How the financial crisis affects salaries in the Security Management Market

When financial turbulence hits, one of the less obvious but deeply felt victims is compensation. The “security management” profession is no exception. In this article, we examine how macroeconomic stressors affect salary levels, using Swiss Post and the broader Swiss/private banking markets as anchor points. I then add a provocative lens: what do these salaries mean when measured in gold?

Salary Benchmarks in Switzerland’s Security Management Market

Swiss Post

Swiss Post (Post CH / Post CH AG) seldom publishes detailed salary bands. However, a recent public job posting for a Supplier Security Manager cited a compensation range of CHF 135,430 to CHF 150,430, depending on candidate qualifications and experience.

Private Companies

In more commercially driven environments, the typical salary range for security managers (without extraordinary extra responsibilities) tends to lie between CHF 125,000 and CHF 180,000. When the role is expanded—e.g. including oversight of quality, environment, occupational safety, ESG or related domains—salaries in some cases go up to CHF 240,000 (base, excluding fringe benefits).

Banking / Private Banking Sector

Salaries in the banking or private-banking segment push even higher. In such settings, a security manager—especially one with oversight of risk, compliance, or critical infrastructure security—can reach CHF 350,000+ (excluding fringe benefits).

Market Statistics & Comparisons

• Glassdoor reports an average Swiss security manager salary of about CHF 152,500, with some roles reaching up to CHF 207,500. Glassdoor

• PayScale lists a median base salary of CHF 145,660 in Switzerland. Payscale

• SalaryExpert suggests a base around CHF 120,300, plus average bonuses. Salary Expert

• A related role, “Security & Investigations Manager,” shows average compensation of CHF 126,015 in Switzerland. Salary Expert

These figures confirm that the ranges you propose lie well within expectations, albeit with some upward stretch in top-tier banking environments or when additional mandates are included.

Salary Value Measured in Gold: Then vs. Now

To gain a more tangible sense of “value preservation,” let’s compare what today’s salaries buy in terms of gold, and how that compares with three years ago.

Gold Price Baseline

• As of now, gold trades around CHF 86.96 per gram (or conversely, 1 troy ounce ≈ CHF 2,704.86) in Swiss francs. Gold Price

• Alternatively, gold spot price charts in CHF confirm this order of magnitude. JM Bullion+1

• Using currency conversion, 1 CHF equals approximately 0.0000116 troy ounces of gold (i.e. 1 / 86.96 in grams, then convert grams → troy ounces) via standard exchange tools.

Now, we want to compare with three years ago. Suppose in 2022, gold traded at about CHF 72/gram (this is an estimate; gold prices have varied). If so:

• In 2022, a CHF 150,430 salary would buy ~ 2,090 g, i.e. ~ 67.2 oz.

• Today, that same CHF amount gets only ~1,731 g (≈ 55.7 oz).

• That implies a ≈17.2% erosion in gold-value terms.

If we use the private company high scenario (CHF 240,000):

• In 2022: ~ 3,333 g (≈ 107.3 oz)

• Today: ~ 2,761 g (≈ 88.7 oz)

• That is ~ 17.2% decline.

Interestingly, the loss in gold terms is fairly consistent across the salary bands, because the ratio is linear. So across many salary levels, the decline in “gold purchasing power” over three years is on the order of 15–20 %, assuming the gold price moved from ~CHF 72/g → CHF 87/g. If the actual historical price differential is larger, the erosion is accordingly greater.

Thus, even if base salaries nominally increased or stayed flat, the value measured against a “hard asset” has likely declined significantly up to 20% in this period.