Vertical Salary Review: flexible working climbs staff priorities
Property and construction professionals in the North West value flexible working above bonuses and other benefits, according to the findings of the Vertical Salary Review 2019.
The study, commissioned by Vertical Recruitment in association with Place North West, investigated salaries, attitudes and priorities for the region’s real estate workforce, based on a survey of 637 property professionals.
The results paint an optimistic picture of the local industry. Salaries are continuing to rise across all disciplines and 70% of North West real estate professionals are satisfied with their jobs.
Respondents overwhelmingly favoured flexible working as the work benefit they value most, with 68% of respondents selecting it as one of their top benefits across the industry, compared with just 40% in 2017.
Wellbeing is proving increasingly essential in attracting and retaining staff, with a better work-life balance increasing by 8% as a top pull factor for seeking new employment, above the pull of a bigger bonus or benefits package, while the draw of a higher salary has dropped by 7%.
Salaries are highest in development and construction consultancy roles, with an average of £56,135 and £52,773 respectively. The greatest salary increase since last year was in planning, which saw a 13% jump in earnings.
The gender pay gap persists but is decreasing, albeit at a very slow rate of 0.04% a year across the industry as a whole. Part of the issue is likely to be the continuing shortage of women in the most senior roles, particularly in development where women are on average earning £24,493 less than men.
Salaries have increased in the past year across all disciplines
James Adamson, director of Vertical Recruitment, commented: “The findings reflect what we have observed in the market over the past year; there are plenty of job opportunities and the industry feels buoyant.
“Planning recruitment in particular has been notably busy, with the large salary increase confirming that this has been a major growth area for the industry over the past 12 months.
“Increasing demand from employees and the wider social conversation on wellbeing has seen more and more companies implementing flexible working initiatives. For larger consultancies, it has also meant a change to wider business operations with some companies now designing office space to accommodate only 70% of staff, to reflect the increase in flexible working.”
Based in Manchester, Vertical Recruitment specialises in technical, construction, and engineering recruitment.
Very impressive
By Susan Clayton
Wouldn’t get out of bed for all but the director level salaries…
By Contractors QS