The construction market has been on a roll, causing a major personnel crunch. For contractors, design firms and construction management firms, top people have been next to impossible to find and the pressure on wages and benefits has been extreme. But with increasingly ominous economic news and some signs of a flattening, or even a tailing off in some markets, many firms see the pressure easing.
Two recent compensation surveys have shown the impact of the hot market on industry salaries, particularly for those in critical positions. Salaries for projects managers in design firms have risen 23% on average over the past four years, and design firm IT manager salaries are up 30%, according to the 2001 Management Compensation Survey published by ZweigWhite, a Natick, Mass.-based management consulting firm. On the other hand, the average salary for marketing directors is up only 5% during that period and human resources director pay actually fell an average of 5% during the period.
"People don�t always act rationally [over salaries] when the market heats up like it did," says Mark Zweig, CEO of ZweigWhite. He notes that the job market is easing somewhat, but he cautions that this doesn�t mean that the pressure is off. "Good people are still hard to find. But firms are now being a little more cautious and thoughtful in making hiring decisions. They want quality people, not just strong backs," says Zweig.
For contractors, the story is the same. The average staff-level salary increase at contractors and construction management firms in 2000 was 5.14%, according to a survey conducted by pas Inc., a Saline, Mich.-based management consulting firm. And these firms plan to provide an average 4.52% increase in 2001, according to pas.