​The Equipment Dealers Assn. (EDA) Compensation and Benefits Report for outdoor power equipment dealerships represents the association’s most comprehensive report and data relative to wages and benefits offered to OPE dealership employees. 

The EDA Compensation and Benefits Survey questionnaire was revised this year and enhanced to include wage data relative to office/professional staff, sales, parts and service departments. The survey was reviewed and evaluated by industry experts, key dealer management, human resource personnel and EDA staff. The survey was designed to capture data on wages and total compensation of dealership employees and the composition of commission and bonus programs. 

EDA’s OPE Compensation and Benefits report includes four main sections, 1) methodology and statistics, 2) compensation information, 3) employee benefits program, and 4) employment practices and HR resources. The report includes wage reporting for dealership staff and is broken down by departments: office, sales, parts and service. The service department section contains a comprehensive breakdown of technician compensation, shop rates and other service department information. 

The employee benefits section contains dealership information on group health plans, dental and other insurance, and retirement plans. The reports include employer and employee costs related to the coverages. This section also includes additional information and analysis from EDA contributing experts. Additional dealership demographic information and projections are also included. 

Data from 120 dealerships, representing 145 dealership locations, is included in the survey. Individual dealership information was recorded confidentially by a third-party research firm and reported only in aggregate.

Compensation figures are arranged by base salary (or hourly rate), annual commission/bonus, average total compensation, the percentage and method used to calculate the commission/bonus and descriptive comments regarding the commission/bonus for each staff position. Each of the compensation categories include an average, minimum and maximum amount for each position and volume category. 

With the challenges OPE dealerships experience managing an Internet sales and marketing presence, it’s important to note that 5% of the OPE dealer respondents reported having a compensated internet sales manager on staff compared to only 2% in 2014.

For informational purposes, the following table shows the average volume and dealership reporting breakdown by EDA region. Volume data only represents dealerships that reported total sales volume data.

The 2016 OPE Compensation & Benefits Report will be available later this summer. EDA members who completed the survey will have a complimentary copy of the report mailed to them at that time. Dealers who did not participate in the survey, may pre-order a copy of the report here, with discounted rates for EDA dealer members. If you have any questions about EDA membership or the 2016 OPE Compensation & Benefits report, please contact the EDA office at 636.349.5000 or email info@equipmentdealer.org.