The latest cycle of Solomon Coyle’s Compensation and Practices Survey is underway, with responses due August 12 and the presentation and publication of survey findings projected for the end of September. The survey calls for data based on dealer fiscal years ending in 2018 (YE2018). Individual survey results and the survey questionnaire itself are confidential to the responding dealers and Solomon Coyle.
Participation in the YE2018 Comp Survey is by invitation only, and dealers pay no fee to participate. The sponsoring manufacturers, Allsteel, Haworth, Herman Miller, Knoll and Steelcase, are bearing the costs of dealer participation, analysis, and report preparation.
The survey covers 23 compensation-related topics and contains queries for all key dealer positions. The reporting includes breakouts by company size, revenue, region, and where possible, specific geographic markets.
Only sponsored dealers will have access to the survey report. Access will be complimentary for those that submit a valid YE2018 survey. Sponsored dealers that do not submit a valid survey may obtain a copy of the report at a cost of $1,200.
The breadth, depth and analytical quality of Solomon Coyle’s Comp Survey reports have made them coveted business resources in the contract furniture industry. Dealers use the survey report to benchmark compensation levels and design, employee benefits, and selected HR practices with their peers in a variety of ways and gain an understanding of what similar companies are doing. The report is a unique source of current market information on which to base compensation and benefits decisions that can boost the dealer’s wins in recruitment, employee performance and retention and thereby lead to improved bottom lines and operating ratios.
The YE2018 edition of the Comp Survey includes some new features.
“We introduced sales management compensation, new-employee onboarding, and turnover of non-sales employees in the YE2016 cycle,” said David Solomon, the firm’s managing principal and head of research. “With the YE2018 edition of the survey, we’re starting to collect data that we believe will be pertinent in addressing recruitment and retention challenges in an era of ‘full employment’.”
“We’ve also reckoned with the diminishing relevance of seniority in the multigenerational, serial-career work force,” Solomon said. He explained that, instead of recording employee years of experience, the YE2018 Comp Survey provides for an indicator of job competency following a four-level approach. “In an era when age or time on task are less reliable indicators of someone’s contribution to business performance, we have to find other ways to reconcile expectations and rewards and enable apples-to-apples comparisons.”
Aligned Allsteel, Haworth, Herman Miller, Knoll and Steelcase dealers who have questions about the Comp Survey are encouraged to email researchsupport@solomoncoyle.com.