Meat+Poultry - October 2020 - 39

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EARNING
STATEMENTS
Taking the temperature of salaries, benefits and
job satisfaction in the face of a global pandemic
BY J O E L C R E WS | j c r e w s @ s o s l a n d.c o m

Oleksandr - stock.adobe.com

D

uring an era when gainful employment is far from a
given, MEAT+POULTRY's survey of meat and poultry
processing company executives' salaries, job benefits
and satisfaction, which is commissioned once every five
years, provides insight into the state of the industry and
the degree to which the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
is affecting the careers of upper and mid-level managers
in multiple positions. The results of the survey, which was
conducted by Kansas City, Mo.-based Cypress Research
Associates and in collaboration with the North American
Meat Institute, were based on answers to an online
questionnaire and reflect 488 executives' responses. This
year's findings reflect the impact of working in the industry
with the backdrop of a persistent global pandemic. When
asked about the biggest challenges respondents face on the
job, a telling 58% reported COVID-19-related job stresses.
The effects of the pandemic are evident or probable in many
other findings in the 2020 study as well.
The purpose of the survey was to compile data on:
x salary and bonuses for executive and mid-level
management positions at both small processing
companies (those with annual sales of less than $100
million) and large companies (those with annual sales in
excess of $100 million);
x employee benefits; and
x job satisfaction.
Among the 270 respondents from large companies, those
representing companies with annual sales of more than
$500 million comprised the lion's share of responses (37%).
An additional 218 respondents represented processing
companies with annual sales of less than $100 million (45%).
As was the case in previous years' surveys, respondents
represented both processing and slaughtering operations

handling a variety of species, the most prevalent being pork,
followed by beef and poultry. The majority of respondents
were male (73%), between the ages of 45 and 64 (58%), with
at least a bachelor's degree (76%) and an average of 23 years
of industry experience.

BENEFIT BOOST
Noteworthy in this year's survey, especially with the
lingering pandemic, under the heading of benefits was
the increase in healthcare coverage offered by smaller
companies compared to the 2015 survey. Sixty-two percent
of respondents indicated their healthcare benefits were paid
in part by their company compared to 36% in 2015, while 25%
reported that their healthcare coverage was covered in full
by their employer, up from 16% in 2015. Large companies'
coverage didn't change drastically from 2015 to 2020, with
84% of respondents indicating their companies paid part of
their individual coverage (compared to 86% in 2015) and 11%
reporting their individual coverage was paid in full by their
employer (versus 10% in 2015).
Healthcare benefit coverage for employees' families
ticked up slightly among small companies according to the
2020 study, with 52% of respondents reporting the coverage
was paid partially by their company compared to 50% in
2015 and 16% reporting coverage was paid in full by their
employer (versus 15% in 2015). Respondents reporting that
their small companies did not offer healthcare for their
families dropped from 29% in 2015 to just 18% this year.
Significant increases in other benefits included 401(k)
contributions among 79% of respondents, an increase from
63% in 2015 and both short- and long-term disability reported
by 59% and 55% of respondents respectively (up from 48%
and 41%).
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