Salary Survey Disputes Value of Certifications for Strategic Sourcing Professionals and Identifies Noteworthy Gender Pay Gap!
BOSTON, MA – February 24, 2020 – The Procurement Foundry, the largest community of strategic sourcing professionals, today released its 2020 Salary & Compensation Survey Results that identifies the typical salary, benefits, credentials and experience of procurement professionals. The survey identified key areas of interest for increasing a salary, the need for professional credentials, and the gender pay gap.
Said Michael Cadieux, Founder, The Procurement Factory: “Our research highlights that strategic sourcing can be a great career choice, but that there are also places our industry can improve. We’re excited to bring our community not only compensation information, but education around career growth. Additionally, we’ve found that most employers want to pay sourcing professionals fairly, so we encourage HR departments and senior leaders to seek out qualified compensation data to achieve this goal.”
Average Compensation
The average participant with 15 years of procurement industry experience received total compensation of $193,489 annually. The survey found that the more senior the position the larger the bonus percentage and the average bonus salary across all positions is 18 percent. The bonus salary fluctuates based on professional level and years of experience, climbing as high as 53 percent.
Career Advancement: Springboaring for an Increase
Practitioners that “springboard” in the past 24 months saw 19.4 percent compensation increases, while those who stayed with an employer received an average of 3.5 percent increase. It is clear the act of “springboarding” (changing from employer to employer) is a significantly better move for compensation than staying with a current employer and counting on annual increase more than the cost of living increase. The only question that remains is how, and when, and to which levels within organizations should one deploy the “springboarding” strategy.
Professional Credentials: Designations Not Needed
The survey found that 49 percent of all participants have no industry certification or MBAA. While convention might suggest that those procurement professionals with accreditation might earn a higher compensation, the survey did not find that to be true. In fact, men with MBAs, specifically at the director level, effectively make less than other men without MBAs. Additionally:
- Master of Business Accreditation (MBA) increases gross compensation by merely 5 percent overall, with the exception of C-level and entry level positions.
- Men are flat-to-negative on MBA value while women receive a 20 percent increase over women who do not have an MBA.
- Across all survey respondents, practitioners with no designations have 7 percent higher compensation levels than practitioners with designations.
- Industry certifications carry an 11-18 percent compensation differential for early stage practitioners but offer no compensation benefit once at managerial level positions.
Gender Pay Gap: Industry Issues Exists
The survey found that the sourcing industry in the U.S. is still heavily dominated by men at about 70 percent. In aggregate there is a 17 percent pay gap between men and women based on survey results. That fluctuates heavily based on geography and education levels:
- The Pacific Region the compensation gap is less than 1 percent between men and women.
- The largest gender pay gaps are in the South Central (31 percent) and South Atlantic (24 percent)
There was progress for female sourcing professionals. The survey found that among all respondents with MBAs, women have higher compensation than men in almost all positions.
Download the survey in full: 2020 Salary & Compensation Survey Results
Methodology
The survey was conducted in December of 2019 with community members of The Procurement Factory. The 500 responded members are qualified strategic sourcing professionals.
About Procurement Factory
Procurement Foundry is the largest digital, global community for procurement and supply chain management professionals. A place where industry practitioners come to gather, learn, share and grow. We strive to build a truly welcoming place where people can return to consistently to be part of something bigger.
Visit us at https://procurementfoundry.com/ or on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/procurement-foundry/
Media Contact
Company Name: Blaze Strategy
Contact Person: Wendi Smith
Email: Send Email
Phone: +1617-834-7257
Country: United States
Website: http://theblazestrategy.com/
