Salaries of construction and public works executives on the rise according to the 21st edition of the Expectra barometer

• Driven by inflation, executive salaries increase by +4,1% in 2023, which represents an increase of +14,8% over 5 years
• The overall analysis of the salary of executives and ETAMs (employees, technicians and supervisors) indicates an increase of +3,6% in one year, i.e. an increase of +13,1% in 5 years
• The IT and telecoms sector benefits from the highest salary increase: +4,4% on average nationally
• In the region, it is in PACA that the salary is experiencing the strongest dynamics with an average increase of +4,2%
• 34% of executives consider that their remuneration does not match their workload
• 57% of executives have considered resigning since the start of the year
• Faced with simmering disenchantment, companies must activate levers other than salary to attract and retain talent

The recovery already identified in 2022 is confirmed. Executive salaries are experiencing good momentum in 2023, showing an increase of +4,1%. But is their morale still high? If 94% of them say they love their job and 78% feel wanted on the job market, it is clear that, since the start of the year, nearly 6 out of 10 executives (57%) have thought about embarking on a new professional adventure. Some are even considering a radical change: almost a quarter (22%) dream of entrepreneurship. The reversal of the balance of power between companies and talents is real and the latter no longer hesitate to express their frustrations. Fortunately, companies have the tools to improve their employer brand. Please note: certain sectors and certain professions take particular care of executives. This is the case for the IT and telecoms sector which recorded an average salary increase of +4,4%. As for the position of information systems administrator (IS), it recorded the highest salary increase of the year with +9,5%.

An average increase in salaries which hides strong disparities

Depending on the sectors, regions and professions, the average increase in salaries hides, once again this year, strong disparities.

Salaries in the construction and public works sector, driven in particular by national energy renovation plans or by major projects such as the Paris 2024 Games, are nevertheless positioned last in the ranking with an average increase of only +2,6%, remaining on the same level as 2022. Employers are torn between increasing salaries and jeopardizing the profitability of the company. Nevertheless, projects abound and lead the design and site supervision professions to experience great dynamics. Certain profiles are particularly sought after and stand out. This is the case of the construction engineer who sees his remuneration increase by +6%.

The IT and telecoms sector takes first place in the ranking with an average increase in salaries of +4,4% over 2023. Over 5 years, it also ranks first with an increase of +14% in salaries (vs. 13,1% for the national average). It should be noted that there are numerous requests from companies, encouraging employees in the sector to be more mobile. Between digital transformation, issues around cybersecurity, reflection on digital sobriety... the scope of the sector is growing more and more and the missions are expanding.

In terms of functions, the disparity in the evolution of remuneration is also strong. Unsurprisingly, the IT sector is well represented in the top 10 professions in progress in 2023. We also note the breakthrough in accounting and financial functions: these professions, in strong evolution with the digitalization of processes, have been experiencing an upgrade since 2022. of their salary scales, although there are disparities between categories of employers (accounting firm, corporate finance, etc.).

The median salary of executives stands at 50.690 euros in 2023. Over the last 5 years, the salary of executives has seen an overall increase of +14,8%.

Regional breakdown: bonus in the South for salary increases!

On the territorial side, it's a crossover compared to last year. The PACA region (+4,2%), driven by engineering and digital professions; the South-West (+4,0%), driven by the recovery of aeronautics and the North-East (+3,9%), show good salary increases in 2023. The North (+2,4%) and, to a lesser extent, the Rhône-Alpes region

(+3,2%), are further behind. As a reminder, these two territories were the most dynamic employment areas in 2022. Like last year, Île-de-France (+3,5%) and the North-West (3,7%) follow.

The 21st edition of the Expectra barometer also looked, in partnership with the IFOP, at the relationship between executives and employees and analyzed their aspirations, in an environment that is clearly favorable to them.

Executives who no longer hesitate to put their employer in competition

One in two executives believes that the increases granted by companies are not in line with the general increase in the cost of living. Furthermore, 34% consider that their remuneration does not match their workload.

If salary remains the first point of attention for executives, it is no longer their only criterion of satisfaction. The now sacrosanct balance between professional and personal life, but also other factors such as the relationship with the manager, career progression, training, etc. are closely analyzed by executives who no longer hesitate to turn around in the event of disappointment. 86% of respondents indicated that they had experienced at least one professional frustration recently and more than half (55%) experienced at least four professional frustrations over the same period. In fact, more than two out of three executives cite work overload (68%), while 54% mention a lack of recognition, whether at the financial (57%) or managerial (52%) level.

Faced with these feelings, if almost all of the respondents (94%) say they like their work, resignation is no longer a taboo. Indeed, aware of their value – 78% of them feel desired on the job market – executives no longer hesitate to bring in the competition. Thus, since the start of the year, 57% have considered resigning. Among these, a third are planning on a new profession while 22% would be tempted by self-employed status. Finally, a hybrid formula - namely a status mixing employment and independence - would interest 23% of these executives.

Maintaining the flame: what levers are available to businesses?

Although many of the executives interviewed imagine leaving their company, fortunately they have the possibility of activating several levers to maintain or rekindle the professional flame of their employees.

They can in particular rely on the main aspirations of executives to retain them: 30% wish to progress in the hierarchy, 28% are seeking recognition, 28% expect greater flexibility in the organization of work and 26% do not want more than their work spills over into their personal lives. Even more striking for positions of responsibility: 38% of respondents aspire to maintain a low level of stress and responsibility.

Companies must learn to leave more room for empathy in the management of human capital. For once, the role of top management is key to encouraging the creation of lasting and fulfilling relationships at work. This involves, in particular, attentive listening and regular discussions with employees; by recognizing and valuing the work accomplished and by deploying more flexible modes of operation.

Remote work, 4-day week, new forms of collaboration (freelancing, temporary work, part-time work, fixed-term contract, intrapreneurship, exploration leave, etc.); benefits in kind; etc. : employees are looking for that little extra, that extra bit of soul, the flexibility that will make the difference between one company and another.

For Khaled Aboulaich, Managing Director of Expectra: “As a recruitment firm, we are a real point of connection between candidates and companies and we see it on a daily basis: the pandemic has profoundly changed the relationship with work. Companies are invited to constantly question their traditional patterns. Business life cycles are shortening and employers are more than ever looking for the right formula to retain talent: salary remains key, but it is no longer enough. Companies must navigate between the different levers of motivating their employees. To do this, they must find the right balance between development prospects, the ability to improve their skills and respect for a good balance between professional and personal life. »

Methodology

The Expectra salary barometer is constructed from all positions filled by Expectra (Interim, CDD and CDI) with bac + 2 to bac + 5 profiles. The rule requires that a temporary employee be paid at the same level as a permanent employee guarantees good representativeness of salaries. In total, 53.687 pay slips were analyzed and enriched with Smartdata data representing 137 qualifications including 74 management functions and 63 ETAM functions (employees, technicians and supervisors), in IT, engineering and accounting professions. , finance, HR, legal, sales and marketing. Overall, more than 10.740 companies are represented (69% in the provinces and 31% in Île-de-France). The barometer presents remuneration (minimum, median and maximum) and salary changes recorded over the period July 2022/June 2023 vs July 2021/June 2022. The salary amounts are indicated in gross euros.

This barometer is supplemented by an Ifop study carried out among 1003 executives, representative of the private sector executive population aged 18 and over, by self-administered online questionnaire from May 26 to June 8, 2023, using the quota method.