Meeting News - June 16, 2008 - (Page 36) State of the Industry: MN Exclusive Research Who are today’s meeting planners, and how do they work? By Irene Korn goals,” said Cooper-Zobott. Another surprise: Planners under 30 are more likely to have a bonus arrangement in place (34%) followed by planners above 51 (31%). Young planners, however, are also slightly more likely to have an organization’s performance caveat (37%) than their seniors (35%). But money, as they say, is not everything. The survey discovered that 48 percent of 324 respondents declared they were “very satisfied” with their jobs— although corporate planners (54%) and independent planners (47%) were happier than association planWhich of the following best describes your job title? ners (44%). On the other hand, more association 33.5% Association planner planners and independent planners were “somewhat satisfied” (46%) than corCorporate planner/ 33.6% porate planners (39%). executive assistant Alice Parker, 71, execuEvent planner/ tive secretary of the independent/ 19.8% Columbia Basin Developthird-party planner ment League, in Royal City, WA, said meeting planning 13.1% Other constitutes about 50 percent of her work; she freely 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% acknowledged that her salary does not “cover the Source: MeetingNews survey of 337 meeting planners time, energy, and other hile MeetingNews’ survey of salary and career yielded plenty of surprises, one of them was expectedly not the ratio of women to men. Women planners continue to outnumber men, with 81 percent of female respondents compared to only 19 percent of males. Also unsurprising is the mean age of planners: 44, with 81 percent of the respondents coming in somewhere between 31 and 60 years old. Only 10 percent are under 30 and another 9 percent are over 60. When it comes to salary, there’s as wide a range as there are planning responsibilities and titles. The mean salary for corporate planners who responded to the survey is $72,000, while the mean for association planners is under $59,000. Only 5 percent bring home more than $125,000, while another 6 percent earn under $30,000. Thirty-nine percent earn between $40,000 and $59,900 a year. It may surprise planners to learn, however, that the salary ceiling is firmly in place. Fifty-five percent of women planners earn between $40,000 and $69,900, compared with 34 percent of men. Meanwhile, 37 percent of male planners earn between $70,000 and $99,000, compared with 18 percent of women planners. Between $100,00 and $124,900, the genders are relatively equal; at the highest level, 15 percent of men reported earning more than $125,000, compared to 2.7 percent of women. W The MN survey also took a look at other compensation. For example, 29 percent of planners reported receiving an annual bonus—while another 34 percent said that a bonus “depends on the organization’s performance.” Beth Cooper-Zobott, director of conference services at Equity Residential in Chicago, is one of those who receive a bonus based on a combination of factors:“I receive about 75 percent of my bonus based on achieving a series of goals set on an annual basis, while the other 25 percent is based on the company achieving its annual 48% of planners are very satisfied with their jobs, and 44% are somewhat satisfied. “Hello, My Name Is ” costs I put into the organization, but it is a volunteer organization, and I consider the additional time and costs as my volunteer contribution.” Julie Sibthorp has flexible hours and a 30-hour workweek in her position as meeting and event planner for Salt Lake City-based CHG Healthcare Services. She typically works Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., including work-at-home Tuesdays. But her flexible arrangement allows her to change the remote day when necessary. “I came from the supplier side,” she said, citing her former position as vice president of meetings and events for a DMC. “But I have a young family—two children and another one on the way—and working 60 hours a week is no longer feasible. One of the reasons I took this position was because they were willing to create this arrangement for me, which provides more work-life balance while allowing me to do what I love.” She started with CHG a little over a year ago, shortly after acquiring her Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) title, which was a calculated career move. Cooper-Zobott also decided to acquire education in meeting planning after she got a taste of the position at a former company.“As an assistant at a French company in the U.S., I had helped the Paris office with European trade shows, primarily because I was the only one in the U.S. office who spoke French,” she said. “Eventually, they created a position for me as meeting planner, but I wanted to learn more.” To combine her practical experience with the business side, she attended Roosevelt University in Chicago and acquired a master’s degree in hospitality management, with a focus on meetings, convention, and exhibition management. “I felt a master’s would give me the knowledge I needed and be more valuable than, say, a CMP if I ever decided to leave the industry,” she said. Cooper-Zobott’s education isn’t exactly typical, though; only 15 percent of the planners in the MN survey have a degree in a field related to meeting planning. More common are those like Donna Wiegel, assistant director of the ELCA Youth Gathering in Chicago, who reported that she had no formal training. “I have a BA in history and a master’s in women’s studies,” said Wiegel. “They helped prepare me for working in the real world, but most of what I do continued on page 38 www.meetingnews.com 36 MeetingNews June 16, 2008 http://www.mimegasite.com/mimegasite/research/index.jsp http://www.meetingnews.com
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