Viewpoint: Salary Survey says work smart, earn more

This marks the 31st year that Logistics Management (LM) has published the results of our Salary Survey, a research project conducted by Peerless Research Group (PRG) that serves as the fuel to our best-read editorial feature (page 24) and the foundation of the most downloaded report that PRG produces.

First and foremost, the editorial staff would like to thank the more than 700 LM readers who took the time to complete the e-mail survey back in February. Considering that nearly 80 percent of our respondents told us that the number of functional roles they fill has increased over the past 12 months, the fact that such a large sample was willing to take the time to respond validates the importance they place on this project.

In terms of the results, Executive Editor Patrick Burnson and PRG’s Research Director Aschenbrand tell us that logistics management professionals are on a pretty consistent roll over the past few years in terms of earnings and job satisfaction numbers.

Cutting right to the chase, we find that the median salary (including bonus and commission) ticked up by $1,000 to $95,000 in 2015, while the average salary shot up $5,835 to $118,880. It was refreshing to see that 60 percent of respondents report that they saw some level of salary increase over the past year—a 6 percent bump was the average.

“Statistically speaking, the fact that we saw growth in both the median and the average is a very good sign for logistics professionals,” says Aschenbrand. “There were solid increases in a number of different categories, and it appears that the momentum on the salary front will continue in readers’ favor for a while.”

And while we continue to see salary growth validated and back on track following some lean recession years, the numbers that reflect the “level of job satisfaction” are the ones I find to be the most impressive. This year, 94 percent of respondents are ether “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied” (52 percent) with their current careers.

What’s more, those folks who said they’re “very satisfied” pull in an average of $124,515 per year and tell us that the “feeling of accomplishment” (64 percent) and the “relationship with colleagues” (52 percent) are the top two factors that fuel their job satisfaction.

“I find it interesting that less than half of the ‘satisfied’ say that their salary is a factor in their appreciation for their work,” says Burnson. “These numbers indicate the growing importance that successful collaboration across the various silos of supply chain management now plays.”

Indeed, this year’s survey makes it clear that to be both successful and happy, our readers are applying more than just their knowledge of what it takes to move freight, they’re applying improved communication and cultural skills.

“Education and the ability to optimize the technology available to you are certainly key to working smarter,” adds Burnson. “But to be truly happy, you’re going to need to rely on your ability to communicate and successfully build those relationships across various departments. It’s those hard to measure intangibles that are starting to make more of a difference. ”