Variable pay programs more popular at CUs--Salary survey

MADISON, Wis. (6/17/08)--More credit unions are looking to variable pay programs to increase compensation without increasing base pay, as wage increases remain flat across the nation due to the economic downturn, says a new Credit Union National Association (CUNA) report.

Variable pay programs--which tie monetary rewards to performance measures and productivity--help credit unions keep salary expenses aligned with bottom-line results.

Although variable pay programs increased overall, bonuses remained the most common way to boost compensation, according to the 2008-2009 Complete Credit Union Staff Salary Survey, published by CUNA's center for research and advice.

Among credit unions with $1 million in assets or more, 62% offered bonus payments--rewards not tied to preset performance criteria--and 42% offered incentive payments--rewards tied to preset performance criteria--to their employees.

Management and nonmanagement employees were equally likely to be eligible for incentive payments, while management employees were more likely than nonmanagement employees to be eligible for bonus payments.

A little more than one-third of survey respondents reported that management and nonmanagement employees were eligible for incentive payments in 2007, while 59% of management and 48% of nonmanagement employees were eligible for bonuses. The percentage of credit unions offering bonuses to nonmanagement employees increased from 42% the previous year.

"The current economy and lack of wage growth are causing employees to experience higher financial stress than in the past," said Beth Soltis, senior research analyst for CUNA's center for research and advice. "In addition to incentive pay, credit unions may also want to consider adopting some non-monetary methods to compensate and inspire employees, like sabbatical days, development opportunities and flexible working arrangements.

The survey provides compensation data for 89 full-time and eight part-time positions at credit unions with $1 million or more in assets. The data include: base salaries, incentives, bonuses, total cash compensation, and salary ranges.

The report--available in print or Adobe PDF format--also contains job descriptions, benchmarks for salary and benefit expenses, base pay increases and turnover rates.

An electronic version of the survey's data tables is also available for purchase. This new offering allows users to apply formulas and insert the data directly into the credit union's spreadsheets.
Also available are CUNA's Geographic Customized Salary Survey and Online Peer Comparison. The customized geographic report provides average and median base salaries and percentile figures for selected cities or geographic areas.

The online peer comparison provides unlimited access to the 2008 salary survey database, which allows users to create customized peer groups using various criteria, such as: credit union name, asset size, number of members, field of membership, number of full-time employees, number of services offered, total loans outstanding, and geographic region. Customized report parameters include percentiles and date-specific trending.

For more information, use the resource link.

courtesy of cuna.org