Can't Buy Them Love: IT Leaders' Compensation Increases but Job Satisfaction Plummets

Research from the latest Harvey Nash CIO survey also reveals IT leaders feel less strategic and influential inside their companies, even though they're making progress on the IT-business alignment front

Comments

The old adage "money doesn't buy happiness" proves true in a new survey of IT leaders commissioned by executive search firm Harvey Nash USA and sponsored by KPMG. The survey, which drew 258 responses from CIOs, CTOs, senior- and mid-level IT managers and other C-level executives, found that IT leaders' compensation is on an upward trajectory.

Despite the money they're making, fewer IT leaders say they're satisfied with their jobs this year

According to the results, 75 percent of respondents earn a base salary of more than $US125,000 per year; that's up from 70 percent last year and 36 percent two years ago. And 56 percent of respondents say that they earn an annual salary of more than $US150,000, compared with 41 percent last year. At the top, 29 percent of respondents report earning more than $US200,000 per year, compared to 19 percent last year. Harvey Nash's findings look similar to the compensation data from our 2008 State of the CIO research.

In addition to increases in base salaries, more IT leaders are getting retention bonuses. The number of IT leaders receiving such bonuses has skyrocketed in two years, from six percent to 22 percent, says the Harvey Nash survey.

No wonder that 80 percent of respondents report being satisfied with their compensation.

Despite the money they're making, fewer IT leaders say they're satisfied with their jobs this year. In 2007, 88 percent of IT leaders called their jobs fulfilling, compared with 79 percent this year. And one-fifth of respondents (21 percent) don't find their jobs fulfilling.

Consequently, 28 percent of respondents say they're hunting for a new job and the 54 percent who aren't actively looking say they'd entertain calls from recruiters.

One factor fuelling that eagerness to switch jobs: CIOs feel less influential in their roles and in their organizations, according to the survey. The number of CIOs who view their role as becoming "more strategic" to their company declined from 80 percent last year to 69 percent this year.

What's more, fewer IT leaders now report to the CEO. Only 29 percent of the Harvey Nash survey respondents say their boss is the CEO, compared with 36 percent last year. (In our research, 41 percent of State of the CIO survey respondents call the CEO boss.)