Salary Survey: Variable Pay Programs Becoming More Popular at CUs

June 16, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katye Long
CUNA Communications; (608) 231-4038
klong@cuna.coop

MADISON, Wis. - As wage increases remain flat across the nation due to the economic downturn, more credit unions are looking to variable pay programs as a way to increase compensation without increasing base pay, says a new CUNA report.

Variable pay programs – which tie monetary rewards to performance measures and productivity – present a way for credit unions to keep salary expenses aligned with bottom-line results. Although variable pay programs increased overall, bonuses remained the most common 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 percent offered bonus payments (rewards not tied to preset performance criteria) and 42 percent offered incentive payments (rewards tied to preset performance criteria) to their employees.

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Management and nonmanagement employees are about equally likely to be eligible for incentive payments, while management employees are 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 percent of management and 48 percent of nonmanagement employees were eligible for bonuses. The percentage of credit unions offering bonuses to nonmanagement employees increased from 42 percent 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, including: 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 year. This new offering allows users to apply formulas and insert the data directly into the credit union’s spreadsheets.

Purchasers of the survey report may also buy the Geographic Customized Salary Survey and the Online Peer Comparison. The customized geographic report provides average and median base salaries, in addition to 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.

CUNA’s 2008-2009 Complete Credit Union Staff Salary Survey sells to credit unions for $279 for the print version or $259 for the PDF. For more information or to order online, visit buy.cuna.org, and enter stock number 28104 (print) or 28104P (PDF) in the product finder search box. To order by phone, call (800) 356-8010, press 3, and use the stock number as a reference.

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About CUNA

With its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, Credit Union National Association (CUNA) serves 90 percent of America's 8,500 credit unions, which are owned by more than 90 million consumer members. Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives providing affordable financial services to people from all walks of life. For more information, visit www.cuna.org.

Copyright © 2008 - Credit Union National Association, Inc.