The best decisions are informed by sound data, including benchmarking data that lets association leaders explore and compare metrics from across the sector. The ASAE Research Foundation’s recently released Associations Compensation and Benefits Study, 2020-2021 Edition, collected data from associations ranging in size, type, and geographic location to identify and compare compensation for 75 common positions across functional areas in associations.

Association executives can use benchmarking data to compare their operations to those of organizations with similar characteristics, and industry data can be useful in supporting a CEO’s case to the board for staff salaries and benefits. Even—perhaps especially—during uncertain times, applying data in planning and developing strategy is an important tool in the executive’s toolbox.

Salaries Trending Up

According to the new compensation report, most association positions saw at least a modest increase from the last time this data was collected, in 2018. Median CEO salaries rose 4.6 percent—from $201,800 to $211,097—between 2018 and 2020. This was a larger increase than was seen from 2016 to 2018, when CEO salaries increased a little less than 1 percent.

As in recent years, most CEO compensation scales were strongly linked to organizational budget. At organizations with an annual budget of $25 million or more, median base salary for CEOs was $500,000, compared to $102,000 for organizations with budgets under $1 million. This trend was consistent across senior-level staff positions.

The vast majority of positions, at both staff and executive levels, rose at least a modest amount since 2018, although there was significant variation. The five positions with the biggest jumps in salary were:             

• education assistant, 16 percent
• chief education/content officer, 15 percent
• research associate/analyst, 15.9 percent
• top information technology position, 16.6 percent
• data entry operator, 14.8 percent

Respondents said merit was the most frequently used factor in decisions about raises, with 51.7 percent naming job performance as the primary determinant for salary increases. The organization’s fiscal standing was the main consideration for salary increases in 24.7 percent of participating organizations.

An Uncertain Future

Data for the Associations Compensation and Benefits Study, 2020-2021, is based on information from organizations as of February 2020. Since then, the reverberating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are being felt everywhere. All membership organizations have been affected in some capacity, some severely.

In addition to ASAE’s benchmarking resources, the ASAE Research Foundation has been surveying association professionals on the current and anticipated impacts of COVID-19. Between May and June 2020, about 80 percent of those surveyed said they expected all levels of personnel to be impacted due to operational disruptions.

Determining how to allocate resources to keep the lights on and to retain valued staff while best serving members is among the many issues keeping association executives up at night. Benchmarking resources are valuable tools that leaders can use to gain support from their boards when making the case for retention of critical staff members.