HR salaries increase fastest in two years

The median remuneration for HR professionals at large US companies rose by 11% in 2012, increasing at the fastest rate in at least two years, according to the findings of a new study.

BY HRM 15 Jan. 2013

The median remuneration for HR professionals at large US companies rose by 11% in 2012, increasing at the fastest rate in at least two years, according to the findings of a new study.

The research Equilar found that that pay jump is attributable to the additional responsibilities added to the HR professionals’ portfolio.

HR is in the unique and challenging position of being front runners in determining pay, and formulating competitive compensation packages that link pay to company performance. So what headway has been made in HR’s own bid to increase their take-home packet?

Using publicly-disclosed information as well as data from Equilar’s 2012 Top 25 Senior Officer Compensation Survey, the following figures were revealed:

For the 180 HR execs at companies that participated in both the 2012 and 2011 Top 25 Surveys, median total compensation increased 11.0% year-over-year. The median value of performance-based awards also rose by 23.3%.
There a 19.8% pay difference between male and female HR Named Executive Officers at Fortune 1,000 companies.
HR executives in the Healthcare and Life Science industries were paid more than any other industry.
87.2% of HR executives in the Food and Beverage industry were eligible to receive perquisites, the highest level of any industry.
Time-based stocks were the most commonly used incentive vehicle with 62.7% of HR executive receiving this perk.