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Infographic | Beyond Data

2023 pay trends in the Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences industry

December 2022

Explore what our industry-specific Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences salary survey data tells us about 2023.
Compensation Strategy & Design
Beyond Data
Infographic of 2023 pay trends in the Pharmaceutical and Health Services industry

Employee attraction and retention plague organizations around the globe

Organizations are struggling to fill key roles at every level

Voluntary attrition rate
Brazil 6%
China 13%
United Kingdom 13%
United States 15%


Key roles for which employers will be recruiting in the next 12 months

Technical Skills Trade
Brazil 39%
China 65%
United Kingdom 54%
United States 38%

Sales
Brazil 54%
China 60%
United Kingdom 49%
United States 69%

Information Technology
China 25%
United Kingdom 27%
United States 27%


2022 saw the highest salary budget increases in nearly 20 years

Given the fundamental role salary plays in an organization’s ability to attract and retain talent, employers plan to carry this adjustment through to 2023 – yet remain cautious about how and when they allocate the overall budget.

2022 Overall Actual Salary Increases (Median) 2023 Overall Forecasted Salary Increases (Median)
Brazil 8% 8%
China 6% 6%
United Kingdom 3% 5%
United States 4% 5%


Additionally, organizations leveraged bonus payouts in 2022 and, again, are on track to the same in 2023

22%: Average 2022 projected variable payout for middle managers and professionals.

Brazil 23%
China 16%
United Kingdom 19%
United States 18%

Organizations have taken or are considering taking the same three actions

Compensation review of specific employee populations 51%
Targeted increases for specific employee populations 45%
One-off cash payments (e.g., retention bonus, lump-sum payment or allowance) 44%

Top 3 highest-paid functions across all industries at Professional Level 3 (P3)

Brazil China United Kingdom United States
Clinical Development

PAC Market Access

PAC Market Access

IT Development

Drug Discovery Research

AEM Data Science and Business Intelligence

PMA Medical Affairs

Product Development

IT Development

ARS Research 

ALG Legal
Legal

Median pay mix for Manager level 3 (M3) in the Data Scientist function

Brazil China United Kingdom United States
Base (%) 78% 83% 76% 76%
Bonus (%) 15% 17% 14% 14%
LTI (%) 7% - 10% 10%

There are a handful of roles that will receive the highest pay premiums across regions

Role Pay premium (Median, in % of base salary)
APAC AI/machine learning frameworks 15%
EMEA AI/machine learning frameworks 20%
LATAM Cryptography, distributed ledger development, smart contract programming 15%
NA Cryptography, distributed ledger development, smart contract programming 15%

56.3% overall increase in the number of data submissions to our Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences Compensation surveys

Trends that will drive 2023 rewards decisions

  1. The development of artificial intelligence and automation in the life sciences industry will gradually change tasks and skills. This trend may entail reskilling or upskilling certain employees to work with advanced technologies.
  2. Companies must develop total rewards packages that reflect employees’ needs to effectively win talent. Competitive compensation levels continue to move quickly, requiring up-to-date market data and a well-defined pay strategy.
  3. M&A activity is intensifying the war for talent. Ongoing market volatility requires companies to reconsider using equity and long-term incentives (LTIs)as primary compensation drivers. Companies are re-visiting their pay design and mix, and exploring alternative LTI models (e.g., cash, phantom shares). There is ongoing pressure to reserve cash, which can be invested in research and development.

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