Seafarer Salary Benchmarking Launched

A new global benchmarking service giving employers of crew reliable and easily-comparable pay data for all officers and ratings has been launched.
 
The product comes from the HR Consulting division of maritime HR and Recruitment specialists Spinnaker Global Ltd, which already carries out benchmarking of shore-based maritime jobs for the 100-member Maritime HR Association. This new benchmarking service focuses on seafarer pay by nationality, rank and vessel type and the cost of various endorsements and specialisms.

Launched in response to client demand, 62 shipowners and shipmanagers have already signed up to participate, with the first report due to be published in autumn 2017.

Spinnaker Global has found that dependable data on pay is increasingly sought after. “A ‘we-know-what-the-market-pays’ approach is no longer good enough in a world where transparency is increasingly demanded by shareholders, lenders, staff representatives and authorities.  Good corporate governance is not only about what we pay the CEO,” said Phil Parry, Chairman of Spinnaker Global and founder of the Maritime HR Association. “Shipping employers are realizing that pay should be set in a more considered, or ‘scientific’ way. Proper pay and retention policies are a much bigger part of HR strategies nowadays. Reliable data supports a professional approach.”

The first 15 companies who signed up to the new initiative worked together as a steering committee to discuss and agree what data is required and how to make sure the new body, already being referred to as S.E.A, the Seafarers Employers Association, is comparing apples with apples. “It’s crucial that employers can easily understand the data and use it readily within their own organisation,” Parry said. “This is just how we started the Maritime HR Association back in 2005. We wanted to understand what the industry wants and needs – rather than assuming – and then deliver a solution that works.”
 
As with the shore benchmarking service, the seafarer pay benchmarking service will be run by Spinnaker Global as the ‘trusted third-party’ for the purposes of United States’ anti-trust regulations.
 
“We’re very interested to see the results,” said Karen Waltham, Managing Director of Spinnaker Global’s HR Consulting division. “We have been analyzing industry salaries for 12 years, but that’s purely for shore-based roles. Enabling shipowners and shipmanagers to ensure they are paying their seafarers competitively was the logical next step and we were flattered that so many of them asked us to provide the solution they’re looking for.”