Framework for Setting It Salaries

Framework for Setting IT Salaries

Info-Tech Research Group is

a professional services firm

dedicated to providing premium

research and objective advice

to IT managers of mid-sized

enterprises, serving more than

25,000 clients worldwide. Our

purpose is to provide practical

and thorough solutions that

enable IT managers to bridge the

gap between technology and

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© Info-Tech Research Group, 2005

Setting competitive salaries is a critical process in attracting and retaining top

IT talent. As IT budgets improve, the need for this process will only increase.

Apply this framework to help establish meaningful salary ranges and aid

recruitment efforts.

Inside this report:

Executive Summary .................................................................................................2

Using This Report ..................................................................................................3

Make Hiring & Retention a Priority ..........................................................................4

HR or IT Issue? Answer: Both ................................................................................5

The Budget and Staffing Landscape ................................................................6

Security, Auditing and Network Management Heat Up ................................7

Turnover Continues to Be an Issue .....................................................................9

Manager Takeaway: Hiring and Retention Are Back on the Table .............12

Know the Job Requirements .................................................................................12

Begin with Strategy ............................................................................................13

Focus on Skills .....................................................................................................16

Build Effective Job Descriptions .......................................................................18

Manager Takeaway: Better Questions Will Yield Better Answers .................19

Research Benchmark Sources ..............................................................................19

Types of Information Sources ...........................................................................20

Understand the Competitive Environment .....................................................23

Consider Total Compensation vs. Base Salary ...............................................25

Be Aware of Internal Parity Issues ....................................................................26

Manager Takeaway: Cast a Wide Net ...........................................................27

Conclusion: Toward a Salary-Setting Framework ...............................................27

Appendix 1: Job Description Template ...............................................................28

Appendix 2: Salary Information Guide ...............................................................30

Appendix 3: IT Salary Setting Checklist ................................................................33

© 2005 INFO-2 TECH RESEARCH GROUP

Framework for Setting IT Salaries

TOC

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Having a highly skilled and capable staff is one of the most important factors in

an IT department's ability to deliver solid support to the enterprise. Competitive

compensation is critical in hiring and retaining the kind of staff who can make this

happen.

But what is an appropriate salary for a given position? Fortunately, there is

abundant salary data that can be used to formulate appropriate ranges. Much

of this information is available for free or for a nominal fee. Info-Tech believes

that these numbers, while helpful, are only one component of the salary-setting

exercise. Another important component is a thorough assessment of the business

needs of a given job role.

This Info-Tech Research Group report provides a detailed management overview

of the current state of budgets and hiring for small- and mid-sized enterprise (SME)

IT departments. We outline two critical steps that need to be taken for effective

salary range setting. These steps include:

1. Gather requirements. Most enterprises eagerly say, "People are our most

important resource." While this is broadly correct, the hard truth is that

some jobs, and certain skill sets, are more important than others. Consider

these questions:

o What are our strategic staffing goals?