Salary surveys are a fixture of every sector’s annual calendar, and the print and marketing supply chain is no exception. Industry bodies, trade publications and recruitment firms all publish them; HR professionals and hiring managers rely on them; and candidates use them to evaluate whether they’re being paid fairly. They’re a useful tool. They’re also frequently misused — and in senior recruitment, relying on survey data without understanding its limitations can cost a business a hire.
The Limitations of Annual Survey Data
The most significant limitation of annual salary surveys is their age. Data collected in Q3 of one year and published in Q1 of the following year is already 9–18 months old by the time most readers act on it. In a market where senior compensation has moved by double-digit percentage points over the past two years, data from 18 months ago can materially understate the current market.
The second limitation is sample composition. Most salary surveys draw on self-reported data from survey respondents — typically people who have time to fill in surveys, have a reason to do so (often because they want to know whether they’re underpaid), and are not representative of the full market. The data from a well-designed specialist survey may be broadly accurate as an indicator of the median; it will understate the market for roles where genuine scarcity drives compensation above the median.
The third limitation is granularity. Salary survey data for ‘Sales Director, Packaging’ combines roles with significant P&L accountability at multi-site operations with roles that are senior in title but limited in commercial scope. The actual salary range for those two types of role may differ by £40,000 or more. Survey data that averages across that range tells you something about the market, but not enough to make a confident senior hiring decision.
What Good Benchmarking Looks Like
For a senior appointment, good compensation benchmarking starts with placement data — what have equivalent roles actually been filled at in the past 6–12 months, by recruiters who have made those placements. This is not survey data; it’s live market intelligence. It’s more accurate, more granular and more current than any published survey.
The second component is a genuine market conversation with the specific candidate target profile. What is a commercially credible Sales Director at a mid-market packaging business currently earning? What would it take, in cash and non-cash terms, to motivate them to move? That conversation happens with the candidates themselves, and with the specialist recruiters who are close to them. Survey data cannot substitute for it.
We’re happy to provide a current compensation benchmark for any specific senior role across our sector verticals, drawing on live placement data and direct market intelligence. It costs nothing and takes one conversation.
