1st June 2007
New Zealand Salary Survey released
The 2007 Hays Salary Survey, detailing typical salaries for a range of sectors across New Zealand, has been released
today, 1st June 2007.
The survey, which covers 14 employment sectors and hundreds of job roles across Australia and New Zealand, reports group
accountants, learning & development managers, project managers and analyst programmers were among the main salary winners.
“The majority of employers reported increases in salaries of between 3 and 6%,” said Jason Walker, regional director of
Hays in New Zealand. “Unsurprisingly, the exception was certain skills in high demand such as mining and engineering
related roles where salary increases were often substantially higher.
“In a clear trend, the shortage of skilled candidates has impacted recruitment habits, attitudes and methodologies over
the last year. 64% of our survey respondents will now consider sponsoring candidates from overseas, which is a
significant increase from 44% last year, while 80% report a need to adopt a more flexible approach to staffing.
“Smart employers are reviewing their recruitment process to ensure they attract the best candidates, since it isn’t
unusual for candidates in high demand areas to receive several employment offers. However they do not always select the
role offering the highest salary –future potential, competencies and culture fit are important, and any employer with a
rigid and lengthy recruitment process is going to find it very difficult to compete.
“Salary is also not always the most important factor in retention – there is much research to show that how valued staff
feel, how they are encouraged to develop, the flexibility surrounding work practices, office environments and community
or environmental support are increasingly important. Having said this, employers still need to ensure their salaries are
competitive,” he said.
Notable trends by industry:
- Advertising and Media - 30% of employers increased salaries above 6%, compared to just 10% who increased salaries
above 6% last year.
- Professional Services - 38% of employers in professional services increased above 6% (up from 31% last year).
- Construction, Property and Engineering - 36% of employers increased above 6% (up from 25% last year).
- Resources & Mining - 32% of resources and mining employers increased above 6% (down slightly from 36% last year).
New Zealand salary hotspots:
- Accountancy: Group accountants received one of the largest increases in the senior accounting market. For example,
salaries increased from $70,000 to $85,000 for a group accountant (turnover up to $100m) in Christchurch/Wellington and
from $95,000 to $110,000 for a group accountant (turnover > $500m) in Auckland.
At the support level there were minimal increases, with Christchurch payroll specialists the notable exception. For
example, the typical salary of a senior payroll clerk in
Christchurch/Wellington rose from $38,000 to $46,000.
In New Zealand’s professional practice market it was Christchurch/Wellington that received the largest increases. For
example the typical salary for a business services senior with 3-4 years experience rose from $48,000 to $55,000 and
from $45,000 to $55,000 for an IT audit graduate with 3+ years experience.
- Banking and Financial Services: New Zealand’s banking salaries remained relatively stable, with the exception of trade
finance. For example typical salaries rose from $32,000 to $35,000 for an Auckland processing officer, from $44,000 to
$50,000 for a Christchurch/Wellington team leader and from $53,000 to $65,000 for managers in both islands.
- Construction & Property: The architecture discipline in Auckland experienced the main salary growth. For example the top end of the
salary range for an architect with 2-5 years experience increased from $60,000 to $80,000. Project managers were the
construction building winners, with the top of the salary range increasing from $120,000 to $130,000 in Auckland and
from $95,000 to $100,000 in Christchurch/Wellington. Facilities management also experienced some notable increases.
- Contact Centres: Large companies are using incentives and bonuses to allow for higher potential earnings. However
there were still some notable changes to typical salaries in New Zealand’s contact centres. For example the typical
salary rose from $50,000 to $55,000 for a team leader, from $37,000 to $41,000 for a senior customer service
representative and from $35,000 to $38,000 for inbound sales & service.
- Human Resources: Marked salary increases occurred in learning and development, with the typical salary for a learning & development manager rising from $95,000 to $105,000. Remuneration and benefits managers also experienced solid
increases, with the typical salary rising from $95,000 to $100,000.
- Information Technology: The overall trend has been an increase in salaries. Some commentators are suggesting salaries
have risen to unprecedented levels, but this is not the case. There were distinct salary winners though, with typical
salaries for analyst programmers rising from $65,000 to $75,000 in Auckland and from $70,000 to $75,000 in Wellington.
Network administration and security engineers also experienced significant increases in both Auckland and Wellington.
- Insurance: Auckland experienced the main salary movements across New Zealand’s insurance market. For example, the
typical salaries rose from $90,000 to $100,000 for business development managers, from $40,000 to $45,000 for
underwriter support, from $50,000 to $55,000 for a workers compensation compliance officer and from $55,000 to $60,000
for a life insurance senior claims assessor.
- Legal: New Zealand’s demand for lawyers did not equate to salary increases; instead the changes were more subtle. The
salary bands of larger private practice firms were stretched to help retain and attract high performers and there was a
notable increase in incentives such as relocation allowances and flexibility surrounding a candidate’s specialisation.
- Logistics: Higher industry salaries were awarded to logistics project managers.
- Office Support: Auckland’s personal/team assistants and executive assistants were the main salary winners in the
office support market, with typical salaries rising from $50,000 to $55,000 and $55,000 to $60,000 respectively.
- Procurement: Purchasing officers and senior purchasing officers experienced the main salary movements, both rising
$10,000 to $60,000 and $75,000 respectively.
- Resources & Mining: Metalliferous mining engineering experienced big salary increases in New Zealand, with the top end of the
salary ranges increasing for underground/quarry managers from $160,000 to $185,000 and for a project manager from
$160,000 to $180,000. Salaries in coal technical positions also moved forward, while the minimum of the mobile plant
underground salary ranges increased.
- Sales & Marketing: When compared to the Australian figures, New Zealand is the clear winner in terms of salary movements in the
sales & marketing arena. Typical salaries increased by 8.5% in New Zealand, far higher than Australia’s closest contender of
Queensland with 5.8%.
The full Hays Salary Survey is available from www.hays-hps.co.nz/salary or from Hays offices:
ENDS