Salary Survey 08

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At least, amid all the talk of credit

crunches and market downturns,

some people are still having fun.The

fight to recruit and retain consultants has,

if anything, got more frantic, and

companies are going to increasing some

would say bizarre lengths to attract

architects, engineers and surveyors.

The 2008 salary and benefits guide, by

Hays Construction & Property and

Building, lists the usual benefits

employees now expect but what is moreinteresting are the more unusual perks that

are on offer.

Topping the list of benefits that

employees want from employers is 25 days

annual holiday: 77% of those surveyed said

it was a priority. Next was the 65% that

wanted flexible working, suggesting that

the days of 9-5 are over. Next up was the

company pension scheme, named by 64%,

followed closely by a performance-based

bonus, which was mentioned by 63%.

Making up the top five is training support

which scored 59%. This shows that todays

employees are not happy to continue using

the same skills for years on end and are

keen to learn new tricks in order to advance

Greg Lettington, director of Hays

Construction & Property, says its not just

big salaries that staff are after: Salary

increases are being complemented by

improvements to benefits packages, which

are often standard across the larger

consultancies. Flexible working is a keyelement of these packages, given the stron

focus on worklife balance for employees.

On top of this, the survey revealed a

whole range of quirkier benefits that

employers are offering staff in order to

stand out from rival recruiters. It means

employees have the pick of a whole new

range of benefits, while employers who

arent already offering such perks should

perhaps think about introducing them.

Here, we reveal six of the best

its safe to say thatemployers are still having to doall they can to retain talentedstaff. David Parsley introducesthis years consultants salaryguide with a look at some of thequirkier perks on offer

WHEN YOURSTAFF ROOMLOOKS LIKETHIS


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consultants salary guide 4

FREE BREAKFASTSAt number three are Young and

Gault Architects free Friday

breakfasts. Every week staff at the

Glasgow-based firm are rewarded for a

hard weeks work with bacon butties,

muffins and coffee and any specially

requests.This may not do as much for the

waistlines of staff as a cycle to work

scheme would, but it certainly boosts their

morale.

BUY MORE HOLIDAYMore consultancies are offering sta

the chance to buydays off. For

example, in April Atkins increased the

number of days off its consultants could

buy from five to 15. Staff can take the

extra days on top of their normal

holiday allowance if they are prepared

to take them unpaid. An Atkins

spokesperson says: It allows people to be

away from work for a really decent stretch

Its ideal for anyone who wants to spend

time with their children during school

holidays or for people who want to go

travelling. Its about recruitment andretention.

POETS DAYEven if you dont know what Poets

day stands for, you can be sure man

of your contemporaries in rival companies

do. It means you get to go home early on

Fridays. To put it less delicately, it is an

acronym for: Piss off early tomorrows

Saturday. Many view it as an inefficient

working practice, but firms that have

adopted it claim it has increased staff

loyalty and effort.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYTO YOU!On top of the near mandatory25 days holiday entitlement, many

businesses, including multidisciplinary

consultant Baily Garner, are allowing

employees a day off on their birthdays. Its

a great perk, but if your next birthday falls

on a Saturday youll probably have to wait

a couple of years to benefit from this one a

your contract is sadly unlikely to allow you

to take a weekday in lieu.You have to pity

those born on 29 February.

GADGETSIts a wonder any work gets done at

GIA Design, the multidisciplinaryconsultancy working in the firms south

London office is akin to going to an

amusement arcade every day. The dizzying

array of gadgets at its office tops our chart

of quirky perks. Theres a pool table,

computer games, massage chairs and, in

the womens loo, hair straighteners and

dryers.

The latter must be handy for getting ready

for the firms regular staff parties,

including the annual trip to an upmarket

hotel for the weekend-long Christmas bash.

And it seems to be having the desired

effect: GIAs staff numbers have quadrupled

to 120 over the past two years. FionaPattinson, the associate partner who heads

the firms HR department, says: Its a very

cool place to work. People often bring

friends round to show them the offices and

even stay hours after work to play.

But do staff join GIA for the career

opportunities or simply to play games for a

living? I have to admit, says Pattinson, I

do sometimes have to gauge whether people

want to join us for the right reasons.

BORROW OR BUY A BIKEIn an effort to win the battle to

be sustainable, Stride Treglown

makes it pay for staff to be green. Thisarchitect, which has offices across the

country, operates a cycle to work scheme,

whereby it provides staff with an interest

free loan, deducted from monthly pay

packets, to fund the purchase of a bike.

The initiative has proved so popular

that the firm has founded a lunchtime

bike club.

If that werent enough, staff that use

peddle power to get to meetings are

actually paid for each mile they cover.

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46 consultants salary guide

ENGINEERSThe survey shows that overthe past year there has been a definite ris

in demand for civil and structural engineers, as the services of senior

ranking players are becoming increasingly scarce.

As a result of the skills shortage, the sector has started

offering golden handshakes, something that had been

previously considered a perk of working fora

construction firm. These are increasingly common

in structural engineering and are expected to

become more prevalent in the years to come.

Mark Thomas, a senior manager at Hays, says:

Employers have started to respond to the skills

shortage by investing in graduate trainee schemes anby forging links with universities, but overall, not enough is bein

done. While some employers will consider non-cognates for le

technical roles, many are looking for more technically

qualified candidates.

Certain sectors are, however, becoming more receptive

to employing non-cognates. For example,

employers in the transport planning sect

are considering candidates with a math

or geography background.

Although London and the Home

Counties offer the highest salaries

in this sector, East Anglia is doing

more than most to raise the average

national income.

Central North Home South Home South- Wales West East East

London Counties Counties west Midlands Midlands Anglia

CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL CAD TECHNICIANS

CAD manager, 15 years experience,

AMICE or AMIStructE 43,000 36,000 35,000 35,000 34,000 36,000 35,000 36,000

Senior C AD team leader, 8 years CAD experience 35,000 28,000 33,000 33,000 30,000 34,000 29,000 32,500CAD technician, 10 years experience

+ 3 years CAD experience 30,000 26,000 27,000 28,000 27,500 28,000 26,000 29,000

CAD technician, 3 years experience

+ 1 year CAD experience 23,000 22,000 22,500 22,000 21,500 20,000 22,000 21,500

North- Yorkshire North- Scotland Northern National % rise

west east Ireland average

CAD manager, 15 years experience,

AMICE or AMIStructE 33,000 32,000 32,500 35,000 31,000 35,038 7.5%

Senior C AD team leader, 8 years CAD experience 3 0,000 32,000 31,000 32,000 27,500 31,500 7.4%


+ 3 years CAD experience 24,500 26,000 29,000 28,000 26,500 27,577 6.8%


+ 1 years CAD experience 20,000 19,500 20,000 22,000 20,000 21,346 7.2%

CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL CAD TECHNICIANSThis is one of the areas of main concern in the industry, as the

skills shortage is most acute. There is a particularly requirement for

CAD-fluent staff and, as a result, even those with limited

experience have had 7% salary rises in the last year.

David Wilkinson, seniormanager at Hays, says: 3D

visualisation is becoming increasingly sought after within

architectural practices as a stand-alone role. Some modern

practices are using quirky add-ons, such as supplying

fresh fruit and offering your birthday as a day off to

entice people.

More clients are specifically requesting good levels

of spoken and written English, owing to the increasein foreign workers applying for positions. Antipodeans

stand in good stead because their experience and

education is more easily transferable.

The West and East Midlands are shown to be in

particular need of experienced CAD experts

salaries in these regions are

beaten only in

the capital.

METHODOLOGYThe Hays Construction & Property/Building Salary Guide 2007 is basedon salaries of candidates placed within the past 12 months. It iscompiled over a four-week period by staff at offices across the UK.Hays Construction & Property, the specialist recruitment consultancy tthe built environment, consulted candidates and clients and used thespecialist knowledge of its recruitment consultants to compile thiscomprehensive survey. For further information visit www.hays.com/cp.

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consultants salary guide 4

Central North Home South Home South- Wales West East East

London Counties Counties west Midlands Midlands Anglia

ENGINEERS

Water engineerPrincipal engineer, 11 years experience 48,000 42,000 43,000 40,000 38,000 38,000 40,000 45,000

Senior engineer, 6 years experience 38,000 34,000 35,500 32,000 34,000 34,000 35,000 40,000

Engineer, 2 years or m ore experience 27,500 24,000 27,000 26,000 24,000 24,000 28,000 3,0000

Bridge engineerAssociate, 13 years experience 50,000 46,000 47,500 46,000 38,000 46,000 45,000 45,000


Engineer, 2 years experience 28,000 25,000 26,000 27,000 27,500 25,000 24,000 26,000

Geotechnical engineerPrincipal engineer, 11 years experience 51,000 45,000 45,000 39,000 41,500 41,000 40,000 45,000


Structural engineerAssociate, 15 years experience 55,000 52,000 53,500 50,000 42,000 47,000 40,000 52,000



Graduate engineer 24,000 22,000 23,000 20,000 22,000 20,000 21,000 25,000

Infrastructure engineerPrincipal, 11 years experience 52,000 45,000 45,000 43,000 38,000 39,000 40,000 43,000



Graduate engineer 25,000 22,000 22,000 20,000 21,000 20,000 19,000 22,000

North- Yorkshire North- Scotland Northern National % rise

west east Ireland average

Water engineerPrincipal engineer, 11 years experience 38,500 40,000 39,000 45,000 34,500 40,846 6.3%

Senior engineer, 6 years experience 33,000 32,000 32,000 35,000 28,000 34,038 5.1%

Engineer, 2 years experience 24,000 24,000 25,500 26,000 21500 25,500 6.8%

Bridge engineerAssociate, 13 years experience 46,000 44,000 43,500 46,000 39,000 44,769 4.3%Senior engineer, 6 years experience 34,000 36,000 34,500 38,000 31,000 35,038 3.8%

Engineer, 2 years experience 24,000 26,000 25,500 27,000 24,000 25,769 3.4%

Geotechnical engineerPrincipal engineer, 11 years experience 40,000 40,000 37,500 42,000 37,000 41,846 3.3%


Structural engineerAssociate, 15 years experience 48,000 44,000 45,500 47,000 39,000 47,308 5.8%



Graduate engineer 23,000 21,500 22,500 22,000 18,500 21,885 5.1%

Infrastructure engineerPrincipal, 11 years experience 42,000 44,000 43,500 47,000 36,500 43,077 6.4%Senior engineer, 5 years experience 33,500 34,000 36,000 36,000 29,000 34,846 5.6%


Graduate engineer 23,000 21500 22,000 22,000 17,000 21,423 5.6%

BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.05.2008

Documents

Salary Survey 08