Total average compensation in 2008 increased by almost 7 percent to $97,383 for the National Business Travel Association's direct members, according to a yearly poll. The respondents' responsibilities generally were unchanged from findings in last year's NBTA Foundation report, with more than 90 percent again saying they handle negotiations with travel vendors, strategic development of corporate travel programs and administration of those programs. The most noticeable difference in duties was in developing green travel policies and practices, a task claimed by 41 percent this year versus 30 percent last year.
Issued Thursday, the 2008 report was based on 279 NBTA member responses to a poll conducted from mid-September to late October. The average respondent was a 47-year old female manager with 15.9 years of experience in travel management--the last 7.2 at her current post. She supervised an average of four employees from her organization and four outsourced employees, and still got paid less than her male counterparts.
The median annual domestic travel and entertainment budget among represented organizations was $15 million, with a median international T&E budget of $6 million. The average travel department had a seven-member staff managing an average of 4,347 domestic and 1,884 international travelers.
Similar to the 2007 findings, 25 percent of respondents this year said they reported to their organization's finance department, followed by purchasing (23 percent), administration (13 percent) and human resources (12 percent). Most of the remainder reported to strategic sourcing, operations, supply chain management, facilities/support services or other departments.
In addition to negotiating deals and building travel programs, the vast majority of respondents were responsible for implementing travel policy and relevant technologies (each 89 percent), managing travel agencies relationships (84 percent) and benchmarking travel operations (82 percent)--all comparable to last year.
Total average compensation for all respondents, including salary, bonus and commission, increased to $97,383 from $91,059. Accounting for 60 percent of the survey base, "managers" saw average compensation inch up 1.5 percent to $89,656. Directors' average total compensation jumped 12.6 percent to $139,472, while coordinators and specialists saw theirs increase less than 2 percent to $59,786.
Compensation generally was higher for those working at larger companies with bigger T&E budgets, and for those who are older, more experienced and recipients of advanced academic degrees or professional designations. "Respondents working for companies with annual sales of less than $100 million made 33 percent less on average than those working for companies with more than $5 billion in sales," according to the report.
Meanwhile, 24 percent of those surveyed said they received company stock as part of their compensation, and one-third were offered a pension plan by their employer.
Other employer-provided benefits included professional association dues (97 percent), convention attendance (95 percent), continuing education (92 percent), professional publications (92 percent), mileage reimbursement (91 percent) and tuition reimbursement (90 percent). More than 80 percent of those polled said their employers offered "all of the major types of insurance (health, dental, short-term disability, long-term disability, vision, term life and accidental death/travel)," generally requiring joint employer and employee contribution. Most represented organizations did not provide child/day care, cars or a monthly automobile allowance.
For another year, male respondents on average were paid more than female colleagues, with average annual compensation higher by $19,000. Last year, the disparity was roughly $30,000.
Comparable to last year's results, 63 percent of all respondents were either "satisfied or very satisfied with their compensation" and 14 percent conveyed "dissatisfaction.
More than a quarter said they hold a Certified Corporate Travel Executive (CCTE) professional designation. About 12 percent said they are certified as a Corporate Travel Expert (CTE).