You may never get rich, but at least you still have a job.
That's a perennial theme in the health care industry, which has
traditionally been known for nearly recession-proof employment and
— outside of the physician ranks — modest pay.
The home medical equipment industry fits the pattern. For better
or worse, its rewards are fairly predictable. HME workers and
managers missed out on the New Economy boom of the '90s. But they
also were spared the bust that followed.
This unspectacular but steady side of HME compensation shows up
in our 2003 Salary Survey. Looking back to 2002, we've found no
radical changes in how HME employees are paid or their level of
benefits. Based on the 399 responses received in this year's
survey, about the same percentage of workers — a bit more
than 70 percent — got raises in both 2002 and 2003. The
average raise was 6.4 percent. That puts HME on the generous side
of national trends, at least in this lean year.
Several recent surveys of employers across a wide range of
industries have put average raises at less than 4 percent. In a
report released July 30, Mercer Human Resource Consulting polled
1,700 U.S. employers and found pay increases will average 3.6
percent in 2003. An earlier survey by the Conference Board, a
private research group, said employers were planning to increase
overall compensation by 3.5 percent this year.
As for the job-security side of the equation, unemployment
figures for HME alone are not available. But the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics said joblessness in the broader Education and
Health Services category stood at 4.4 percent in June. That was up
from 3.9 percent a year earlier, but well below the total rate of
6.5 percent; or rates for workers in Durable Goods, 7.3 percent;
Professional and Business Services, 8.5 percent; and Leisure and
Hospitality, 8.6 percent.
The High, the Low, the In-Between
HME may have a few big players, but its pay scales still have a
small-business feel. The gap between top management and the
lowest-paid workers is narrow compared to that of large
corporations in other industries. The average HME chief executive
pay was $82,416; the highest pay reported in the President/CEO
category was $250,000.
Top managers' median pay, the point at which half the reported
salaries were higher and half were lower, was $75,000. Within this
group the pay ranged widely according to the size of the company
these executives were running. The full report shows that average
top pay at firms with $1 million or less in annual sales was
$64,689. At HME businesses earning over the $3 million mark, CEO
salaries averaged $107,022.
Delivery technicians were the lowest-paid in our survey, with an
average salary of $23,560 and a median of $25,000, a third of the
median CEO salary. Hourly employees in this category made an
average of $11.36. This time, the size of the company didn't have
much effect on pay, with the average hourly rate at firms of all
sizes almost identical.
Ranking just below CEOs in pay were pharmacists, who averaged
$72,937 in annual salary. Their median pay was equal to that of the
top executives at $75,000.
This is one case in which a group of HME employees appears to be
paid very close to the national average. According to 2002 BLS
figures, the latest available, pay for pharmacists averaged $1,367
a week, or $71,084 a year. Allowing for some increase since then
due to raises, the 2003 figure would still be at or slightly below
the average for HME.
This is another way of saying that, on the whole, HME businesses
seem able to pay competitive salaries to pharmacists, though the
picture may look much different on the local level, where some
areas might have high costs of living and shortages of qualified
job applicants.
Paying competitive salaries is still a tough challenge for much
of the HME industry. According to Miriam Lieber, a Los
Angeles-based consultant specializing in operations management for
HME firms, “We, as an industry, do not pay enough to maintain
a balance between what we should be able to expect for our staff
and what we are willling to pay for that type of individual.”
From her experience, she adds, customer service and delivery
technician positions are particularly hard to fill.
According to the 2003 Salary Survey, pay in the “Customer
Service/Inside Sales Rep” category ranges widely, from a
reported high of $80,000 a year (for salaried reps) and $35 an hour
to a low of $19,000 a year and $6.50 an hour. The average salary is
$32,846, but the average rate for these employees who are paid by
the hour is $11.74, just above that of delivery technicians.
Customer service managers make a bit more. Their average salary
is $38,032; managers paid hourly make an average of $14.35. In what
may be a sign that HME firms are focused at least as much on
customer satisfaction as bill collection, the customer service
managers' pay slightly edges that of accounts-receivable managers,
who average $36,204 (salaried) and $13.41 hourly.
Common Fringe Benefits
In the competition to attract and retain workers, fringe
benefits are an important consideration. The most popular fringe
benefits offered by the survey respondents are vacations and
holidays, either entirely or partially paid by more than 80 percent
of HME businesses. Medical insurance, sick leave and, in a sign of
the times, cell phone use are other popular benefits.
The full survey report shows that large HME companies tend to
have an advantage in their ability to provide benefits such as
health insurance and retirement plans. The statistics bear this out
for most benefits, but not all of them. Firms with more than $3
million in sales are more likely than smaller companies to pay for
life insurance, medical insurance, sick leave and dental
insurance.
Of firms over $3 million, 94.9 percent offered medical coverage,
compared to 60.9 percent of companies below $1 million.
Profit-sharing plans and 401(k) plans also are much more common at
larger companies, with 76.3 percent of companies in the $3
million-plus range offering 401(k)s, compared to just 29.1 percent
of the sub-$1 million firms.
But the results also show the smallest companies beat their
larger competitors in offering flexible work schedules. Among the
companies below $1 million, 58.3 percent offered this benefit,
compared to 46.6 percent of those with revenue greater than $3
million. So it might indeed be true that small shops are more
accommodating and less bureaucratic than large ones.
About the Respondents
In May, HomeCare mailed compensation questionnaires to
1,500 randomly selected subscribers asking about salaries,
benefits, raises and more. Of the 399 companies who returned
completed surveys, 300 (75 percent) identified themselves as
HME/service providers, while most of the remaining participants
said they worked in specialty home care, retail pharmacy/drugstore
or hospital-based HME.
The respondents represent a wide range of regions and company
sizes. More than 36 percent were based in the South and another 30
percent were in the Midwest, with smaller numbers based in the West
and Northeast. Two hundred (50 percent) said they operate only one
location, though the survey also includes 27 firms that operate 100
locations or more. Nearly 38 percent reported revenue of less than
$1 million, while 13 percent had revenue of $10 million or
more.
For a complete copy of the 2003 Salary Survey, visit our Web
site at www.homecaremag.com and click on the button titled
“Purchase Exclusive HomeCare Research.”
For the Record: Survey methodology conforms to all
accepted research methods and practices, and the guidelines set
forth by American Business Media - Research Committee, the American
Marketing Association, the American Statistical Society and the
Marketing Research Association. Percentages are based on responses
from 399 companies. Not all respondents answered every question,
and some totals may add to more than 100 percent due to multiple
responses.
| Lowest Average Salary | |
|---|---|
| Delivery Technician | $23,560 |
| Highest Average Salary | |
| President/CEO | $82,416 |
| HME/Service Provider | 75.0% |
| Specialty Home Care | 3.8% |
| Retail Pharmacy/Drugstore | 9.3% |
| Hospital-Based HME | 3.3% |
| Other/No answer | 8.6% |
| 1 | 50.0% |
| 2 | 14.8% |
| 3-4 | 9.8% |
| 5-9 | 8.8% |
| 10-99 | 6.3% |
| 100 or more | 6.8% |
| No answer | 3.5% |
| 1-4 | 19.0% |
| 5-9 | 20.6% |
| 10-19 | 19.5% |
| 20-49 | 16.8% |
| 50-99 | 6.3% |
| 100 or more | 17.3% |
| No answer | 0.5% |
| Under $1 million | 37.8% |
| $1.0 million - $2.99 million | 25.8% |
| $3 million or more | 29.5% |
| No answer | 6.8% |
| Education and Health Services | 4.4% |
| Durable Goods | 7.3% |
| Professional and Business Services | 8.5% |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 8.6% |
| Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2003 |
|
| Vacation | 87.5% |
| Holidays, including floating | 81.5% |
| Medical insurance | 78.7% |
| Sick Leave | 63.9% |
| Cell phone/airtime | 55.9% |
| Flexible schedule | 51.6% |
| Life insurance | 51.6% |
| Personal time | 51.6% |
| 401(k) plan | 50.4% |
| Dental insurance | 48.4% |
| Auto allowance | 44.4% |
| Long-term disability plan | 31.8% |
| Short-term disability plan | 27.6% |
| Vision insurance | 25.6% |
| Tuition reimbursement plan | 23.8% |
| Pension plan | 20.3% |
| Association memberships | 19.8% |
| Profit-sharing plan | 15.3% |
| Stock purchase plan/stock options | 10.0% |
| *Either fully or partially paid by the company |
|
| Job Title | Median ($) | Mean ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts Receivable Manager | 35,000 | 36,204 |
| Billing Clerk | 25,000 | 24,447 |
| Bookkeeper/Asst. Controller | 30,000 | 35,840 |
| Certified Rehabilitation Technology Supplier (CRTS) | 53,843 | 56,499 |
| Controller/VP Finance | 65,000 | 69,119 |
| Customer Service/Inside Sales Rep | 30,000 | 32,846 |
| Customer Service Manager/Supervisor | 35,000 | 38,032 |
| Delivery Technician | 25,000 | 23,560 |
| Operations/Warehouse Manager | 35,000 | 38,592 |
| Outside Sales/Marketing Rep | 42,000 | 44,838 |
| Pharmacist | 75,000 | 72,937 |
| President/CEO | 75,000 | 82,416 |
| Respiratory Therapist | 40,000 | 41,353 |
| Sales Manager/VP Sales | 60,000 | 62,811 |
| Store/Branch Manager | 45,000 | 46,499 |
| Job Title | Mean Hourly Rate ($) |
|---|---|
| Accounts Receivable Manager | 13.41 |
| Billing Clerk | 11.49 |
| Bookkeeper/Asst. Controller | 12.99 |
| Customer Service/Inside Sales Rep | 11.74 |
| Customer Service Manager/Supervisor | 14.35 |
| Delivery Technician | 11.36 |
| Operations/Warehouse Manager | 13.29 |
| Outside Sales/Marketing Rep | 15.41 |
| Pharmacist | 30.25 |
| Respiratory Therapist | 19.04 |
| Store/Branch Manager | 16.04 |
| *The mean or “average” figures presented refer to the statistical mean, which is defined as “the value obtained by adding all the numeric answers given for a particular question and then dividing by the total number of respondents answering the question.” The median is defined as the value that is exactly in the middle of all answers, ”or the point where half of the responses lie above and half of the responses lie below the value.” |
|
$50,038 is the average salary for this year's survey
respondents.
