North East businesses make an educated decision

One of the region’s graduates is proving that work experience can involve more than just photocopying and doing the coffee run as the results of her human resources salary survey is published to 1,000 leading UK businesses.

The project was carried out as part of Newcastle University Business School’s master’s programme in Human Resource Management at Newcastle-based Exclusive Human Resources.

Over a four month period, Amina Sharatova worked with the team to produce a salary survey project looking at the average earnings and benefits offered to HR professionals in the north of England.

The results of the survey have been supplied to Exclusive Human Resources’ clients, allowing them to compare their own pay levels with industry averages and enabling individuals to pitch themselves at an appropriate level.

Mark Ions, managing director of Exclusive Human Resources, said: “Perception is that salaries in the HR industry have been affected by the credit crunch so continuing to develop Amina’s survey will enable the student who joins us in February to compare findings from 2008/2009 with 2009/2010 figures which will be beneficial not only to recruiters but also for employees and industry specialists like ourselves.”

Sarah Carnegie, Guest Lecturer of Newcastle University Business School HR programmes, said: “Last year’s project with Exclusive Human Resources was a great success and the consultancy role is a fantastic opportunity for students to gain firsthand knowledge of the industry. These opportunities also help North East businesses complete projects they perhaps do not have the time or resources to take on themselves.

“Over the years we have seen completion of a large number of successful projects which have helped our graduates when they return to work or when they move into new positions. The continued success of this module reaffirms the Business School’s strong links with local businesses and the benefits both the students and business leaders can have from investing some time in consultancy placements.”