a bonus was in the Durable Goods Manufacturing Sector (8.8 percent vs. 8.3 percent last year).

The 2007/2008 Survey Report on Professional Administrative Services Personnel Compensation is available online, on CD or in a printed book format.

About Watson Wyatt Data Services
Watson Wyatt Data Services (WWDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Watson Wyatt Worldwide, is a leading provider of compensation, benefits, and employment practices information to the global employer community.  From offices around the world, we solicit, analyze, and publish an extensive library of printed, interactive and online survey reports. Our compensation databases are recognized worldwide as the most reliable source of current data for compensation planning.

Global scope, local knowledge …
Covering more than 80 countries across six continents, our data centers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and Latin America annually compile reports on the remuneration, benefits, and employment practices of local and multinational companies.  Our “in-country” experts apply their local knowledge of the varied employment markets, practices, and customs to deliver a complete compensation picture that can be used to create sound, market-based pay programs for entire organizations. Our international databases contain compensation information covering millions of employees based on the annual survey participation of organizations ranging from emerging growth companies to many of the world’s largest conglomerates. 

In addition to compensation surveys, WWDS also publishes references that help HR practitioners attract, retain, and reward exceptional employees. These guides cover a wide variety of subject areas, including variable pay, performance management, and personnel policies on a local, regional, and global basis. For more information, visit our Web site at WWDS.com.

For more information, contact:
MaryBeth Iannaccone
Watson Wyatt Data Services
Tel: (201) 843-1177, extension 3480
E-mail: Marybeth.iannaccone@watsonwyatt.com