The information included in this document has been collected from Assistant Sydney Directors, clients, candidates and published employment data.

The team at Assistant Sydney pride themselves on being experts within the Office Support market and we enjoy sharing our insights with you.

The 2019 Sydney Office Support Market Update

Salary and bonus trends

OFFICE SUPPORT REMUNERATION:

Executive Office Support Market above $100k+:• Throughout 2018, we saw a consistent rise in

salaries for C’Suite Executive Office Support professionals, particularly those working in mid to large listed companies.

• EA to CEO positions that were recruited in 2017 at $105k-$110k + super are now averaging $115-$120k + super.

• In the 2H of 2018 we observed a significant increase in the availability of Office Support positions with the major domestic and international banks.

• Further, the very top Executive Assistant positions supporting large company CEO’s or Managing Directors of large Family Office functions, are now paying between $160k-$200k inclusive of super in Sydney.

Office Support Market between $75k-$100k:• Salaries in this segment of the market are

relatively stable, people can typically expect an increase of $2k-$4k annually.

The 2019 Sydney Office Support Market

Office Support Market below $75k: • Salaries at the bottom end of this segment

increased in 2018 as the demand for entry level Office Support people had been very strong.

• Typically, people in this band experience salary increases of $1k-$3k annually. Within this segment of the market, the quickest and easiest way to pursue a salary increase is via an internal promotion or external promotion or change in employer.

Bonus Trends:• In 2019, we expect to see more companies

introduce discretionary bonus policies for Office Support staff. To date, it is typically only the very large companies that have a structured human resources and remuneration policy that include Office Support staff in company wide bonus programs. There is an accelerating trend for more and more companies to extend bonus policies to all staff.

StructureofOfficeSupportFunctions

The Rise of the Virtual Assistant:Many large companies in Sydney are experimenting with the idea of the Virtual Assistant. In creating a remote Office Support team, companies are aiming to receive the same administrative support from a Virtual Assistant at a cheaper rate than they would from an onsite Office Support professional. In 2018, the feedback from the Sydney market has been that the cost analysis is beneficial to the company, however the executive, once supported by the Office Support professional, is often left feeling underwhelmed by the level of support from the Virtual Assistant. Fundamentally, executives and teams want to be supported by a person physically in their business. It will be very interesting to see this trend evolve in 2019 especially within the legal, accounting and banking sectors.

Delayering and Hybrid Roles:• In 2019 we will continue to see instances of

“Delayering” across Office Support functions.

• Delayering occurs when a company uses a resignation as an opportunity to replace a position at a lower salary band. For example, the resignation of a Personal Assistant at $75k will be replaced by a Team Assistant at $65k with the work effectively being pushed down to a more junior, yet capable employee. The driver behind these strategies is costs savings.

• Creating a hybrid Office Support position is often done with the same mindset. For example, using the resignation of an Office Manager at $80k, to allocate those tasks to an existing EA within the business, offering a salary increase of $10k to compensate.

Employer Challenges:• When an Office Support professional resigns,

many companies of late have decided to employ an Office Support person who has the complete skillset for the position immediately, rather than employing an Office Support person who will grow into the role.

• The challenge for Office Support people is that they may well find themselves completing the same role at a different company without any career development or growth. We believe all Office Support people should try to find a role that will increase and develop their skill set should they elect to change jobs in 2019.

The 2019 Sydney Office Support Market

TheDynamicsofJobSearching

Job Volumes:• In 2018, there was significant demand for

Office Support people in Sydney. We expect this trend to continue in 2019.

• We observed that demand was strongest in the salary bracket of $70k to $80k for permanent positions and $60k to $70k salary bracket for contractor positions.

• Interestingly in 2018, the demand for C’Suite Office Support professionals was very strong. Across Sydney there were a number of executive searches completed for EA’s to support top level CEO’s. The salary band for these positions was typically $160k-$200k plus bonus. We expect this trend to continue in 2019, especially within financial services, investment banking and private equity segments.

Candidate Sourcing:• SEEK remains the dominant sourcing channel

for all candidates in the Office Support market. The typical interview ratio on Seek is 1:50, only 1 person in 50 applicants will secure a face to face interview.

• LinkedIn remains an effective headhunting tool for Office Support sourcing at the $75k level and above.

• Press advertising is almost ineffective and certainly a very expensive channel. Press advertising has all but completely ceased for Office Support searches.

• Due to the increase in Executive Assistant networking groups, events and seminars, sourcing via referral has become a progressively effective way to find new talent. At Assistant Sydney we effectively head hunt for all the positions we recruit.

Off Market Candidates:• With improvements in technology and social

media, some of the better quality candidates can almost sit back and wait for jobs to be presented to them rather than actively engaging in the job search process. This trend emerged in 2017-2018 and will continue as the job market for Office Support professionals increases in 2019.

• This occurs at all levels within the Office Support market. For example, if a tier one law firm is sourcing for a new Front of House Receptionist, it can be expected that any Front of House Receptionist with a LinkedIn profile, working in a competitor firm of similar calibre, will receive a phone-call asking if they are interested in the role.

The 2019 Sydney Office Support Market

TheCostofRecruitmentforEmployers

Preferred Supplier Agreements:• Most mid to large sized companies will have

some form of preferred supplier agreement for Office Support recruitment.

• Typical market fee rates fall between 14%-16% below of $100k and 18% + above $100k. In saying that, the larger banks and government panels have the volume of work required to typically dictate a rate 3-5 percentage points below the rates quoted above.

• We are continuing to see large companies move away from lengthy procurement and tender processes to select a recruitment partner. Typically, companies select the recruitment firms they want to partner with and nominate preferred terms that the recruitment partner must agree to in order to be selected.

NationalJobMarket

The graph below is an excellent representation of the job market across Australia since 2005. You can see the demand for people changes each year. Throughout 2018, we saw an increase in demand for new people, however towards the latter stages of 2018 and early into 2019 this demand eased off. Interestingly, although Australia has seen a decline in early 2019, the Sydney market has been buoyant and continues to perform strongly.

Num

ber

of

job

ad

s p

er w

eek,

00

0s

05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

260

240

220

200

180

160

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120

100

Seasonally adjusted

Trend

Source: ABS, SEEK, Dept of Jobs and Small Business, ANZ Research

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

• Business Insider Australia has noted that 52% of the first 56 appointments to ASX 200 boards in 2018 were women. This shows a significant rise in comparison to 2017, where only 33% female appointments were made in the first quarter.

• The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) has recorded that the number of women that account for ASX 200 board positions has risen from 8.3% in 2009 to 25% in 2018. Further to this, the AICD have set a goal for females to account for at least 30% of ASX 200 director boards by the end of 2018. The AICD further concludes that before the close of 2018, women had already comprised of 44.4% of new appointments to ASX 200 boards as opposed to the previous year, where this number stagnated at 35%.

Assistant Sydney was established in 2017 by Sarah Bolitho –

with a single strategy of providing high quality office support

recruitment services in Sydney. The business has grown rapidly

as people begin to understand the value of dealing with a

recruitment firm that is only focused on one thing – office

support recruitment in Sydney.

We understand there are many office support recruitment firms

in Sydney – we believe that over time we will earn a reputation

in Sydney for providing advice and service that is frank,

accurate and empathetic.