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ASPonline.com >
Reports >
Salary Survey Poll
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The Future of the ASP Salary Survey
In mid-November, we polled ASP members about what they'd like us to
do with the annual Tech Support Salary Survey. We noted that response
rates have dropped somewhat in recent years, especially among smaller
companies that often can't afford the comprehensive compensation
studies that their bigger counterparts buy.
We invited ASP members to vote on three choices:
[ ] Keep the current salary survey as is.
[ ] Replace the current salary survey with a new annual report
on incentive plans.
[ ] Move away from compensation topics entirely and address
other topics.
We've now tallied the votes (156 members offered their feedback) and
it looks like the salary survey is still pretty popular: 45% of our
voting members said, in effect, "don't mess with a good thing." That's
a very high score for any single research topic, so we're persuaded.
The 2012 survey will proceed on our traditional schedule, with a data
collection campaign (2012 Salary Survey Questionnaire) that
begins now and will have a publication date in February.
The remaining votes split almost exactly between the second and third
options—27% for "a new annual report on incentive plans" and 28%
for "other topics." We happen to believe that incentives are a topic
that will become increasingly important in the next few years, so it
makes sense for us to track industry trends on a regular basis—but
probably not every year. Instead, we now plan to do an incentive report
every other year, perhaps bundled with the regular salary survey. (Last
year, we compiled a report on "Front-Line Support Incentives" that
offers a preview of our general methodology; copies are available for
download on the members-only page.)
As for "other topics"—one suggestion we heard fairly often is to
update some of our older benchmark reports, particularly on call center
metrics. We'll be reviewing those older reports for ideas, and we
welcome any suggestions that you might have for useful numbers or "best
practices" ideas.
A few comments from members:
"We used the last two years of the survey report to help our
compensation department understand industry and market rates for our
department."
"I have used this report every year in salary planning and would hate to
lose it. This year, I am finally working for a company that I believe
would actually permit participation in the survey if invited—though
we are very small in size compared to the membership base as a whole."
"Compensation, especially in this economic era, is a moving target
within high tech organizations as well as among them. Add in the pace of
change in technology and how different companies stock themselves with
talent of different kinds and mixes, and it starts looking like a full
fruit basket, not just apples and oranges."
"I find the support salary information useful."
"I've passed the salary survey around to our managers and haven't gotten
much feedback on it. What they are more interested in is reward programs
and ideas of how to keep people motivated when the budget is limited
(critical point here), resources are tight and the stress level is high."
"I wouldn't be surprised if the low response rate is due to the
depressing nature of the topic. It's a reminder for many people that
they haven't had any measurable increases over the last few years. In
other words, completing the survey makes them sad."
"I like the incentive plan topic. I'm very interested in plans that
reward support staff that isn't frontline, as well as other teams whose
actions impact support's ability to provide exceptional service (those
who manage entitlement data, R & D, sales people who set
expectations)."
"How about "Total Compensation" instead of simply the salary survey?
Take into account the benefits, signing bonuses, incentive plans, etc...
the whole picture."
"I think in most companies salary structure comes from HR and is not
usually negotiable... I have never used the salary survey, except once
when a company starting operations in the US needed some ballpark
figures for budgeting."
"I find the salary survey information valuable however this is not the
data our HR department would use in establishing salary ranges...thus
I choose the incentive plan option as this is something I may have
more control over."
"We rely on the survey results to help us quantify the difference
between a technical support job and one that supports software
exclusively. I would be disappointed to see it go."
"I use this report like a Bible. Please don't discontinue."
"I always find the salary information is interesting but never know
what to do with it (should I pay my employees more, should I quit my
job, etc.)."
"It is not something I need to refer to very often, but it is nice
that it is there when I need it."
"If / when we start to enter another hot economy, it will be much
more interesting to people. When there are many options for jobs,
then people want to know that the company they are working at are
taking good care of them."
"This information is valuable to us, helping ensure we are keeping up
with the industry trends."
"I was a big fish in a little pond now we have been swallowed up and
I am a little fish in a big pond with no control over setting pay
scales so the topic does not mean as much to me. Two bosses up—she
likes it and always wants the data when it is available."
"I think an incentive survey would be much more interesting for those
of us managing a support operation. There is only so much we can do
about salary, but have more leeway with incentive plans."
"The salary survey was the reason for joining ASP in the first place."
"I would recommend that perhaps the salary survey is done every other
year, perhaps replacing it with an annual report on incentive plans
on the off year."
"This is very useful information and in my opinion, would be a shame
if information on compensation were removed entirely (salary or
incentives)."
"I think compensation topics are relevant and I hope you will continue
to offer this information."
"This is the most requested piece of information from my clients."
"Our HR department doesn't approve of us participating in salary surveys."
"I did read your salary survey for this last year and I found it
quite detailed and interesting. I'm sure everybody is interested in
what compensation looks like for their job category, but I wonder if
it's not just a "look and see" kind of thing. Not that it doesn't
bring value, somebody higher up the food chain than I might be
interested in making sure their compensation plans are in line with
current trends, and that person may find more value in the results
than I."
"I can tell you I appreciate the survey for my own personal interest.
However in my company, the salaries are set by HR with little input
from managers or supervisors."
"I think it would be VERY interesting to see competing health, stock
option (equity) offerings and plans, pension plans (a relic, but nice
interesting nonetheless), and other nontraditional items of incentive
that are given to our ranks."
"Just knowing that the salary survey was out there was useful to me in
bringing the compensation plan for my staff up to par."
"The gaps between small companies and multi-nationals can be huge.
Salary differences between countries can be vast, and even within
countries (state to state in the US). I feel there are so many
variables it's not useful to discuss it."
"For my organization the ranking of job descriptions and
corresponding salary ranges is purely a function of HR. Any information
that I would bring to the table regarding salary ranges wouldn't get
much traction. However, other types of incentives may be useful
information."
—Jeff
Jeffrey Tarter, executive director
Association of Support Professionals
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