Compensation Benchmark Study
February 2025
This article is related to a recently completed custom research project conducted on behalf of an ABA member. Our research team is always delighted to speak with members about tailoring research projects to your organization. To learn more or submit a custom research request, simply contact your member advisor or email us at info@advisoryarts.com.
An ABA dance member was interested in benchmarking salaries for 6 specific non-union roles: General Manager, Company Manager, Production Manager, Company Pianist, Rehearsal Director and Artistic Administrator.
To answer these questions ABA led an in-depth compensation survey with HR managers in the US and in Canada, to compare not only salary ranges, but also to understand details and nuances between similar positions across organizations, including industry experience required, roles and responsibilities, if these positions include direct reports etc.
Understanding ABA’s survey methodology:
ABA deployed a custom survey to analyze specific roles and their compensation. Each section included both common questions for all positions, as well as role-specific questions.
The survey included a final section to compare overall institutional compensation philosophies and practices.
Based on position descriptions provided in the survey, ABA developed a color coded system to determine whether the roles benchmarked were aligned across all participating organizations (i.e., poor, fair and good alignment)
ABA used IRS 990 forms to compare provided roles and their salaries with institutional budgets and leadership wages.
Finally, to better compare roles and salaries across specific geographies, ABA looked at the cost of living in different cities.
The full report is available to ABA members by clicking below.
