* Results of Network World's 2007 Salary Survey
Dissatisfaction over salaries and worry over outsourcing were two of the top concerns of IT executives, according to findings of this year’s Network World Salary Survey, though workers are happy with their employers’ family friendliness and flexible work policies.
Despite IT pay raises averaging at around 5.2%, which is higher than the average inflation rate for 2006, according to Inflationdata.com – respondents to the salary survey ranked overall compensation at No. 11 in the list of 18 job criteria. Base salary was listed as No. 12, and benefits package was listed at No. 10 in the satisfaction rank. The data should be worrying for employers – overall compensation, base salary and benefits package, in that order, are the top three important criteria for respondents.
The survey of 1,789 respondents was carried out by Network World and research firm King, Brown & Partners.
Respondents were also unhappy with annual raises – the seventh most important criteria to network executives – which ranked No. 15 in satisfaction. Bonuses came in at No. 16 and stock/share options at the rock-bottom No. 18 in importance.
Pay issues are partly to blame for some workers quitting, according to the Network World story that’s published alongside the salary survey. FirstHealth of the Carolinas, a healthcare network in Pinehurst, N.C., lost a couple of people, partly due to pay issues, and Jonathan Campbell, director of network services says finding new staff members is a challenge as “the biggest problem is salary.”
He believes some employers are willing to pay handsomely to keep good people and that companies looking for new hires can’t compete with those salaries. The alternative is to hire immigrant workers with little experience but lots of degrees and certifications and pay them less. Customer satisfaction could suffer as a result, says Campbell.
Staff members, compared to middle and senior IT managers, are generally more dissatisfied overall with their jobs. Nearly 17% of respondents reported being affected by increase use of outsourcing at their jobs, with workers in manufacturing, banking and high-tech industries most often reported increased use of outsourcing at their firms, as did respondents within the largest companies. Eastern Europe was cited by one manager in the article as being a gold mine for outsourcing talent.
It’s not all gloom though in the world of IT. Respondents listed family friendliness, flexibility of work schedule and proximity of their workplace to home as Nos. 1, 3, and 4 in the satisfaction ratings. The second most important item of satisfaction was job security.
Big salary gains can be seen in the media, hospitality, entertainment and recreation industries, which enjoyed an average 7.4% pay hike to $84,500, according to the survey. The highest paying sectors are in finance ($97,300 average salary, a 5.1% increase over 2006) and high-tech ($93,000 salary, 6.2% increase).
Also, employers are hiring. Of the 1,100 survey respondents with hiring authority, slightly more than half said they were looking for new employees. Some 71% of employers are looking for network designers and architects, which bodes well for the network pros who are closely following Cisco’s planned Cisco Certified Design Expert certification. Take a peek at the hot skills list here.
Geographic regions enjoying the biggest % change in 2007 base pay include South Atlantic (Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia), which saw a 6.0% increase from 2006, and the West (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming) which boasted a 5.9% jump.
What are your views on the issues discussed in the survey? Are you satisfied with your salary? What’s keeping you loyal to your employer? Are there aspects of your work that you’re dissatisfied with? Please feel free to add to this discussion by sending me an e-mail, responding to the “comment” box below (if you’re reading the HTML version of the newsletter), or by jumping into the debate in the salary survey story online.
