compensation Archives

Pay Equity in Community Management

November 14, 2023 By Jim Storer

Pay equity is the concept of compensating employees with similar job functions with equal pay, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, race, marital status or other status factors. When we last conducted specific compensation-focused research (in 2019) we DID NOT ask gender. [Insert grimace face emoji here.]

We do know, based on other research that there are a number of factors that contribute to the pay gap in across industries, including:

Women are less likely to be promoted to higher-paying positions. A 2019 study by Hired found that women were 18% less likely to be promoted to senior management positions than men.
Pay inequity impacts all races. According to U.S. Census Bureau in 2021. for every dollar paid to White, non-Latino men, White non-Latina women are paid 77 cents; Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women are paid 75 cents; Black women are paid 64 cents; Latina women are paid 54 cents and Native American women are paid 51 cents.
Non-binary professionals haven’t been represented. Until very recently, compensation was only analyzed in the gender binary, comparing men and women. Data on LGBTQ+ Americans has been at best limited and at worst nonexistent.

Help us start a global conversation on community compensation that represents all people.

We know talking about money is taboo. But we want to change that.

By sharing completely anonymized salary data for different roles, regions, and types of organizations we can start a powerful movement in the community industry toward more transparency and equitable pay.

Here are five reasons you should contribute to the 2023 Community Salary Survey:

1. To help ensure fair pay. Accurate and comprehensive industry-specific salary research helps to benchmark salaries which can help to ensure that employees are being paid fairly. This information is important for both employers and employees, as it can help to prevent pay discrimination and ensure that employees are compensated appropriately for their skills and experience.

2. To help improve your own salary negotiation. The final research (which is always free) will help you you can gain valuable insights into what your peers are earning. This information can be used to strengthen your own salary negotiation position and help you to achieve a fair and competitive salary. We need contributions from all over the world to make this a truly comprehensive data set.

3. To help inform your career planning. The final Community Salary research may also be helpful when thinking about your future in community. By understanding the salary ranges for community professionals in different roles and industries, you can make more informed decisions about your career path and set realistic salary expectations.

4. To help the industry as a whole. The more people who participate in the 2023 Community Salary research, the more accurate and comprehensive the data will be. This benefits everyone in the industry, and helps us move toward a world where transparency and pay equity are standard.

5. To make a difference. By contributing to this community salary research, you can help to make a positive impact on the lives of others. Participating helps ensure that people are paid fairly and that they have the information they need to make informed decisions about their careers.

Bonus number 6: it literally takes two minutes. Really, just two minutes! Learn more and start the survey.

Community management salaries are on the rise

January 23, 2017 By Ted McEnroe

Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day, everyone! We enjoy CMAD as a chance to recognize the hard work thousands of community professionals do every day. But thank yous don’t pay the bills. That’s why this year for CMAD, we wanted to see how salaries for community professionals were trending.

So we seized on a unique opportunity.

In November, we reached out to a group of community pros for whom we already had a lot of data – the 403 respondents to our Community Careers and Compensation 2015 survey. We asked them for five minutes of their time, to update us on their salary and career path. It was a challenge – people who have moved around change email addresses, others decline to be contacted, and others don’t take part. When all was said and done, though, we had gotten year-over-year updates from more than 110 community professionals. The great news is captured in our new infographic.

Salaries for experienced community managers are rising. Sharply.

Quality community professionals are in high demand, and that means higher salaries. Salaries and bonuses for our survey group jumped an average of almost 10 percent between 2015 and 2016. Some folks boosted their income by changing jobs or roles. Others got raises by proving their value. The bottom line was this – the average community manager compensation in our sample approached $80,000. Community strategists and community directors are regularly earning over $100,000. Those numbers won’t hold true for everyone in every industry, but the broad trend of rising salaries was clear and pretty consistent across use cases and community types.

The average community manager compensation in our sample approached $80,000. Community strategists and community directors are regularly earning over $100,000.

Community pros are a mobile bunch.

One way to boost your salary is to change jobs, and community professionals live that fact. One in four survey respondents changed organizations from 2015 to 2016. Some were merged or acquired into new roles, but most made the leap on their own.

And they’re moving UP.

Community managers, in particular, aren’t just moving around – they’re moving up into management. About 20% of our respondents who defined themselves as community managers in 2015 had risen to a strategist or director role in 2016. And across the board, our sample was reporting to higher levels of their organizations. Forty-five percent of the overall sample said they reported to a Vice President, Senior VP or C-level manager, up from 36 percent in 2015.

Other high-level trends:

There are a few other trends that were in evidence, but not strong enough to be statistically sound. They’re all on my list for the next full Community Careers and Compensation survey!

Geography: Our coastal respondents, particularly those on the West Coast, saw the highest salary spikes, which could suggest high demand. We saw positive salary trends in every region, though.
Experience/Community Size: There was no evident correlation between salary change and years of experience or community size.
Industry: High tech and software community pros got the biggest bump in our sample, but neither the difference or the sample size was enough for us to send people running into the tech sector for a big raise.

Enjoy and share the infographic – and happy Community Manager Appreciation Day! You deserve it.

Download the infographic.

Looking for more resources to help you in your community career?

How Do I Find a Community Manager Job? – Community management is a profession of relationships – use your network to discover your next role. Most community jobs are not currently found through traditional job listings.

50 Skills of Community Management – The Community Skills Framework represents the five skill families and top 50 skills that are required to build a successful community program.

How To Win That Community Manager Job – As organizations begin to increasingly recognize and reward the value of good community management the market for jobs has begun to heat up. While at any given moment there are literally dozens of interesting community jobs open around the country (and truly, the world) the competition for these roles is getting stiffer. How can you set yourself apart?

8 Tips for Being a Successful Remote Worker – With so many work-from-home/remote community jobs out there, we’ve shared some helpful tips to succeed in this environment. It’s not as easy and glamorous as you’d think!
For TheCR Network Eyes Only: Community Careers and Development Group – Are you a member of TheCR Network? Check out this group inside TheCR Network where members share job postings, hiring advice and best practices for landing the community jobs of your dreams!

Throwback Thursday – Getting a Community Management Job

October 20, 2016 By Jim Storer

By Shannon Abram, The Community Roundtable

Job hunting can always be stressful. Add to that the stress of finding a job in an emerging field like community management and your stress can double. No fear! We’ve compiled best practices for finding and getting a community job. We’re also highlighting the Community Skills Framework. The Community Skills Framework showcases the 50 skills essential to community management. You can use the Framework to access your strengths and identify places for growth!

This week’s #throwbackthursday focuses on the best practices for getting a community management job.

How Do I Find a Community Manager Job? – Community management is a profession of relationships – use your network to discover your next role. Most community jobs are not currently found through traditional job listings.

50 Skills of Community Management – The Community Skills Framework represents the five skill families and top 50 skills that are required to build a successful community program.

How To Win That Community Manager Job – As organizations begin to increasingly recognize and reward the value of good community management the market for jobs has begun to heat up. While at any given moment there are literally dozens of interesting community jobs open around the country (and truly, the world) the competition for these roles is getting stiffer. How can you set yourself apart?
For TheCR Network Eyes Only: Community Careers and Development Group – Are you a member of TheCR Network? Check out this group inside TheCR Network where members share job postings, hiring advice and best practices for landing the community jobs of your dreams!