Compensation report profiles pay of produce employees

Executives saw a 2.9 percent increase in salary for the current fiscal year, according to the 2013 Produce Industry Compensation and Benefits Report compiled by the United Fresh Produce Association. The 130-page research report presents data collected earlier this year through a confidential survey of produce industry companies. The report is designed to assist produce industry employers in understanding critical compensation benchmarks.

The 2013 report, which measures employee compensation and benefit data for more than 30 full-time positions, has been updated to include three new positions: regional sales manager, marketing manager, and manager of food safety/quality assurance. Additional enhancements in this year’s report include an expanded section on employee benefit practices and detailed descriptions for job positions.

Prepared by research firm Industry Insights, the report allows produce companies to directly compare their salaries and benefits for full-time positions across multiple business sectors, as well as by ownership type (family, private, public), type of business, produce sales volume, number of full-time employees and geography.

The data in this year’s report represents a wide range of the produce industry with regard to company size, with nearly 26 percent of responses coming from companies with between 100 and 249 full time employees, and 31 percent coming from companies with fewer than 50 full time employees. Also represented is a large range of produce sales volumes, including nearly 26 percent of responses from companies doing $100-300 million in annual volume, and almost 17 percent from companies doing less than $15 million in sales annually.

Features in the 2013 compensation report include:

• Adjustments to salary structure during the current fiscal year and anticipated adjustments for the coming year
• Base salary, bonus, and total compensation figures for 32 full-time positions
• Performance structure for bonus programs
• Expanded data on insurance benefits and retirement plans
• Non-salary compensation for employees, including stocks, vehicle allowance, cell phones, health clubs and more
• Tracking of average employee turnover percentages

“This year’s expanded report gives a detailed look at compensation and benefits trends across multiple segments of the industry,” said Victoria Backer, United Fresh senior vice president of member services, foundation. “It also reflects a number of updates based on direct feedback from our members. The information in this report will not only help our industry members understand the broad industry landscape, but it also provides a comparative analysis of similar companies to help members ensure their competitiveness in the marketplace.”

The report is available for purchase here. Companies that submitted data are eligible to receive a fully customized report for their company at a deeply discounted rate of $195. Non-survey participants can order a survey report for $495 for United Fresh members and $695 for non-members.