Toronto, Ontario, November 24, 2005
Pay levels in Canadian high-tech companies continue to be stable, according to recent research from Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Employers across the Canadian high-tech industry are projecting average salary increases of 3.4% for 2006. The projected increase in the high-tech sector is consistent with increases made in 2005 and aligned with increases in other sectors.
"The Canadian high-tech sector has undergone radical changes in the last five years. But this survey shows that there are good prospects for both pay increases and advancement in the Canadian high tech sector, and it continues to be a very good place to build and establish a career," said Bernard Courtois, President and CEO of ITAC.
There is increased willingness by companies to acquire strategic talent and pay a premium when hiring in key areas. For example, sales positions have experienced significant increases in median total cash compensation in 2005 compared to 2004. Senior high-tech sales people and sales management have seen an increase in total cash compensation ranging from 15% to 45%. Larger incentives and commissions are driving the increased compensation compared to 2004 suggesting that companies are willing to pay for top performing talent who can help drive revenue and company growth.
"Despite the challenges the high-tech sector has faced, compensation for specialized professionals with advanced skill sets continue to show stable pay increases," said Danielle Bushen, Principal, Mercer Human Resource Consulting. "We have also seen an increase in employers building from within to sustain value in their organizations, providing progressive opportunities for high-tech professionals to advance their skills and responsibility."
In fact, 89% of senior human resource executives say that attracting and retaining the right talent is their top rewards priority. Other challenges cited were differentiating high performers (80%) and ensuring pay for performance (70%).
"Compensation plays an important role in attracting and retaining talent. Companies recognize that they need to vary the compensation structure for employees with specialized skills," added Ms. Bushen.
In an effort to assist companies to measure and benchmark pay levels for technically specialized skills, Mercer´s survey examines compensation in three career streams: management; individual professionals (technical positions); and para-professionals (semi-skilled employees); recognizing the diversity of skills and responsibilities within high-tech companies. The result is that employers have a way of comparing highly qualified individual contributors to management level staff in a more accessible format.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting´s HTC- High-Tech Compensation Survey, 2005, sponsored by the Information Technology Association of Canada, includes data from 77 organizations representing approximately 49,500 Canadian high-tech sector employees. For further information or to purchase copies of the survey, visit www.imercer.ca, or call Mercer Global Information Services, 1-800-631-9628.
The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), is the voice of the Canadian information and communications technology (ICT) industry in all sectors including telecommunications and Internet services, ICT consulting services, hardware, microelectronics, software and electronic content. ITAC´s network of companies accounts for more than 70% of the 566,000 jobs, $130 billion in revenue, $5.2 billion in R&D expenditure, $20.7 billion in exports and $11.5 billion in capital expenditure that the sector contributes annually to the Canadian economy.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting is the global leader for trusted HR and related financial advice, products, and services, with more than 14,000 employees serving clients in 145 cities and 45 countries and territories worldwide. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago, Pacific, and London stock exchanges. For more information visit mercerHR.com.