AVIXA [1], the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, has released its 2017 Compensation and Benefits Survey, providing a comprehensive report of the pro-AV job market in the United States and Canada.
The report examines the welfare of pro-AV employment by providing insight on compensation trends, commission programs, Certified Technology Specialist™ (CTS®) incentive, and employee benefits. The survey presents extensive compensation reporting for 36 job titles based on firm size, geographic region, geographic division, state, and country (U.S. and Canada).
Sean Wargo, Senior Director of Market Intelligence, AVIXA told us “This resource presents valuable insight for companies and individuals in the pro-AV industry. Firms can evaluate their offerings for employees against comparable firms, which will help them be competitive in attracting top talent. Likewise, AV professionals can make informed career decisions by evaluating different employer offerings.”
Among the highlights from the 2017 Compensation and Benefits Survey:
- Compensation Trend: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), compensation growth for AV technicians from 2008 to 2016 increased at an average annual rate of 1.7 percent, while the annual wage growth for all jobs in the U.S. was 2.7 percent during the same period.
- CTS Incentive: On average, half of pro-AV firms offer a higher base salary to CTS holders. Fifty-four percent of firms offer higher base pay to basic CTS holders and slightly more than half offer higher base pay to CTS-I and CTS-D holders with 52 percent and 51 percent, respectively. Signing bonuses are rarely offered as an incentive to CTS holders.
- Commission Programs: Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of AV firms offer commission of some kind to their sales force. There are many commission programs to incentivize the business development staff at pro-AV firms, such as actual gross margin, gross sales price, total project revenue, and estimated gross margin.
- Employee Benefits: Larger firms provide their employees with a more robust package than small firms. For example, half of smaller firms with less than 10 employees offered medical coverage, while almost all the large firms with 25 or more workers covered employees and dependents with both medical and dental. In addition, three-quarters (74 percent) of firms offer some form of retirement plan.
The 2017 Compensation and Benefits Survey is available for purchase, with discounts for AVIXA members. For more information click here [2].