Bonuses Decreasing for Managers of A/E firms

By Mark Zweig

NATICK, Mass.-Six of seven types of managers saw a decline in bonuses last year, according to survey conducted by the national A/E firm ZweigWhite.

The report said that only financial managers (CFOs, controllers and accounting personnel) received a higher median bonus in 2002 than in 2001.

With recent rising employment costs associated with health care and other areas, it's no surprise bonuses are falling. Po-Sun Chen, a principal with ZweigWhite and leader of the firm's executive search group, said the findings are consistent with compensation trends in the A/E industry as a whole.

"Whether firms are having their best years or not, we've seen more cost cutting and belt-tightening over the past couple of years," Chen said.

"Instead of paying out high salaries and exorbitant bonuses, firm leaders have focused on re-investing profits in the firm. We expect this trend to continue as along as health care expenses remain high and firms feel the need to keep other employment costs in check," he added.

With the exception of the bonus increase among financial managers, data from the new report show significant decreases in top managers' bonus amounts. The most notable cuts happened for principals, whose median bonus amount fell 44%, and IT managers, who saw a 40% decline.