Introduction
The Chief of Staff role continues to increase in prominence all around the world, appearing in companies of all sizes and industries. Due to this company variability, the disparate backgrounds and responsibilities of Chiefs of Staff, and the relatively small number of Chiefs of Staff compared to other roles and functions, benchmarking compensation remains a daunting task.
As usual, this report exists to assist current and future Chiefs of Staff in understanding their market value and advocating for fair pay. Our research considered the specific factors that heavily impact Chief of Staff compensation, including years of experience, CoS level, company stage/size, gender, location, and more. Previous compensation data is available in our 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 reports.
This report provides one view of the survey data, but there are many alternatives ways to slice and pivot it. The raw data of this survey is available to members of the Chief of Staff Network. Apply here!
What is a Chief of Staff?
At the Chief of Staff Network, we broadly define a Chief of Staff as the primary strategic operator reporting directly to a C-Level Executive. As the role continues to proliferate in organizations of different sizes, Chiefs of Staff are also emerging as key operators outside the C-suite, reporting at the VP level or even further down the corporate hierarchy.
The Chief of Staff has a unique relationship with their Principal as the facilitator of the Principal’s key objectives. The role is rarely an administrative function, rather focusing on operational, strategic, and cross-functional execution. Chiefs of Staff take on diverse responsibilities that depend on their previous career experiences, leadership capabilities, and the priorities of their Principal. These are also potential factors that impact compensation on a case-by-case basis. We have also written about where CoS come from and where they go upon “graduating” the role, as well as the State of CoS Jobs.
Chiefs of Staff by Level
As noted, Chiefs of Staff come from a variety of professional backgrounds and bring different amounts of experience and skills to the table. The “Chief” in CoS can be deceptive as not every CoS is working at the executive level. Despite sharing the same title, CoS operate with varying amounts of influence & ownership and therefore at different levels within their companies.
With this in mind, the Chief of Staff Network conducted independent research to establish a Leveling Framework characterizing the dimensions of growth and advancement criteria across six common CoS role archetypes. Survey participants were asked to review the Leveling Framework and self-select into one level. Additionally, we collected number of years of professional experience noting that the two (experience and level) are not always the same.
Here are some key highlights from the report!
Average Base Salary by CoS Level
This year, we see YoY increases in salary across all CoS levels.
On a blended basis, salaries have increased by 21% across all levels. This effect is strongest at lower levels - Level 1 salary is 53% higher than last year and Level 2 is 31% higher. This tapers off at Level 6 which is only 1.8% higher.
Interestingly, we also see a dip from Level 1 to 2 to 3, which may be partially explained by more non-US salaries at Level 3. It could also be that salaries must be more competitive at lower levels to recruit from banking & consulting.
Average Bonus by Bracket
As we’ve seen in the past, primarily, respondents did not receive cash bonuses. For those that did, their bonuses averaged ~$33k. This lines up with research from PayFactors, indicating median CoS Bonuses are ~$35k.
The largest proportion of CoS’ bonus value fell in the 12-25% range of annual salary. CoS had a broad range of bonuses, with a standard deviation of $31k and a range between the min and max of $174k.
Average Salary by Gender
For the second time since we began conducting this survey, we see that women are earning more than men on average! In fact, the gap has widened since last year!
Some of this is related to the fact that CoS in general skew female (66% of CoS are women, based on our historical data).
However, the fact that the wage gap between males and females is expanding suggests that females may be getting higher quality CoS roles than males.
Get the Full Salary Report
Download the full report to explore detailed salary breakdowns, trends by education, experience, and more, empowering Chiefs of Staff to advocate for equitable and competitive compensation.
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