While a wealth of compensation plans are currently in play for today’s kitchen and bath designer/salespeople, the end result for many still includes long hours and less-than-stellar salaries – especially among women in the field. However, on the positive side, more kitchen and bath dealerships seem to be offering medical benefits and flexible hours than in years past.

These were the findings of a new compensation survey, in which Kitchen & Bath Design News polled more than 250 kitchen and bath designer/salespeople from across the U.S., looking at salary, benefits, commission structure and more.

If the survey is any indication, designer/salespeople seem to be struggling financially, with more than a third of those surveyed (35%) reporting that they are currently making less than $50,000 a year (see Graph 1). Even more disturbing was the clearly defined salary gap between the genders – of those making less than $35,000 per year, a whopping 90% were female. By contrast, 100% of those making over $250,000 per year were male, suggesting that the gender gap is alive and well in 2007.

Of those surveyed, 31% reported earnings in the $50,000-$75,000 per year range, 17% said they were earning $75,000-$99,000 per year, 12% were bringing in $100,000-$149,999 annually, and 5% were earning in excess of $150,000
per year.

Benefits

When it comes to benefits, the good news for designer/salespeople is that dealerships offering medical coverage seem to be on the rise. In fact, 80% of those surveyed said they receive medical insurance as part of their benefits package, compared to 60% in a similar survey done five years ago.

Unfortunately, this seems to be the only benefit the majority of those surveyed receive. Less than half of those surveyed (48%) had a company 401(k) plan, while 46% received dental insurance, 43% garnered an end-of-year bonus, 39% received life and/or disability insurance, 22% had profit sharing, 21% enjoyed use of a company car and 8% received stock options (see Graph 2).

Still, while the majority of those surveyed are not receiving a host of benefits, the percentage of designer/salespeople receiving dental insurance, a 401(k) plan and an end-of-year bonus was still up significantly from reports from a similar survey done in 2002.