2021 Work & Pay Report: Payspective
2021 Work & Pay Report: Payspective
2021 Work & Pay Report: Payspective
2021
WORK & PAY REPORT
UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT
OF COVID-19 PAY
BENCHMARKING
COVID-19
IMPACT
GENDER
PAY GAP
WORKING
HOURS
1. FO U N DERS' FOR E W O R D
2. A B O UT US AND O U R D A T A S ET
3. S T A YING VS M O V I N G O N
4. P A Y PROGRESS I O N
5. P A Y B Y FUNCTION
6. PA Y B REAKDOWN
7. 2 0 2 0 P A Y RISES
8. W O R KING HOUR S
9. F R E ELANCE CO N S U L T I N G
10. F R E ELANCE PR O J E C T S
13. P A Y EXPECTAT I O N S
14. T H E INDUSTRY S H O W D O W N
16-17. IM P ACT OF CO V I D - 1 9
18-19. D E E P DIVE: UK
FOUNDERS' FOREWORD
Movemeon is the world's leading channel for hiring strategic and commercial
professionals. As such, we're used to getting questions about compensation but
also working conditions and job satisfaction from candidates and employers.
This year, we noticed that a lot of questions revolved around the special
situation caused by the pandemic.
Employers
"What's a reasonable package for this role?" and "How has COVID changed the
balance of supply and demand in the job market?"
Candidates
"How much can I expect for this job?" and "What industries have the best pay
(per hour)?"
For the report at hand, we've analysed 35,000+ data points from the Movemeon
and Payspective community. This report sets out the key findings for both
employers and candidates and covers everything from pay to working hours to
job satisfaction, as well as the impact of the pandemic on all of the above.
The information in this report is proprietary. Please do not reproduce it without the permission of Movemeon.
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 2
Movemeon works with 4,000+ clients and has a member base of 50,000+ candidates. As
such, we are working with a uniquely large dataset, consisting of data collected through
our global website as well as surveys of our community.
Overall, the insights in this report are based on 35,000 data points.
CANDIDATE
DEMOGRAPHICS
4,000+ 50,000+ Directors 28%
Managers 41%
CLIENTS CANDIDATES
Associates 27%
Senior Analysts 4%
At the same time, we provide the insights professionals need to make informed career and
life decisions.
STAYING VS MOVING ON
MOVEMEON COMMUNITY DATA
Industry
Consulting
£250
212K
£200
193K
£150
112K
£100 95K
110K
68K
80K
£50 57K
£0
Analyst Associate Manager Director/VP
£300
255K
£200
182K
172K
146K
121K
100K
£100 74K 87K
98K
53K
73K
47K
£0
Analyst Associate Manager Director/VP
PAY PROGRESSION
BY INDUSTRY
150,000 150,000
200,000
100,000 100,000
100,000
50,000 50,000
K411
K211
K371
K001
K061
K791
K491
K712
K972
K39
K97
K77
0 0 0
su e
St y
p
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St y
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nc
nc
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PE
PE
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PE
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C
on
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PER HOUR
55£
37£
78£
18£
13£
53£
25£
54£
44£
£0 £0 £0
su te
St y
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St y
PE p
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www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 5
PAY BY FUNCTION
The salary data collected across all roles shared on Movemeon suggests
that pay increases at the fastest rate between different levels of seniority
for Business Development roles. Meanwhile, Operations roles show the
least potential for pay progression.
Strategy
General Management
PMO/Transformation
Corporate/Bus.Dev
Operations
75,000
50,000
25,000 125,000
K06£
K06£
K16£
K65£
K35£
0
Associate
100,000
12
m
Ite
80,000 75,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
25,000
20,000
K411£
K801£
K101£
K421£
K28£
K87£
K17£
K17£
K77£
K37£
0 0
Manager
Director / VP
PAY BREAKDOWN
COMPANY TYPE
Across all company types, non-cash compensation (bonus & equity)
becomes more important as seniority increases.
Startups offer the highest level of equity at most seniority levels, while
high bonuses mean that the share of base salaries as a percentage of total
compensation is lowest in PE/VC companies.
Basic
Bonus
Pension
Equity
100% 2%
2% 7% 3% 3% 2% 8% 6% 18% 6% 14% 17%
5%
4% 10% 12% 3% 2% 3%
3% 16% 4%
11% 12% 1% 6% 26%
90% 14% 3%
2% 2%
13%
7% 22%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
%38
%67
%78
%48
%85
%28
%17
%68
%97
%78
%37
%66
30%
DIRECTOR/VP
DIRECTOR/VP
DIRECTOR/VP
DIRECTOR/VP
ASSOCIATE
ASSOCIATE
ASSOCIATE
ASSOCIATE
20%
MANAGER
MANAGER
MANAGER
MANAGER
10%
Associate
Manager
Director
Share of professionals who received a pay rise - 2020
20% S h a r e o f p r o f e s s i o n a20
l s w h o r e c e i v e d a p a y 20
rise - 2019 20
15% 15 15 15
10% 10 10 10
5% 5 5 5
%21
%31
%01
%02
%41
%01
%01
%01
%11
%7
%9
%6
0% 0 0 0
Corporate Consultancy Startup PE/VC
Corporate 16%
Consultancy 19%
Startup 18%
PE/VC 7%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 8
WORKING HOURS
HOURS BY INDUSTRY AND SENIORITY
Wh i l e w o r k i n g h o u r s i n c r e a s e w i t h s e n i o r i t y i n S t a r t u p a n d C o r p o r a t e , t h e y
decrease over time in Consulting and PE/VC.
Associate
Manager
75H Director 75 75 75
50H 50 50 50
25H 25 25 25
H54
H84
H74
H25
H75
H55
H45
H84
H36
H45
H15
H45
0H 0 0 0
Corporate Consultancy Startup PE/VC
2019
2020
Share of professionals who received a pay rise
40 40 40 40 40
20 20 20 20 20
H94
H94
H55
H55
H84
H05
H25
H65
H15
H35
0 0 0 0 0
Corporate Consultancy Startup PE/VC Overall
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 9
FREELANCE CONSULTING
DAY RATES
A t y pical freela n c e o p p o r t u n i t y r e c e i v e s a p p l i c a t i o n s w i t h a wide range of
d a y rates. While e m p l o y e r s c ho o s e f r e e l a n c e r s c l o s e r t o t h e lower end of
th e spectrum a t A s s o c i a t e l e v e l , t h e y t e n d t o g o f o r t h e h i g h er end of the
s p e c trum at Dire c t o r l e v e l , m ea n i n g t h a t p r i c e s e n s i t i v i t y i s high for junior
free lancers but l o w f o r s e n i o r f r e e l a n c e r s .
1500
£1375
£1125 £1335
1100
£850
700 £704
£398
300 £450
£350
£300
Associate Manager Manager/Director
PROJECT SOURCE
Other 10%
Overall, repeat business and business Approaching employers 7%
from online platforms make up about
Peer referrals 4%
half of the project opportunities that
freelancers get. 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Click here to view our 2020 Freelance & Interim Consulting report
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 10
FREELANCE PROJECTS
12 months+
13% <2 months
TYPICAL 22%
PROJECT LENGTH
6-12 months
17%
A b o ut half of al l f r e e l a n c e p r oj e c t s
a r e between 2- 6 m o n t h s l o n g a n d
o v e r 10% are lon g - t e r m p r o j e ct s t h a t
ru n for more tha n a y e a r .
2-6 months
48%
COVID IMPACT
W h i l e m o s t fr e e l a n c e r s d i d n o t s e e a
change in project length due to COVID-
No change
19, there is a significant share who Longer
63%
8%
experienced shorter projects.
Cost Cutting
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON 11%
PROJECT TYPE Transformation
32%
O v e r 1/3 of prof e s s i o n a l s h a v e Interim roles
21%
e x p e rienced a ch a n g e i n p r o j ec t
ty p e . These are t h e p r o j e c t s t ha t
h a v e become mo r e c o m m o n . Project Management
8%
Other
28%
Click here to view our 2020 Freelance & Interim Consulting report
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 11
We asked our candidates to rate their overall happiness with their jobs
on a scale from 1 to 10. Just like last year, freelancers and alumni were
significantly happier than consultants.
Overall happiness
01
6.1 6.8 6.9 10
7.0
IMPACT OF WORKING HOURS 6.8
6.6 6.6
6.6 6.5
We also tested two long-standing
6.4
questions with our candidates - how
6.2
i m p o r t a n t i s m o n e y f o r ha p p i n e s s a n d
6.0
what's the influence of working hours? 6.0
5.8
Ov e r a l l h a p p i n e s s i s c o n s i s t e n t u p u n t i l 5.6
5.6
H07-06
H06-05
5.4
H07+
H04<
5.0
7.4
7.0
IMPACT OF COMPENSATION
6.8 6.8 6.8
6.6
When it comes to compensation, we don't 6.5
6.4
s e e a s a t u r a t i o n e f f e c t - t o t h e c o n t ra r y ,
professionals seem to get quite a kick out 6.2
6.0
of making more than half a million. 6.0 5.9
5.8
5.8
K005-052£
5.6
K521-57£
K57-05£
+K005£
5.4
K04-£
WHO'S HAPPIEST?
HAPPINESS WITH COMPENSATION & HOURS
So who's happiest? Freelancers and alumni are a bit happier with their
compensation than consultants and a lot happier with their working hours, which
drives their overall happiness advantage.
£200k
Average compensation
60H
K161
K041
H65
H05
H34
£0k 0H
Consultants Alumni Freelance Consultants Alumni Freelance
COVID IMPACT
PAY EXPECTATIONS
EMPLOYERS VS CANDIDATES
-4%
-42% -36%
40 40 -22% 40 40 40
20 20 20 20 -1% 20
%43
%23
%12
%72
%72
%71
%62
%61
%9
%9
0 0 0 0 0
Analyst Associate Manager VP/Director Overall
EXPECTATIONS BY INDUSTRY
3%
PE/VC
8%
Consulting
14% 23%
Corporates Startup
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 14
K061£
K411£
K211£
K371£
K791£
K491£
K792£
K972£
100
K39£
K97£
K77£
50K 50
0K 0 0
Associate Manager VP/Director
WORKING HOURS
75H 75H 75H
H75
H84
H36
H84
H55
H74
H45
H15
H45
H25
H45
0H 0H 0H
Associate Manager VP/Director
HAPPINESS
10 10 10
7.5 7.5 7.5
5 5 5
2.5 2.5 2.5
8.6
1.6
3.6
0.8
6.6
0.6
5.6
0.7
6.6
8.6
0.7
6.7
0 0 0
Associate Manager VP/Director
81£
22£
54£
43£
72£
82£
94£
65£
35£
36£
68£
£10 £10
£0 £0 £0
Associate Manager VP/Director
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 15
14K 9% 5% 81K
22K GAP
GAP
23%
K17
9K 21K
K19
GAP
K96
59K
K78
K931
9% 5% K911 23%
TOTAL GAP TOTAL GAP TOTAL GAP
6% 1% 12%
FROM BONUS FROM BONUS FROM BONUS
3% 4% 11%
M F FROM BASE PAY M F FROM BASE PAY M F FROM BASE PAY
Associate Manager VP/Director
INDUSTRY SENIORITY
30% 30%
20% 20%
10% 10%
%92
%52
%03
%42
%42
%62
%62
%12
0% 0%
y
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P
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C
OPINION OF EMPLOYERS D
Wh i l e a t M a n a g e r a n d D i r e c t o r l e v e l ~ 2 0 % h a v e c h a n g e d t h e i r o p i n i o n t o
the better and ~20% to the worse, 32% of Analysts now have a worse
opinion of their employers and only 4% a better one.
40%
Worse
21% 30%
20%
10%
%23
%82
%22
%51
Better
No change
16%
63% 0%
t
er
P
ys
at
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ag
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D
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 17
COVID IMPACT
Around the world, most professionals are working in a remote setting, New
Zealand - which has managed to get the pandemic under control very
swiftly - being the exception. In terms of seniority, the most senior roles
are most likely to still work from the office whereas virtually all junior
professionals work from home.
BY COUNTRY BY SENIORITY
100% 100%
75% 75%
50% 50%
25% 25%
%87
%29
%58
%38
%72
%09
%19
%59
%29
%29
%49
%98
%28
0% 0%
lia
ce
nd
es
er
P
ys
an
an
or
at
/V
iu
do
ag
ra
an
at
rla
al
ap
ci
lg
al
or
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St
ng
an
An
Fr
so
e
Be
er
Ze
ng
ct
Au
itz
Ki
M
As
G
ire
Si
te
Sw
ew
D
ni
te
N
U
ni
U
DEEP-DIVE: UK
1 COVID-19 put a heavy strain on professionals with 53% reporting a
negative impact on mental health
VP/Director
Associate
Manager
K831£
K021£
K401£
K831£
50 50,000 £100K
K981£
K661£
K441£
K682£
K19£
K57£
K57£
K57£
0 0 £0K
su te
St y
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PE
PE
C por
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PE
or
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C
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C
C
PER HOUR
47H
58H
50 38H 65H 60 56H 125
53H 47H
40 48H 100 50H
53H
40 53H
50H
30 75
VP/Director
Associate
Corporate
20 50
Manager
20 Consultancy
411£
Startup
10 25
34£
75£
44£
34£
15£
58£
96£
56£
44£
13£
43£
PE/VC
Hours
0 0 0
%23
%42
%12
%71
%61
%02
%71
%6
%9
0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Analyst Associate Manager VP/Director Overall
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 19 (2/2)
DEEP-DIVE: UK
PROFESSIONALS WHO RECEIVED A PAY RISE
CORPORATE 57%
CONSULTANCY 56%
15%
STARTUP 45%
PE/VC 80%
0 Approaching employers 7%
2-6 months
Peer referrals 4%
e
er
or
46%
at
ag
ct
ci
ire
an
so
COVID IMPACT
IMPACT OF COVID
SHARE OF COMPANIES THAT RECEIVED STATE/GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT
CORPORATE 17%
CONSULTANCY 15%
STARTUP 10%
0%
PE/VC 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
30% 30%
Positive
7%
20% 20%
No impact
40% 10% 10%
%02
%22
%52
%61
%72
%71
%81
%81
Negative
0% 0%
53%
y
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www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 20 (1/2)
DEEP-DIVE: FRANCE
1 Half of all consultancies and startups have received government
financial support linked to the pandemic - this compares to an
international average of about 20%
2 The differential between expected and offered salaries is half as big
i n F r a n c e a s i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y ( 9 % v s . 1 7 % ), w h i c h p o i n t s t o a
particularly tight labour market in which candidates have had to adjust
their expectations to the reality of the pandemic
ABSOLUTE
100,000 125,000 500,000
100,000 400,000
75,000
VP/Director
75,000 300,000
Associate
50,000
Manager
ATAD ON
ATAD ON
50,000 200,000
K021€
K211€
K091€
K781€
K134€
K971€
K99€
K69€
25,000
K98€
K06€
25,000 100,000
0 0 0
su te
St y
p
su te
St y
p
C
su e
nc
tu
/V
nc
a
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PE
PE
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C
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C
C
62€
902€
50 50 50 Startup
28€
96€
87€
74€
84€
54€
34€
PE/VC
0 0 0 Hours
10%
10% 10% 10% 10%
%32
%23
%32
%12
%81
%61
%71
%9
%9
0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Analyst Associate Manager VP/Director Overall
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 21 (2/2)
DEEP-DIVE: FRANCE
PROFESSIONALS WHO RECEIVED A PAY RISE
CORPORATE 61%
CONSULTANCY 62%
STARTUP 32%
STARTUP 100%
9%
6141€
500 Agencies
715€
Other
%9
er
or
at
ct
ci
ire
an
so
D
M
As
COVID IMPACT
IMPACT OF COVID
SHARE OF COMPANIES THAT RECEIVED STATE/GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT
CORPORATE 15%
CONSULTANCY 55%
STARTUP 47%
0%
PE/VC 0% 20% 40% 60%
40% 40%
Positive
3% 30% 30%
20% 20%
Negative
No impact 10% 10%
44%
%71
%72
%13
%53
%92
%33
%53
%02
53%
0% 0%
y
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www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 22 (1/2)
DEEP-DIVE: DACH
1 With an overall happiness score of 5.9, consultants in DACH are
pointedly less satisfied than their international peers
2 Only 31% of professionals in DACH have felt COVID-19 had a
n e g a t i v e i m p a c t o n t h e i r m e n t a l h e a l t h, c o m p a r e d t o a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l
average of 47%
3 Freelancers find more than 1/3 of their projects through online
platforms like Movemeon
VP/Director
75,000
Associate
ATAD ON
ATAD ON
Manager
50,000
K911€
K441€
K441€
K501€
K252€
K822€
K242€
K062€
50,000 100,000
K69€
K69€
25,000
0 0 0
su e
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PER HOUR
55H 44H
50 75 52H
150 45H
57H 59H 52H
40 47H 55H 51H
50 100
VP/Director
30
Associate
Corporate
Manager
20 Consultancy
25 50
001€
001€
401€
821€
Startup
63€
84€
16€
45€
05€
84€
10 PE/VC
Hours
0 0 0
%23
%12
%02
%71
%91
%71
%61
%51
%9
0% 0 0% 0% 0%
Analyst Associate Manager VP/Director Overall
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 23 (2/2)
DEEP-DIVE: DACH
PROFESSIONALS WHO RECEIVED A PAY RISE
CORPORATE 71%
CONSULTANCY 58%
STARTUP 58%
PE/VC 100%
Agencies
19%
007,1€
Other
888€
500
%9
Approaching employers
0 Peer referrals 2-6 months
e
er
or
ag
ct
ci
ire
an
so
D
M
As
COVID IMPACT
IMPACT OF COVID
SHARE OF COMPANIES THAT RECEIVED STATE/GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT
CORPORATE 20%
CONSULTANCY 17%
STARTUP 16%
0%
PE/VC 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
40% 40%
Positive
6%
30% 30%
%82
%13
%81
%52
%43
%31
63%
0% 0%
y
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www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 24 (1/2)
DEEP-DIVE: AUSTRALIA/NZ
1 More than half of the professionals working for consultancies or
startups have specified that they are or will be looking for a new job
because of COVID-19 - this holds true across all levels of seniority
2 While full-time consultants report higher happiness scores than the
international average (6.9 vs. 6.1), freelance consultants are
significantly less happy than their international peers (6.1 vs. 6.9)
ABSOLUTE
200 250,000 500,000
VP/Director
150,000 300,000
Associate
K412 DUA
K112 DUA
K481 DUA
100
K851 DUA
K951 DUA
ATAD ON
K393 DUA
K254 DUA
ATAD ON
Manager
100,000
452 DUA
200,000
50 50,000 100,000
0 0 0
on rate
C
on rate
on rate
p
nc
tu
nc
tu
/V
nc
tu
ar
ar
lta
lta
PE
ar
po
po
lta
po
St
St
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su
su
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or
su
or
C
C
C
C
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PER HOUR
150 53H
Associate
40 50
522 DUA
001 DUA
871 DUA
Corporate
99 DUA
Manager
87 DUA
100
76 DUA
77 DUA
Consultancy
20
501
25 50 Startup
Hours
AUD
0 0 0
%12
%52
%23
%71
%41
%61
%8
%7
%9
0% 0 0% 0% 0%
Analyst Associate Manager VP/Director Overall
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 25 (2/2)
DEEP-DIVE: AUSTRALIA/NZ
PROFESSIONALS WHO RECEIVED A PAY RISE
CORPORATE 44%
CONSULTANCY 56%
STARTUP 83%
FREELANCE
PROJECT SOURCES TYPICAL LENGTH
COVID IMPACT
IMPACT OF COVID
SHARE OF COMPANIES THAT RECEIVED STATE/GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT
CORPORATE 12%
CONSULTANCY 26%
STARTUP 67%
75% 50%
Positive
5% 40%
50%
30%
%74
%25
%23
%83
%93
0% 0%
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St
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on
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C
www.movemeon.com www.payspective.com PAGE 26
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