The Benefits Retail Execs Want That They're Not Getting

For this week's coverage of Total Retail's first annual Salary Benchmark Report, we identify the job benefits that retail executives — CEOs/presidents/founders; chief marketing officers; C-level execs other than CEOs and CMOs; and vice presidents — want but don't get. In addition to base salary and financial perks (e.g., stock options, profit sharing), benefits are critical when evaluating the attractiveness of a position. In fact, they're often the difference between acquiring and retaining top-notch talent or losing it to your competition. Last week we identified the benefits that retail executives are receiving; this week we get insights into what they want that they're not getting.

The Salary Benchmark Report was produced based upon the responses to an online survey that was sent to Total Retail’s audience over a two-week period last summer. Survey questions asked respondents about their salaries, benefits (financial and nonfinancial), opinions on their career paths and compensation fairness, as well as demographic information. The survey resulted in 660 responses; the C-suite respondents represented in the chart below accounted for 182 responses.

The chart below are responses to the following statement: Choose from the list of benefits below the ones you don’t have that you would like to have. (Click on the chart to get an expanded view.)

Here are some highlights from the data:

• On average, 24.5 percent of the C-level respondents said they want health insurance from their employer. This was the most frequently cited benefit that respondents didn't have but wanted. A full 38 percent of chief marketing officers said they wanted health insurance vs. just 10 percent of vice presidents that said likewise.
• Life insurance and the ability to work from home, both with an average of 24.25 percent of respondents, were the next most frequently cited benefits that respondents didn't have but wanted.
• Dental and vision insurance are the benefits most wanted by CEOs that do not already receive them.
• Thirty percent of vice presidents said they want matching funds for charity from their employers, the most of any segment of respondents.
• The C-level executive respondents to this survey either don't want — or more likely don't expect — to get relocation assistance from a company, as none said this is a job benefit they seek. However, those same respondents are most likely than the three other segments to want child care subsidy, with 20 percent indicating this as a benefit want.
• Twenty-five percent of chief marketing officers said they want extended maternity/paternity leave from their company, easily the most of the four segments.

For more of these valuable insights into retail executives’ salaries, download Total Retail’s Salary Benchmark Report today! This comprehensive research report can help you maximize your earning potential, as well as enable employers to benchmark their compensation packages against the rest of the marketplace — a critical component to acquiring and retaining valuable executive talent.