Canadian governance pros happier with jobs, study finds

Canadian governance professionals are – on the whole – happy with the demands placed on them at work and with their pay, according to new research.

A study by Global Governance Advisors (GGA) in partnership with the Governance Professionals of Canada finds that almost two thirds (64 percent) of those polled describe themselves as satisfied with their work-life balance. Eighty-four percent say they are satisfied with their compensation package.

A smaller number – 49 percent – say they are satisfied with their career mobility, according to the report. Although this is a less positive result than in the other categories, it is an improvement on the 41 percent of respondents who were happy about career advancement opportunities in last year’s survey.

The level of satisfaction with pay has also increased sharply, up from 66 percent in 2016 to 84 percent this year. This is despite the study suggesting there have been single-digit declines in median compensation for corporate secretaries and mixed results for those who are both corporate secretaries and general counsel.

Peter Landers, partner with GGA, cautions that the compensation figures may be attributable to factors such as the financial performance of respondents’ individual companies curbing bonuses. He suggests, however, that satisfaction levels are improving because people value factors other than pay and because the role of the corporate secretary is evolving to have a broader and more strategic scope. They are increasingly taking on a role that resembles that of a chief governance officer, particularly within larger organizations, he tells Corporate Secretary.

Thirty-one percent of respondents say their annual budget has increased this past year, while 55 percent report no change to their funding and just 14 percent have seen a decrease. Landers attributes this pattern to increasing pressure on companies in areas such as shareholder engagement, regulation and strategy – all of which lead to a greater focus on the corporate secretary role, he adds.

In addition, the survey finds that professionals feel they have greatest influence in areas such as reviewing and implementing their organizations’ corporate governance practices, reviewing and improving board effectiveness and improving public disclosures such as the proxy statement.

Areas where they feel they have less influence include reviewing and picking compensation advisers, reviewing and implementing CSR policies and the board’s oversight on environmental and social governance.