July 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 18

RESEARCH
Strengthening Parks and Recreation
Through Competitive Compensation
By Melissa May
P
arks and recreation is nothing without the dedicated, passionate
and adaptable staff working tirelessly behind the scenes to create
the vibrant, healthy communities in which we live. However, their
contributions regularly go unrecognized and undervalued. Park
and recreation agencies must offer compensation packages for their staff
that include competitive salaries and robust benefits to attract and retain
the best and brightest for their teams.
Comprehensive compensation
data provides guidance on how to
attract the best candidates. Such
data also can provide insights into
salary and benefits offered by potential
employers. Soon, the NRPA
Research team will release the findings
from the 2023 NRPA Park and
Recreation Salary Survey (nrpa.org/
SalarySurvey). Along with information
on vacation and sick days,
health insurance, minimum wage
policies and more, the 2023 NRPA
Park and Recreation Salary Survey
report features detailed base salary
and bonus data for 13 typical park
and recreation agency positions
(*New to this report in 2023):
* Park and Recreation Agency
Director
* Planning Director
* Director of Finance
* Recreation Director
* Park Operations Director
* Park Operations
* Facilities Manager
* Athletics Supervisor
* Aquatics Supervisor
* Recreation Programs Coordinator
* Marketing and Communications
Director*
* Fitness Center Manager*
* Administrative Assistant*
18 Parks & Recreation | JULY 2 0 2 3
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Raises in pay are increasingly necessary
due to inflation. The methods
that park and recreation agencies use
to set pay raises vary as significantly
as the job titles themselves. Between
2022 and 2023, the 13 tracked job
titles saw average pay raises range
from 4.1 percent to 5.7 percent.
The two most common salary
changes result from cost-ofliving
adjustments
(COLAs) and
individual performance. In the case
of COLAs, the salaries of every
member of the park and recreation
agency staff increase at a similar rate
that matches the rate of inflation in
the local area. Seventy-four percent
of park and recreation agencies
offer COLAs to their employees.
Fifty-seven percent of agencies
award merit-based pay raises; highperforming
employees receive larger
pay adjustments than other workers.
In the same way park and recreation
agencies differ significantly in
size, programming and facility offerings,
the scope of their mission,
and funding, they also differ in the
responsibilities and ultimately the
compensation of their professional
teams. Taking those differences
into account, this report provides
a broad snapshot of compensation
data, including a presentation of
not only the median and average
salaries for each of the 13 positions
covered in the survey, but also salaries
and bonuses at the 10th, 25th,
75th and 90th percentiles. Agencies
with broader missions and offerings
and those with greater funding
resources may be more apt to pay
their employees at the 75th or even
90th percentiles to recruit and retain
professionals best suited for their
agencies. Conversely, agencies with
more modest offerings or funding
resources may choose to offer compensation
levels below the median.
Other factors can impact a park
and recreation professional's compensation,
such as agency size,
agency type, highest level of education
attained, certifications and
years of professional experience.
Park and recreation professionals
strive to ensure all have access to
safe parks and trails and recreational
opportunities, while working to
make small conservation efforts
translate into larger action. The
ability to make a difference draws
many to this work, but competitive
compensation packages are critical
in attracting and retaining the best
employees. Armed with information,
park and recreation agencies
can recruit and retain highly qualified
professionals.
Thank you to the many park and recreation
professionals and their agencies
that completed the survey.
Melissa May is Senior Research Manager
at NRPA (mmay@nrpa.org).
http://www.nrpa.org/SalarySurvey http://www.nrpa.org/SalarySurvey
July 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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