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Raises for restaurant CEOs outpace frontline workers’ in 2003

11 June 2004

DALLAS—The 2004 People Report Corporate Compensation and Benefits Survey showed that raises given restaurant industry employees last year were smaller than those fetched in 2002.

According to a news release, the survey drew its data from 58 People Report member restaurant concepts, which include some of the industry’s largest chains.

The survey found that 84 percent of corporate employees got a 4.5 percent raise, while 73 percent of restaurant managers received 4.9 percent raises. The most significant swing in compensation was observed at the unit level, where only 47 percent of employees got a pay hike in 2003, compared to 58 percent in 2002.

Interestingly, during this same period, employee turnover dropped to an overall all-time low of 101 percent.

Not surprisingly, top executives fared better than all, garnering average raises of 6 percent. CEO average base compensation increased slightly to $415,832, while nearly three-fourths of CEOs received incentive bonuses averaging $346,875, a significant jump over 2002 bonuses.

"The continued and escalating pressures of increases in health insurance and benefits costs, coupled with new challenges to provide effective and motivating long-term executive compensation, are keeping industry operating and people officers alike up at night," said People Report CEO Joni Thomas Doolin.

For the past eight years, People Report has produced the Compensation and Benefits Survey, an in-depth analysis and comparison of corporate compensation and benefits practices.

Subjects covered in the report include, performance review processes, corporate turnover, bonus programs, vacation programs, medical plans, 401k/pension/stock-option plans, severance pay plans and effectiveness ratings of current plans.

For more information about People Report contact Melissa Papaleo at 972-364-0490.