What factors boost salaries?

Although the 2015 Salary Survey reveals that many factors play into salary increases among facility and environmental services managers, there was a striking correlation between professional certification and higher compensation.

In this year’s survey, Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (CHFM) professionals reported an average $22,196 more in compensation than their peers who do not have certification, while environmental services managers with Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Professional (CHESP) certification reported an average $16,895 more in earnings vs. those without certification.

Those are pretty significant jumps from the 2012 Salary Survey numbers, especially on the facility management side. In 2012, facility managers with certification earned an average of $10,000 more, less than half of this year’s average. Environmental services managers with CHESP certification earned an average $13,700 more in 2012 than those without, just a few thousand less than our current numbers.

While readers can learn a great deal from this year’s salary survey — from how roles are changing to which improvement initiatives matter most to higher-ups in the C-suite — the survey’s real focus centers on compensation trends. This inevitably begs the question, what causes compensation to go up or down? From the numbers, it seems professional certification plays a significant role.

Although these certifications are required in only a few instances (8.7 percent were required to have a CHFM, and 3.4 percent were required to have a CHESP), Dale Woodin, senior executive director, American Society for Healthcare Engineering, suggests that certification is becoming more important to health care organizations. “Certification used to be pinnacle; now it’s the point of entry,” he says.

Other factors that our respondents say are tied to compensation include meeting performance metrics and taking on more responsibilities. Those and other insights in the 2015 Salary Survey are worth a thorough read.