Employers in the ICT industry are increasingly looking beyond remuneration to attract and retain employees, says the peak lobby group for Australia’s ICT industry.

Results from the Australian Information Industry Association’s (AIIA’s) latest Survey of Salaries and Remuneration Packaging in the Australian ICT Industry showed average salary increases of 4.1 per cent over the period August 2005 to August 2006.

“Forecasts for salary increases in the next financial year are also 4.1 per cent on average,” says AIIA’s Chief Executive Officer, Rob Durie.

“Salary increases have been similar for the last four survey cycles, which suggests that the ICT labour market remains steady. However, we may begin to see rising pressure on organisations to revise their salary budgets to accommodate the recent increase in CPI to 4 per cent. ”

Inflation is affecting the labour markets in industries across Australia, and the ICT labour market is no exception. The 4 per cent inflation rate, coupled with rising interest rates, means that employees in the industry have received marginal increases in ‘real salary’ over the survey period (August 2005-2006).

“There are currently a select group of ‘hot skills’ in demand – particularly in areas of SAP, Java, e-business, Network Security, Linux and .Net. Determining pay at the right level for employees with these skills is very important in the current environment,” Mr Durie says.

Finding creative ways to attract and retain employees has become essential, Mr Durie adds. “While competitive salary packages are vital, organisations are increasingly focusing attention and resources on the entire employee value proposition, which includes professional development, career progression, rewards and recognition, organisation culture and work/life balance.”

In a tight labour market ‘soft benefits’ such as gym memberships, financial planning advice or discounts on movie or theatre tickets can be the difference between keeping and losing an employee, Mr Durie says.

Rick Watt, Unisys’ Director Global Rewards for Asia Pacific, and member of AIIA’s Remuneration Committee agrees, and suggests that the demand for talent in today's market requires a holistic view of remuneration.

“Employees still see base salary as a key component, however many now consider the added ‘soft’ benefits that employers offer. At Unisys, we look at the total rewards and often include benefits that support the employee's family as well.”

Unisys extends a range of benefit programs to employees including discounts on IT products, resort accommodation and phone and Internet plans, as well as preferred products through finance, banking and health insurance partners.

“Our current focus is with the health and wellbeing of our employees - the Unisys Asia Pacific headquarters in Rhodes, for example, provides on-site gymnasium facilities at no cost to employees, and earlier this year we offered ‘flu shots to all employees Australia-wide,” Rick explains.

Similarly, Hewlett Packard has leveraged their size and employee demographic to develop a very attractive employee benefits scheme, which includes discounts on holiday accommodation, car rental, Internet and mobile phone plans for personal use and reduced cost health insurance.

HP has banking programs with some major banks, which can provide financial advice and special concessions, such as lower fees and discounts on home and personal loans. “We try to provide ‘value add’ national employee discount programs that better those offered to the general public,” says Paul Jackson, HP’s Total Rewards Manager for South Pacific.

“By adding a suite of discount programs, HP can provide a valuable range of products and services for our employees at very little or no cost,” Paul adds.

Rob Durie says that AIIA’s next Salary Survey will further investigate the ‘soft’ benefits on offer in the ICT industry.

“The growing emphasis on rewards beyond cash-based remuneration is just one of many innovative methods that ICT employers are using to improve the work environment for their employees,” Mr Durie concludes.

The August 2006 Salary Survey is AIIA’s thirty-eighth remuneration review of the ICT industry’s leading companies. Findings are based on the salaries and benefits information of 33,718 individual employees. The comprehensive survey, conducted twice yearly in March and August, is used by AIIA member companies to develop their recruitment and remuneration strategies.

For more information on AIIA, visit: www.aiia.com.au.

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