It’s not just all about salary (although it is helpful to know if you’re being paid what you’re worth)
The 8th annual Fellows and Associates Salary Survey is now live for 2019 and this year, in response to the increased awareness of inclusivity in the workplace, we’ve included two additional questions focused specifically on mental health. In our experience salary is not normally the main motivating factor behind a move, however we understand that everyone deserves to know what their market worth is in order to make a fully informed decision regarding their current and future career. Our survey collects data directly from professionals working in the profession, rather than an HR benchmark, which we believe makes it one of the most accurate sources of information currently available. This, coupled with our added focus on issues which could affect an individual’s working environment, we hope offers one of the most comprehensive and useful surveys in the market.
We always try to update the survey each year in response to requests we receive, and those focused on equality and inclusivity have always ranked highly amongst these suggestions. Over recent years we have included questions covering topics such as sexual harassment and discrimination, however this year we have also asked about how mental health is tackled within the workplace – specifically surrounding the company’s awareness of issues and how supportive they are in dealing with them. Feeling like you are supported by your current employer, whether it be your ongoing training, advancement through new responsibilities and experiences or emotionally, is incredibly important to ensuring you feel fulfilled in your career. IP firms across the industry are at different stages of implementing this, for example some have already invested heavily in improving their status on D&I and mental wellbeing, some are consciously dipping their toe and some seem quite settled in their current way of thinking. No matter the firm’s current standing, we believe that having a fully rounded awareness of someone’s needs can benefit both the employee and the employer immensely.
The additional questions in our survey only touch the surface of issues which may need to be addressed, however we hope that the results in conjunction with other initiatives for example IP Inclusive and data tools such as their Mental Wellbeing survey in collaboration with CIPA and CITMA will help shine a light on issues that may have originally been ignored.
If you would like to take part then please head to www.fellowssurvey.com. As an added bonus, you could win a £100 gift card of your choice as a thank you for your participation.