As the economy improved and employers began to focus on growing business and investing in employees, many human resource (HR) positions commanded strong increases in pay levels this year. Salaries for HR roles in areas of rising importance -- specifically, compensation experts, recruiters, and trainers -- advanced significantly. These are the findings of a new survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting in conjunction with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Leading the way, median total cash compensation (base pay and annual incentive) for the position of top compensation and benefits executive escalated 16.0% to $176,200. Other positions showing sizeable pay increases over the past year include:

• Human resource specialist (up 15.1% to $51,800)
  
  
• Top organization development executive (up 13.1% to $174,100)
  
  
• Top HR management executive (based in a parent organization) with industrial relations responsibilities (up 12.1% to $240,000)
  
  
• Compensation and benefit analyst (up 9.3% to $55,700); and
  
  
• Trainer (up 9.0% to $51,100).

Overall, salaries for HR professionals are progressively improving along with annual bonuses and eligibility for incentive pay, including stock options. Among 10 of the most highly populated positions in the survey, representing some of the most common positions in HR, five showed pay increases greater than 5.0% and only two had increases of less than 3.0%. The two largest increases for this group were 9.0% for the position of trainer and 7.5% for top HR management executive.

These pay gains compare favorably to overall pay trends. According to Mercer, employers plan to grant average pay increases of 3.3% this year, the same as they gave in 2003.

Increases in HR salaries are in alignment with top HR challenges of managing benefit costs, attracting and retaining employees, and ensuring competitive reward programs. Solid increases in pay for positions in the areas of compensation, training, and recruiting reflect these top HR concerns. Some of the jobs within these functions showing large percentage increases in median cash compensation include compensation and benefits manager (up 5.8% to $90,500), training manager (up 6.1% to $83,000), and managerial/professional recruiter (up 10.4% to $65,900).

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