According to PCMA Convene’s 2014 Annual Salary Survey, more than three-quarters of meeting professionals have earned a raise so far this year — but it’s nearly two-thirds less than the pay increase they received in 2013.
This month, PCMA Convene magazine published the results of its annual Salary Survey, which has served as an industry benchmark for several decades. The results of this year’s survey — completed by 371 association, corporate, and independent meeting professionals in March — reveal that their average raise was 3.6 per cent, compared to a 9.4 per cent raise in 2013.
“Even though they were smaller, raises were more widely distributed than in 2013,” said Convene Editor in Chief Michelle Russell. “Seventy-seven per cent said they received a salary increase so far this year, so that’s a good sign. It could be that the nearly double-digit raises given out last year were something of a ‘course correction,’ intended to bring planners’ salaries more in line after several years of little or no increases during the economic downturn.”
This year’s results proved once again that the value of earning a CMP can be measured in terms of compensation. Those with a CMP earned $81,515 annually versus $71,042 for respondents without the designation.
The survey results paint a picture of a mostly satisfied profession. Half of the respondents said they are content with their current salary; 76 per cent said they are fine with their current roles, and 88 per cent said they feel good about the profession as a whole.
“That’s not to say, however, that we’re complacent about the results,” Russell said. Ninety per cent of the respondents were female, yet the male respondents make significantly higher salaries: $102,222 compared to $72,880 for women. “We can’t make sweeping generalizations about pay inequity in our industry,” she said, “but that one statistic alone led the Convene editorial team to explore the issue in a larger context. Our June cover story takes stock of women in the workforce today, drawing on the latest research and thinking about women and leadership, mentorship, salary negotiations, and more.”
Full salary results are available here.
