In the first ever study of its kind, WorldatWork has released the results of the Census of the Total Rewards Profession, a survey of over 3,800 compensation, benefits and human resource professionals in the U.S. As the name of the study implies, the goal of the Census was to create a comprehensive baseline of data about the spectrum of individuals that make up the total rewards profession - primarily, their educational and work experience backgrounds, and the knowledge and skills they need to do their jobs now and in the future.

The Total Rewards Census found that a majority of total rewards professionals are highly educated - many hold business degrees and MBAs - certified and experienced. In addition, they average 13 years of experience in the total rewards fields. Many have diverse work backgrounds, with previous career posts in finance, customer service and operations.

"The individuals who today make up what we call the total rewards professions - compensation, benefits, work-life, and recognition professionals - are highly skilled and experienced, said Anne Ruddy, CCP, president of WorldatWork. "It is gratifying to know that the people charged with the important task of attracting, motivating and retaining talent in the workplace are in a great position to help deliver on that expectation.

"Our survey data shows that in order to reach the pinnacle of the profession, practitioners need a combination of hard data and soft skills, explained Ruddy. "A grounding in the compensation functional area delivers the knowledge and experience to analyze and use data to drive decisions concerning capital outlay. However, once you get to a top-level position, both hard data and soft skills are necessary for talent management.

KEY FINDINGS ABOUT PROFESSIONALS WORKING IN TOTAL REWARDS:

- 93% possess a bachelor's degree or higher.

- 40% of those with master's degrees possess MBA degrees. Of those with undergraduate degrees, the most frequent degree is in business, business management or business administration.

- Over 60% have at least one professional designation such as Certified Compensation Professional or CCP (granted by WorldatWork).

- The top three skills essential to success in this field are: strategic and analytic skills, business acumen, and business partnering skills.

- Most total rewards practitioners are either mid-level (44%) or senior-level (33%) in their careers.

- Individuals in this field are quite experienced; they possess an average of 21 years in the workforce and an average of 13 years in total rewards professions.

- The average age of a professional in this field is 43 years, although the range is 21 to 69 years old. In addition, the survey found that a majority of the respondents are fully engaged in their occupations - very few survey participants report wanting to leave human resources. On average, they work 46 to 48 hours each week and enjoy access to a flexible work schedule. Annual base pay for a compensation director is $125,000; HR director is $121,000 and benefits director is $114,000. Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting.


About the Study
The Census of the Total Rewards Profession was conducted in November and December of 2006. WorldatWork invited over 38,000 individuals to participate in a web-based survey and received 3,863 responses.


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