Ann Egan

Six of the world's 10 highest-paying countries for information technology (IT) managers are in Western Europe, according to a new survey by Mercer. Switzerland pays the highest salaries followed by Denmark, Belgium and the UK. The United States and Canada are ranked 6 and 8, respectively.<br /><br />Ms. Neo Siew Khim, Mercer Asia Pacific Business Leader, Information Product Solutions said that the lowest paid IT employees in 2007 tend to be those in Asian markets.<br /><br />"IT professionals in Hong Kong and Australia are the only two APAC markets to make it on the list of top 10 best paid globally with the ranking of 9 and 10 respectively, Ms. Neo said.<br /><br />Mercer's 2007 IT Pay around the World survey compared the total annual cash compensation and total remuneration information for IT staff in 6,545 companies in 35 different countries. Multinational companies use the survey to benchmark salaries, bonuses, and other forms of pay, and to allocate global IT budgets.<br /><br />Based on gross annual total cash, IT staff at all levels are paid the most in Switzerland, where the IT Manager job pays an average of $140,960 annually. The same job level in Denmark (the second-highest-paying country) pays $123,080, while Belgium (3) pays an average of $121,170. The UK and Ireland are ranked 4 and 5, with an average pay of $118,190 and $108,230, respectively.<br /><br />In the United States, the average IT manager earns $107,500 a year compared with Canada (8) at $106,000.<br /><br />The survey found that IT managers in Vietnam, Bulgaria and the Philippines receive the lowest pay, respectively, at $15,470, $22,240 and $22,280 a year. Indian IT managers were fourth from the bottom, earning an average of $25,000.<br /><br />In the most-junior career band surveyed, defined as IT Professional - Experienced, employees in Switzerland earn the highest salaries at an average $101,510, ahead of Belgium (2), Germany (3) and Denmark (4). The UK ranks fifth with an average of $64,340 followed by the US (6). In the lower-paying countries, Vietnam again pays the least at $5,570, followed by the Philippines and India at $8,130 and $9,630, respectively.<br /><br />According to David Van De Voort, IT workforce specialist in Mercer's Chicago office, "The impact of outsourcing and off-shoring on IT roles in North America and Western Europe helps explain the pattern of global pay. Lower-level roles are being moved to regions where talent is cheaper; the jobs that remain in Western Europe and the US may be fewer in number but are more demanding and complex roles like vendor relationship manager, internal consultant and IT business partner.<br /><br />The survey also highlighted that the relationship between experience/skill level and pay is different in different countries. For example, large pay gaps exist between junior and senior career streams in Indonesia, India, Brazil, Chile and Vietnam, which have the highest pay progression ratios between the lowest and highest career streams. In the US and many western European nations, pay increases more proportionately with experience.<br /><br />Mr. David Conroy, a principal in Mercer's London office, said, "This reflects a lack of hierarchy in western IT functions. In these countries, companies need to be more creative to attract staff. There is more focus on variable factors to attract staff, such as bonus schemes, while in lower-paying countries, the emphasis remains on cash compensation.<br /><br />Mr. Conroy continued, "The globalization of the IT function continues to develop. Companies in Europe and the US continue to be more imaginative in their remuneration strategies to ensure that they keep the best talent. Employers understand local markets and look to developing successful staff attraction and retention strategies to remain competitive.<br />