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As the executive recruiter for many of Canada's top tech companies, we talked with hundreds of start-up and scale-up leaders about their experiences, aspirations, motivations, and of course…. their salaries!
When establishing a target compensation range for a new search, clients always ask us “What are you seeing in the market for a role like this?”. Since we’re having these conversations regularly, we want to pull back the curtains and share insights to guide your compensation strategy. Or, if you’re on the hunt for a new challenge, we hope you’ll find this data to be useful in the negotiation process.
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Over the past 1-2 years, we've seen a shift in People & Culture roles. As the market slowed in 2023/2024, companies pivoted from rapid headcount growth and morale-boosting initiatives to focusing on strategic business partnerships. The emphasis has been on finding People & Culture leaders who can help scale organizations more efficiently and conservatively. As a result, the demand for professionals adept in organizational design, professional development, and compensation evaluations has risen.
The TL;DR:
People & Culture roles have become more strategic in nature, with companies looking for HR leaders who can support efficient scaling.
Compensation for People & Culture leaders has become increasingly competitive as their roles have expanded beyond traditional HR functions.
Despite market slowdowns, these roles remain crucial, especially in terms of organizational design and leveling up existing teams.
Remote and hybrid work arrangements continue to be prevalent, reflecting the ongoing demand for flexibility in HR leadership roles.
Let’s dive into the numbers
Below is the breakdown of salary distribution within our sample, which includes Heads, Directors, VPs and C-level. This sample reflects finance executives within startup or scale-up companies throughout Canada.
What are you looking at?
The bar graphs below represent average compensation by level, including base salary and bonus/variable compensation (on target earnings or "OTE").
When it comes to People & Culture compensation structures, we typically see a higher base with a smaller variable component, especially compared to more revenue-driven roles like Sales.
Digging deeper...
As companies have become more conservative in their growth strategies, the role of People & Culture leaders has evolved. Traditionally, HR has been viewed as a support function, but these leaders are more often being recognized as integral to driving organizational strategy. This shift has resulted in more competitive compensation packages as companies seek out top talent who can navigate the complexities of today’s business environment.
What about Equity?
Interestingly, we've noticed a slight decrease in the number of companies offering equity to People & Culture leaders between 2022 and 2024. This decline may be linked to the current macro-economic environment, where companies are becoming more strategic and conservative with their resources. In a market where headcount growth is more cautious, and the focus is on core products and getting to market efficiently, we've noticed that some companies choose to hire People & Culture leaders at a later stage, where equity is less likely to be included in the compensation structure.
While equity remains an attractive component for many senior positions, this trend suggests that companies are reserving equity for other critical hires or focusing on cash-based compensation as they mature. However, for earlier-stage companies or those in rapid growth phases, offering equity continues to be a powerful tool to attract and retain top People & Culture talent.
Hot tip: In early-stage startups, offering candidates multiple cash/equity options (e.g., lower cash/higher equity or higher cash/lower equity) has proven effective, allowing candidates to choose the ratio that suits them best.
Inaugural Salary Survey Results
In March 2024, we embarked on our first-ever Salary Snapshot Survey, to enrich our existing collection of salary information and offer even more compelling insights. Here's what we found:
Remote Work
People & Culture roles are evenly split between remote and hybrid setups, with 49% working fully remotely and 49% in hybrid roles. Only 2% are in the office full-time. This balance reflects the ongoing need for strategic face time with leadership while still offering flexibility, crucial for navigating team scaling, organizational design, and company culture in a dynamic work environment.
Compensation Satisfaction
People & Culture leaders have seen a notable increase in their compensation over the past two years, reflecting the growing importance of their role in today's organizations. Despite this positive trend, our survey indicates that they still report slightly lower compensation (3.44/5) satisfaction compared to other roles (3.57/5). This could be due to the high expectations placed on them to manage diverse responsibilities such as organizational design, employee relations, and professional development, without always feeling that compensation fully reflects their contributions.
The wage growth observed from 2022 to 2024 is a step in the right direction, signaling that the market is beginning to recognize the critical impact of People & Culture leaders. As companies continue to navigate complex challenges, ensuring that compensation keeps pace with the evolving demands of the role will be crucial for maintaining satisfaction and retaining top talent in this field.
What’s behind the data?
Our snapshots provide valuable and current insights, derived from a select sample of individuals with verified and noteworthy experience in successful Canadian companies. This data, gathered from our recent searches and our newly launched Salary Survey, offers a more focused and relevant perspective than standard salary surveys.
Each Salary Snapshot represents between 60 - 140 sources.
Sources analyzed within the snapshots are aggregated from both direct conversations with candidates as well as our invitation-only tech salary survey of over 400 responses.
Each source is an individual who we deem a promising candidate for a role within a high-growth tech company. Most are gainfully employed and many were recommended as exceptionally talented. As a result, our salary numbers might be skewed towards the top of the range.
We elected not to show compensation figures related to equity or options. Though this was a significant aspect of the comp package for many execs, it’s often tough to put an annual dollar value on equity.
For privacy reasons, we will not disclose any specific information that could reveal the identity of an individual or their employer
Sharing is caring!
In the dynamic landscape of employment, salary data transparency acts as a transformative force benefiting both employers and job seekers alike. For employers, it provides a strategic advantage by aligning compensation packages with industry benchmarks, fostering equity, and enhancing recruitment appeal. Job seekers, armed with this knowledge, navigate their careers more strategically, negotiate effectively, and make informed decisions, contributing to a more open, fair, and empowered job market.
We believe that our Salary Snapshots are an effective delivery method for this data with our 4 T’s model:
Targeted: Specializing in the tech and innovation industry, our data reflects the compensation landscape of tech companies, making it directly relevant to your world.
Timely: Unlike traditional reports with multi-year lags, our 2023 salary data is up-to-date, providing you with the latest insights.
Trustworthy: Unlike free crowdsourced data, our information comes from one-on-one conversations with candidates actively involved in searches for our clients, ensuring reliability and accuracy.
Trim: We're agile and focused, offering a concise snapshot of current compensation trends, avoiding lengthy reports while retaining all the essential contextual information and analysis.
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Created and published in August 2024
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