GUIDE TO PAY & BONUS EXPECTATIONSFOR IT PROFESSIONALS

Request a salary survey and find out how much your employees think they are worth at www.robertwalters.co.uk/salarysurveyrequest

WHAT PAY AND BONUSES ARE YOUR IT TEAM EXPECTING TO RECEIVE?The latest Robert Walters survey asked IT professionals working across the UK about their annual pay, benefits and incentives packages in advance of the upcoming compensation round in 2015.

While 40% did not receive a payrise in 2014, and 58% did not receive a bonus, 65% of IT professionals expect to receive a salary rise in 2015 and over half expect to receive a bonus.

Robert Walters UK Job Index shows that the number of permanent and contract IT roles advertised throughout 2014 increased, which is forecast to continue into 2015. A quarter of IT professionals surveyed stated that they are planning to move jobs within the next year, with 43% already looking for a new opportunity.

Percentage of IT professionals expecting a salary increase in 2015

n 65% expect to receive a salary increasen 35% do not expect to receive a salary increase

SALARY EXPECTATIONS IN 2015

The majority of IT professionals have indicated that they anticipate a base salary increase in 2014. 54% are expecting a rise of between 1% and 10%.

Size of salary increase expected in 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0None 1-3% 4-6% 7-10% 11-15% 16-20% 21-25% 26+%

Per

cent

age

of re

spon

dent

s

Expected salary increase (as a % of base salary)

“As confidence in the economy grew in 2014, this led to firms re-investing in their permanent IT teams, having relied heavily on contract staff in recent years. We expect competition in the market to increase in 2015 as strong IT candidates become even more sought after, so it is important that hiring managers consider the compensation packages they are offering in order to attract and retain top talent.” Tim Gilbert, Director – London

of IT professionalsare expecting ahigher salary in 2015

65%

Percentage of IT professionals expecting a salary increase by region in 2014 (as a % of salary)

Expected Increase Overall London & The South East Midlands North

None 35% 24% 35% 45%

1-3% 40% 38% 41% 42%

4-6% 13% 14% 13% 13%

7-10% 1% 0% 3% 0%

11-15% 6% 14% 5% 0%

16-20% 3% 5% 3% 0%

21-25% <1% 1% 0% 0%

26%+ <2% 4% 0% 0%

While 58% of IT specialists stated that they didn’t receive a bonus in 2014, 53% are expecting to receive a bonus in 2015. 40% are anticipating a bonus of up to 10% of base salary, and over 10% are hoping to receive between 11% and 20% of their base salary as a bonus.

Percentage of IT professionals expecting a bonus in 2015

n 55% expect to receive a bonusn 45% do not expect to receive a bonus

BONUS EXPECTATIONS IN 2015

“We advise hiring managers to focus on offering the most attractive compensation and benefits packages they can in 2015, or they could struggle to attract and retain the best IT professionals. It is likely that the strongest IT professionals will be juggling multiple job interviews, so to capture the interest of candidates bonuses and benefits packages should be addressed within the interview process.”

Kevin Moran, Associate Director – Birmingham

of IT professionalsare expecting abonus in 2015

53%

of IT professionals are expecting a bonus of upto 10% of base salary

40%

Size of bonus expected in 2015 (as a % of base salary)

50

40

30

20

10

0None 1-5% 6-15% 16-25% 26+%

Per

cent

age

of re

spon

dent

s

Expected bonus (as a % of base salary)

Percentage of IT professionals expecting a bonus in 2014, by region (as a % of salary)

Expected Bonus Overall London & The South East Midlands North

None 47% 24% 50% 66%

1-5% 14% 14% 15% 13%

6-10% 26% 38% 20% 19%

11-15% 8% 14% 9% 1%

16-20% 5% 10% 6% 1%

It is clear that IT professionals are considering changing roles soon, with 43% actively looking for a new opportunity now and a further 25% looking to change jobs within a year.

of IT professionals are currently looking for a new job

43%

When are you next looking to move jobs?

n 43% I’m already looking for a new opportunityn 9% The next 3 monthsn 8% The next 3-6 monthsn 8% The next 6-9 months 0% The next 9-12 monthsn 5% The next 1-2 years n 27% I am not looking to change jobs in the near future

CHANGING JOBS IN 2015

Over half of IT professionals surveyed stated that they feel confident in the current jobs market and are sure that they could find a new job easily if they were to look for a new opportunity.

of IT professionals are worried about the current jobs market

12%

How confident are you in the current jobs market?

n 53% I feel confident in the jobs market and I feel sure that I could find a new job easilyn 35% I’m neither confident in nor worried about the current jobs marketn 12% I’m concerned about the jobs market and wouldn’t feel confident about finding a new opportunity

CONFIDENCE IN THE JOBS MARKET

If you were to change jobs, which of the following would be your primary motivation for thinking about moving?

IT professionals are motivated by both money and career progression, with an additional 25% stating that improved work/life balance would attract them to a new opportunity. Almost 30% state that an opportunity that offered significant career development would tempt them to leave their current role.

n 28% A pay rise/change in compensation packagen 29% Career progressionn 25% Improved work/life balancen 18% Improved stability or job security

MOTIVATION FOR MOVING JOBS

“As we head into 2015, it is apparent that IT professionals have more confidence in the jobs market than they had last year, with only 12% stating that they are worried about the jobs market and wouldn’t feel confident about finding a new opportunity. With increased compensation and

career progression being the main motivators for IT professionals to change jobs, it is crucial for line managers to offer attractive benefits and good career development to their IT teams.” James Murray, Associate Director – London

www.robertwalters.co.uk

of those who accepted a counter offer returned to the job market within a year

33% We asked IT professionals if they had ever received a counter offer from their current firm during their resignation process. Of those who had received a counter offer, over 80% stated that the offer encompassed a pay rise, a quarter of those were additionally promoted and 11% received a guaranteed bonus. However, 68% of those did not accept the counter offer, and a third of those who did began looking for another opportunity within one year.

COUNTER OFFERS TO RETAIN STAFF

James Murray (London & South East)020 7379 3333james.murray@robertwalters.com

Kevin Moran (Midlands)0121 281 5000kevin.moran@robertwalters.com

Ahsan Iqbal (North)0161 214 7400ahsan.iqbal@robertwalters.com

For all your IT recruitment needs, please contact:

“The results suggest that a significant number of IT professionals who have considered leaving a company and have found an alternative role will not be persuaded to stay long term, even with the offer of a pay rise or increased responsibility. 55% of those surveyed who accepted a counter offer stated that they did so due to the convenience of staying with a firm, not because they were invested in the role.” Ahsan Iqbal, Manager – Manchester