How Has the Recession Affected Safety Coordinators’ Salaries & Budgets?

Given the recession most of the world endured in 2009—and is still suffering through—you’d naturally assume that safety coordinators’ salaries and budgets were slashed. But exactly what toll did the recession take on the safety profession in Canada and the US?. OHS PROFESSIONAL BENCHMARK STUDY The first place we can look for answers on the impact of the recession is from our own study. Last year, the Insider collected data for an OHS Professionals Benchmarking Survey. 436 safety coordinators from both Canada and the US responded to our call for information. Here are the results: Size of Organization

• The average Canadian safety coordinator works for an organization that employs between 101-500 people
• The average American safety coordinator works for an organization that employs between 101-500 people

Salaries

• The average Canadian safety coordinator salary: $85K (CAD)
• The average US safety coordinator salary: $92K (CAD)
• Median salary: between $50-75K (CAD)

Size of Budget

• The average Canadian Safety budget is less than $100k
• The average American Safety budget is also less than $100k

Change in Budget

• The average Canadian Safety budget has either increased or stayed the same in both the last year and last 5 years
• The average American Safety budget has stayed the same in both the last year and last 5 years

NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL SALARY SURVEY The second source of insight on the recession’s impact comes from the National Safety Council, a US-based safety organization. NSC sent out its annual salary survey to 5,400 subscribers and got a 12% response rate. Here are the results of its Salary Survey 2009: Size of Organization Most respondents (28%) worked for companies at locations with between 100-299 employees; 20% worked at companies that employed 1,000 or more workers at all locations. Salaries Most respondents (17%) earn between $70,000 and $79,000 (USD). Bonuses and raises took the biggest hit last year:

• Raises: 46.4% of respondents didn’t get a raise in 2009 and of those who did get a raise, most saw a mere 3% increase; and
• Bonuses: About 50% got a bonus in 2009 (compared to 60% in 2008).

Change in Budget The results show that, due to the recession, companies certainly weren’t increasing their safety budgets but huge cuts didn’t seem to be the norm either:

• 32% of respondents said that they had smaller budgets in 2009; and
• 48% said their budgets stayed the same.

INSIDER SOURCE Safety + Health, Nov. 2009, pp. 42-46, National Safety Council, www.nsc.org