Two new research reports released by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) show that overall, the interior design profession is strong and industry professionals are satisfied in their careers. Created to support interior designers across all professional levels, the “ASID Compensation & Benefits Report” and the “ASID Talent Acquisition Report” outline prevalent issues in the interior design workplace and offer data to empower the design community to a more inclusive and equitable future.
The “ASID Compensation & Benefits Report” examines the interior design workforce through data collected as part of the ASID Member Census, conducted in 2023. Authored by Michael J. Berens, M.S., Ph. D, the report covers trends impacting salaries, benefits, and job satisfaction to provide insights within the design profession for hiring professionals and job seekers alike. ASID’s “Talent Acquisition Report,” authored by Lisa Henry, Allied AIA, FASID, serves as a complement to the “Compensation & Benefits Report,” drawing from today’s market conditions detailing challenges and strategies that design firms can use to tailor their talent retention and recruitment methods.
“As the leading association for all members of the interior design community, ASID recognizes our responsibility to provide practitioners with a transparent view of the interior design profession across all sectors,” said Khoi Vo, chief executive officer, ASID. “These reports give design professionals and other members of the design community the hard data needed to make informed career and business decisions, based on benefits and pay, and the impacts of gender, race and job satisfaction. While the industry has made great strides in diversity and gender equity, the 'Compensation & Benefits Report' shows there is still much work to be done.
In recent years, increased demand for interior design services has created a tight labor market for talent. Findings from the “ASID Compensation & Benefits Report” explore salaries and benefits across demographics including gender, education, region, race, job level, role, experience and more – along with job satisfaction by gender and firm size. With this information, employees can better assess their current job situation and make informed decisions about their future career choices, and employers can better understand the factors that most influence employees’ hiring decisions, performance, and retention.
Notable findings include:
- Salaries have increased over the past five years.
- Education and certification affect salary levels.
- Employees place a high value on work flexibility, as well as benefits that contribute to their health, wellness, and well-being.
- Gender and age can affect employees’ benefits.
Firms that understand evolving employee expectations, prioritize employee engagement and invest in their people can create a virtuous cycle that improves their ability to attract, develop and retain talent. The “ASID Talent Acquisition Report” explores challenges and presents strategies that design firms can use to help leaders tailor and tune up their talent acquisition strategies. Regardless of the number of employees, different sized firms are impacted by the same demographic shifts and can customize many of these strategies and ideas to fit their culture and resource constraints.
“The addition of the Talent Acquisition Report to our collection of research enables us to equip designers and businesses with in-depth tools, data and insights to inform their hiring practices and business operations,” said Vo.
Other findings from the report include:
- Employers are framing their strategy for talent acquisition differently in an effort to attract and engage earlier career professionals.
- Firms are re-evaluating their recruiting methods and taking advantage of remote work to attract candidates from new pools that were previously excluded due to geographical limitations or preferences.
- Compensation and other transactional benefits are just the baseline for keeping top talent; the relational side of work is what makes the difference.
Both reports are sponsored by Sherwin Williams and are now available for interior designers, industry professionals and members of the public. The reports are free for ASID members, and $150 each for non-members. Visit asid.org to access the reports.
