Strong hiring intentions and employee caution post the Brexit vote mean those prepared to move jobs could be richly rewarded - as may firms prepared to be aggressive in sourcing new hires. David Blackman reports on Hays鈥 latest consultants鈥 salary survey

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The salary boom is over 鈥 but consultants still did quite nicely last year. That鈥檚 the key message of the Hays annual consultants鈥 salary survey guide, published here exclusively.

This shows that consultants鈥 average salaries rose by 2.8% in 2016. While a slowdown compared with the previous year鈥檚 figure of 4%, this was still better than the average pay rise for all employees (1.8%).

Well above-inflation pay increases remain the norm in pockets of the consultancy world. Exactly one-fifth of consultant employers awarded salary increases of 5% or above, with about the same proportion (21%) planning to do so again this year, according to Hays. On top of that, half of consultant employees reported their bonus was higher last year than it had been 2015.

So who are the biggest winners and what is the outlook for this year given the uncertainty after the Brexit vote?

The survey shows that professional quantity surveyors enjoyed the biggest salary increases, netting an average of 5% at director level. But structural engineers and CAD technicians did almost as well, with some roles benefiting from average pay increases of a little more than 4%. However, architects and interior designers dipped out. Partners, directors and associates in the two disciplines netted a barely above-inflation increase of 1%.

The continued rise in consulting salaries reflects an optimistic mood among employers after the EU referendum, according to Richard Gelder, director at Hays Construction & Property. He says: 鈥淪alaries for consultants have risen for the fifth consecutive year, as the industry鈥檚 confidence remains steady alongside a demand for skilled staff.鈥

Ann Bentley, global chairman of Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB), says Hays鈥 findings tally with the picture at her firm, where the average pay rise was 3% last year.

She believes that the pay picture is returning to equilibrium now that the post-recession catch up in salaries has largely washed through.

But that is not the case everywhere, she says, noting that pay pressures are most intense among recently qualified staff in London.

Sometimes the senior person in the interview isn鈥檛 being paid much more than the person they are interviewing

Richard Claxton, Pellings

鈥淭he biggest problem is salary disparity between London and the rest of the country.

We are having to pay some fairly stupendous salaries to 25- to 35-year-olds in London. They could be at least 拢5,000-拢10,000 more than we are paying in the rest of the country.鈥

She doesn鈥檛 blame the staff members, she says, given the high cost of living in the capital.

Richard Claxton, chairman of Bromley-based consultant Pellings, says that escalating pay rises means pay scales have had to be re-examined.

鈥淪ometimes the senior person in the interview isn鈥檛 being paid much more than the person they are interviewing.鈥

Pay pressure on profits

Escalating pay inevitably puts a pressure on profits, says James Bryce, the recently appointed director of workforce planning at Arcadis. 鈥淭he challenge is the margins that can be achieved at those salary rates.鈥

And the pressure on employers to increase salaries is not waning. Only 54% of consulting employees are satisfied with their pay, according to Hays. Just over two-thirds (64%) expect a salary rise over the next 12 months, while 34% plucked up the courage to ask for one this year.

The good news for these employees is that the door is likely to be ajar when they go knocking for a rise, despite the uncertainty resulting from last June鈥檚 vote to withdraw from the EU.

According to a survey carried out by Hays in the autumn, 67% of employers stated they would still increase pay, while 31% would maintain it at the same level. Only 2% of construction consultancies said they had plans to decrease pay following the referendum.

These findings reflect a continuing bullishness about the construction market. The same survey shows that 64% of firms predict a rise in activity during 2017, with only 7% forecasting that the market will shrink.

RLB鈥檚 Bentley says that there was an overall dip in activity immediately following last June鈥檚 vote. 鈥淓verybody was suicidal, particularly in the residential market.鈥 However, the level of enquiries has been 鈥渂uoyant鈥 since then, she adds, especially from overseas investors.

As well as strong interest from Chinese clients, she has spotted a new breed of South African investors who have seen their currency, the rand, appreciate while the pound has dropped in value since the referendum. 鈥淚t鈥檚 noticeable because we had never worked for a South African client until 18 months ago,鈥 she says.

Paul Newing, WSP鈥檚 UK head of human resources, agrees that the market has weathered the EU vote. 鈥淭here was a blip just after Brexit, particularly in the South-east but that was offset by growth in the North.鈥 WSP is planning to recruit 250 to 300 graduates and apprentices over the next year.

Career progression fears

One of the most worrying findings in Hays鈥 annual consultants鈥 salary survey centres on progression.Just under two-thirds (62%) of consultants reported 鈥渘o scope for career progression鈥 within their organisation, which is 12 percentage points more than the UK average for all employees.

This pessimism about the lack of opportunities probably helps to explain why the same proportion of employees are open to considering a job move within the coming year.

Hays鈥 Richard Gelder says employers need to work harder at identifying career paths within their organisations. He says: 鈥淓mployers are advised to address pay priorities in this instance and look to increase desired benefits such as flexible working, increased holiday and above-statutory contributory pension.鈥

Being in tune with employees鈥 aspirations is important too, says Gleeds鈥 Stuart Senior, giving as an example a member of staff who has just transferred within the practice from London to New York. 鈥淭hat came out of a dialogue about the types of career path benefits that could accrue from the growth of our business,鈥 he says.

Training can also keep staff engaged and growth can open up opportunities for progression within firms, says Pellings鈥 Richard Claxton. RLB鈥檚 Ann Bentley says the next few years could see an opening up of opportunities within consultancy firms as senior staff hit retirement age. She says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 rare to meet a young director of a company and most senior staff in construction are well over 50, so in the next 10 years there should be massive room for movement.鈥

Strong hiring intentions

And across the board, hiring intentions remain strong. Bentley expects RLB to match this year鈥檚 10% growth in headcount, while Bryce says Arcadis鈥 staff numbers could be up to 15% greater by the end of the year.

Stuart Senior, the board director at Gleeds responsible for people, says the firm is targeting an increase of 16% to 17% across the UK in 2017.

However luring people away may not be as easy as it was 12 months ago. Brexit uncertainty seems to be weighing on would be movers鈥 minds. Senior says: 鈥淧eople aren鈥檛 moving quite so readily and haven鈥檛 been for a time.鈥

Newing agrees that employees are a bit more reticent about jumping ship. 鈥淭hey are looking for a good reason to move,鈥 he says.

Against this backdrop, it is hardly surprising that poaching is continuing. Bentley says the concept of company loyalty is nowhere near as deeply entrenched as it was when she started in the industry.

鈥淔ive or six years ago, we would not have overtly approached staff in other organisations. We do now, to be honest, but then our staff get approached all the time.鈥

And it is not just rival consultancies that have made approaches, she says, noting that contractors have been responsible for some of the most aggressive poaching.

Developers are getting in on the act too, says Gleeds鈥 Senior. 鈥淭he people that leave for big rises tend to go to clients,鈥 he says, noting that Gleeds recently had to say goodbye to a staff member who was offered a 60% salary increase.

鈥淲e won鈥檛 compete because it destabilises the salary structure of the business. Hopefully everybody disengages on good relations and hopefully that person will become a client in due course,鈥 he says.

Arcadis鈥 Bryce understands why those reaching the mid-point of their careers may be attracted by an in-house role. 鈥淚f you are in the mid-30s with a couple of young kids, you will chase the pay cheque.鈥

But he insists that consultancies are still able to offer richer professional opportunities: 鈥淵ou can get a 20% salary increase but a smaller company can鈥檛 offer you the same experience or career development that an organisation like ours can.鈥

The temptation to stray is fuelled by recruitment agencies, says Pellings鈥 Claxton, who says employees鈥 expectations are stoked by phone calls from headhunters dangling tasty salary offers. 鈥淚t creates constant mobility and agencies only make money if people move.鈥

However, one of the main reasons that consultants are so vulnerable remains the underlying shortage of skilled people in the industry. When asked to identify the top challenges in recruiting staff over the next 12 months, consultant employers reported that a shortage of suitable applications and applicants鈥 unrealistic salary requirements were the two chief headaches.

Just over two-thirds (65%) of employers said that operations and technical roles were the hardest to fill.

In a bid to address any skills shortages, nearly half (43%) of employers said they would hire temporary or contract workers to address immediate work priorities.

Temporary solutions

鈥淭he solutions indicate a positive outlook towards 鈥榮uper-temps鈥, highly skilled professionals who manage projects in an interim, as the consultant sector struggles to fill operations, managerial and leadership roles,鈥 says Hays鈥 Gelder.

And the new wave of mega-projects, notably HS2 and the Hinkley nuclear plant, looks set to spread skills shortages. Coming down the line in Birmingham, literally, is HS2, which is already having an impact on the local construction jobs market, says Bentley 鈥 and demand at Hinkley has affected skills availability in the South-west.

鈥淭he number of quantity surveyors they want at Hinkley is eye watering: running into the hundreds. We鈥檝e already seen the impact in Bristol, with people wanting to go freelance to double their salary.鈥

Relief may be at hand though, as increasing numbers of graduates emerge from construction courses, she adds.

Course numbers at Birmingham City University and the University of Reading, both of which she lectures at, have expanded back to pre-financial crisis levels on the back of resurgent confidence in the construction market.

Bentley says there are 鈥渄efinitely鈥 more graduates to pick from now. 鈥淲e had a reasonable choice this year, whereas five years ago there was none.鈥

And while getting youngsters into the business won鈥檛 provide immediate relief for skills gaps, it should pay off down the line, says Gelder.

鈥淭his will provide the opportunity for junior or middle managers to move up the career ladder quicker if they can demonstrate and improve upon the skills in demand.鈥

But with skills shortages likely to be even further exacerbated by the UK鈥檚 withdrawal from the EU, the worry is that tomorrow鈥檚 talent will arrive too late to meet today鈥檚 needs.

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Professional quantity surveyors

RegionPartner/directorAssociateSenior surveyorNewly qualified surveyorGraduate surveyorClaims and dispute resolutionProject manager
Average change 2016-2017 5% 4% 4% 4% 4% 1% 3%
East Midlands 拢65,000 拢50,000 拢45,000 拢35,000 拢23,500 拢44,500 拢45,000
East of England 拢64,000 拢50,000 拢45,000 拢35,000 拢22,000 拢50,000 拢42,000
London 拢92,500 拢70,000 拢57,000 拢41,000 拢27,000 拢75,000 拢52,000
North-east 拢55,000 拢48,000 拢45,000 拢30,000 拢21,000 拢38,000 拢40,000
North-west 拢75,000 拢53,000 拢45,000 拢35,000 拢24,000 拢51,000 拢44,000
Northern Ireland 拢65,000 拢48,500 拢38,000 拢32,000 拢20,000 拢45,000 拢38,000
Scotland 拢72,000 拢65,000 拢54,000 拢36,500 拢22,000 拢45,000 拢45,000
South-east England 拢83,500 拢65,000 拢52,000 拢40,000 拢25,000 拢48,000 拢53,000
South-west England 拢63,000 拢50,000 拢44,000 拢33,000 拢24,000 拢45,000 拢42,000
Wales 拢60,000 拢46,500 拢39,500 拢31,500 拢21,000 拢45,000 拢45,000
West Midlands 拢65,000 拢54,000 拢45,000 拢31,500 拢23,500 拢42,500 拢43,000
Yorkshire and Humber 拢65,000 拢50,000 拢45,000 拢35,000 拢22,000 拢53,000 拢45,000
National average 拢68,750 拢54,167 拢46,208 拢34,625 拢22,917 拢48,500 拢44,500

好色先生TV surveyors

RegionPartner/directorAssociateSenior surveyorNewly qualified building surveyorGraduate building surveyorMaintenance surveyor
Average change 2016-2017 3% 5% 4% 4% 3% 2%
East Midlands 拢60,000 拢50,000 拢43,000 拢35,000 拢22,000 拢30,000
East of England 拢65,000 拢48,000 拢40,000 拢32,000 拢20,000 拢30,000
London 拢92,500 拢70,000 拢55,000 拢40,000 拢27,000 拢37,000
North-east 拢50,000 拢43,000 拢43,000 拢30,000 拢21,000 拢32,000
North-west 拢71,000 拢48,000 拢41,000 拢36,000 拢23,000 拢29,000
Northern Ireland 拢50,000 拢40,000 拢32,000 拢28,000 拢18,500 拢27,500
Scotland 拢70,000 拢58,000 拢50,000 拢35,000 拢22,000 拢28,000
South-east England 拢75,000 拢60,000 拢50,000 拢35,000 拢22,000 拢35,000
South-west England 拢66,000 拢49,000 拢39,000 拢32,000 拢23,000 拢31,000
Wales 拢60,000 拢47,500 拢42,000 拢30,000 拢22,000 拢30,000
West Midlands 拢63,500 拢50,000 拢41,000 拢32,000 拢22,500 拢30,500
Yorkshire and Humber 拢65,000 拢47,000 拢42,000 拢34,000 拢22,000 拢27,000
National average 拢65,667 拢50,875 拢43,167 拢33,250 拢22,083 拢30,583

Architects

RegionPartner/directorAssociateArchitectArchitectural assistant, Part IIArchitectural assistant, Part I
Average change 2016-2017 1% 1% 2% 2% 2%
East Midlands 拢58,000 拢44,000 拢40,000 拢25,000 拢19,500
East of England 拢53,000 拢43,000 拢40,000 拢22,000 拢18,000
London 拢85,000 拢64,500 拢45,000 拢30,500 拢21,500
North-east 拢50,000 拢40,000 拢31,000 拢20,000 拢17,000
North-west 拢65,000 拢45,000 拢36,000 拢25,000 拢18,000
Northern Ireland 拢50,000 拢42,000 拢33,000 拢22,000 拢16,000
Scotland 拢55,000 拢45,000 拢36,000 拢23,000 拢16,000
South-east England 拢65,000 拢50,000 拢42,000 拢28,000 拢21,500
South-west England 拢51,000 拢42,000 拢38,000 拢26,000 拢16,000
Wales 拢50,000 拢39,000 拢34,000 拢25,000 拢17,000
West Midlands 拢58,000 拢44,000 拢38,000 拢24,000 拢17,000
Yorkshire and Humber 拢58,000 拢45,000 拢32,000 拢22,000 拢17,500
National average 拢58,167 拢45,292 拢37,083 拢24,375 拢17,917

Interior designers

RegionSenior interior designerInterior designer
Average change 2016-2017 3% 1%
East Midlands 拢34,000 拢28,000
East of England 拢35,000 拢30,000
London 拢46,000 拢38,000
North-east 拢27,500 拢25,000
North-west 拢34,000 拢27,000
Northern Ireland 拢27,500 拢23,000
Scotland 拢33,000 拢27,000
South-east England 拢38,000 拢32,000
South-west England 拢30,000 拢26,000
Wales 拢31,000 拢26,000
West Midlands 拢38,500 拢28,000
Yorkshire and Humber 拢28,500 拢25,000
National average 拢33,583 拢27,917

Architectural CAD technicians

RegionSenior CAD technicianCAD technicianTechnician
Average change 2016-2017 5% 3% 2%
East Midlands 拢36,000 拢28,000 拢29,000
East of England 拢33,000 拢25,000 拢30,500
London 拢40,000 拢30,000 拢33,000
North-east 拢28,500 拢24,000 拢28,000
North-west 拢36,000 拢26,000 拢30,000
Northern Ireland 拢29,000 拢22,500 拢23,000
Scotland 拢33,000 拢21,500 拢25,000
South-east England 拢38,000 拢28,000 拢33,000
South-west England 拢34,000 拢26,000 拢28,000
Wales 拢32,000 拢23,000 拢24,000
West Midlands 拢34,000 拢27,000 拢28,000
Yorkshire and Humber 拢30,000 拢24,000 拢29,000
National average 拢33,625 拢25,417 拢28,375

Civil CAD technicians

RegionCAD managerSenior CAD team leaderCAD technician
Average change 2016-2017 2% 4% 4%
East Midlands 拢37,000 拢35,000 拢32,000
East of England 拢39,000 拢37,000 拢29,000
London 拢53,750 拢46,000 拢37,000
North-east 拢35,000 拢31,000 拢22,000
North-west 拢39,000 拢37,000 拢29,000
Northern Ireland 拢32,000 拢29,000 拢26,000
Scotland 拢39,000 拢39,000 拢30,000
South-east England 拢38,000 拢38,000 拢30,000
South-west England 拢38,000 拢36,000 拢27,000
Wales 拢36,000 拢30,000 拢25,000
West Midlands 拢37,000 拢39,000 拢30,000
Yorkshire and Humber 拢36,000 拢31,000 拢26,000
National average 拢38,313 拢35,667 拢28,583

Structural engineers

RegionAssociateSenior engineerEngineerGraduate engineer
Average change 2016-2017 3% 4% 2% 2%
East Midlands 拢55,000 拢46,000 拢39,000 拢23,000
East of England 拢52,000 拢44,000 拢36,000 拢25,000
London 拢65,000 拢52,000 拢39,500 拢28,500
North-east 拢49,000 拢40,000 拢32,000 拢22,000
North-west 拢52,000 拢41,000 拢34,000 拢24,000
Northern Ireland 拢45,000 拢36,000 拢28,500 拢23,000
Scotland 拢52,000 拢41,000 拢32,000 拢25,000
South-east England 拢54,000 拢45,000 拢35,000 拢25,000
South-west England 拢55,000 拢40,000 拢32,000 拢22,000
Wales 拢50,000 拢40,000 拢32,000 拢22,000
West Midlands 拢58,000 拢45,000 拢36,000 拢25,000
Yorkshire and Humber 拢48,000 拢38,500 拢30,000 拢22,500
National average 拢52,917 拢42,375 拢33,833 拢23,917

Environmental/geotechnical engineers

RegionAssociateSenior engineerEngineerGraduate engineer
Average change 2016-2017 4% 2% 4% 2%
East Midlands 拢50,000 拢37,000 拢31,000 拢23,000
East of England 拢50,000 拢43,000 拢32,000 拢25,000
London 拢62,500 拢46,000 拢37,500 拢29,500
North-east 拢43,000 拢36,000 拢30,000 拢24,000
North-west 拢51,000 拢40,000 拢31,000 拢26,000
Northern Ireland 拢45,000 拢36,000 拢30,000 拢23,000
Scotland 拢46,000 拢38,000 拢28,500 拢22,000
South-east England 拢52,000 拢40,000 拢33,500 拢25,000
South-west England 拢51,500 拢36,000 拢28,000 拢22,000
Wales 拢43,000 拢36,500 拢30,500 拢23,000
West Midlands 拢48,000 拢42,000 拢32,000 拢24,000
Yorkshire and Humber 拢41,000 拢35,500 拢28,000 拢22,500
National average 拢48,583 拢38,833 拢31,000 拢24,083

Methodology

Hays surveyed over 188 employees and 84 employers from consulting firms in spring 2016.

A separate salary guide survey was carried out in September 2016, after the EU referendum. Salary data has been compiled using information gathered during 2016 from Hays offices across the UK, it is based on job listings, job offers and candidate registrations.