Survey: Manufacturing companies find value in time-off programs

RP news wires
Tags: talent management

Even as a very slow and modest upturn in the U.S. economy is becoming evident, manufacturing companies across the country continue to search for ways to reward employees, despite the low pay increase budgets and pay freezes seen throughout the industry. The newly released 2010 Compensation Data Manufacturing survey results show that exempt employees with less than one year of service earn an average of 3.7 vacation days, while non-exempt employees earn three days.

More than 80 percent of the manufacturing companies offering paid vacation to employees use years of service to determine the number of days an employee can accrue. Exempt employees with five years of service average 13.2 days of vacation, compared to those with 10 years of service, 16.4 days. Employees with 20 years of service have 20.8 days of vacation, according to the newly released results. Both exempt and non-exempt employees are granted an average of three personal days per year. Exempt employees are granted six sick days per year, while non-exempt employees receive five days.

"In retaining top employees, many organizations are finding enhancements to time off programs may be a viable alternative to granting pay increases," said Amy Kaminski, director of marketing for Compdata Surveys, the nation's leading pay and benefit survey data provider. "Until effects of the economic recovery can be felt, it will remain important for companies to be creative and make the most of their compensation budgets."

While almost 40 percent of manufacturers allow carryover of vacation days from one year to the next, over 90 percent place a limit on the number of days that can be carried over. Compensation Data Manufacturing 2010 shows both exempt and non-exempt employees are allowed to carry over up to 10.5 days of vacation.

About the survey
Compensation Data Manufacturing 2010 contains data on over 100 industry-specific job titles and more than 300 benchmark titles ranging from entry-level to top executives. Data was collected from nearly 1,100 manufacturing employers across the country. The results provide a comprehensive summary of pay data, benefit information and pay practices with an effective date of February 1, 2010.

Compdata Surveys is the nation's leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. Thousands of U.S. organizations provide data each year ensuring the reliability of our results. Compdata Surveys has been providing comprehensive data at affordable prices to organizations from coast to coast since 1988. For further information about their compensation and benefits surveys, contact Amy Kaminski at 800-300-9570.