Dollars and Sense

Not yet jaded, Im still in awe of what any desk potato (spudcousin to the couch kind) can find on the Web. Virtually (no punintended) everything is out thereincluding the lowdown on thatoften-sensitive subject of money.

For example, just for kicks, I recently visited sites that offercompensation information. I clicked on the CIO title and, forlocation, chose New York, figuring that might represent the higherend of the pay scale. Some sites offered more customizedinformation for a fee. Those with free feedback usually stuck togeneric data based on their own survey information. Tech job siteDice.com indicated the mean salary for 26 respondents who arefull-time members of IT management (defined as CEO, CIO, CTO, VP,or director) with one year of experience is $107,423. With 15 yearsexperience, the figure given for the one and only respondent wentup to $180,000. By contrast, Salary.com reported the medianexpected base-pay salary for a typical chief information technologyofficer in New York is $210,616. Compare these numbers with somethat are more insurance specific in the cover feature, Payment Due,p. 12.

But inconsistencies and variances aside, a notable consequenceof all this info access is it levels the playing field. In terms ofsalary negotiation, whether for a new job or a raise, its a lottougher to pull the pay stub over the employees or boss eyes.
This indicates, first, if youre considering asking for an increase,youve got to know what the market will pay, keeping in mind suchfactors as region, skills, etc. Second, prove what youre worth.Quantifiable achievements make a heck of an argument. Third, focusyour energies on areas that seem to be paying offwhich today,industry insiders say, mean business-side savvy andprocess-improvement expertise.

This topic reminds me of a friend who often visits China and,for fun, bargains with street merchants there. He speaks noChinese; the merchants speak little or no English. Yet, he tellsme, they haggle flawlessly by literally pushing the rightbuttonstapping numbers into a calculatorand the deal gets done. Insalary talks, pushing the right buttons means using the argumentsthe decision-maker will acceptand assign value to.
Equally important is knowing what to doif turned down. Perhapsother rewards would be acceptable or negotiable. Perhaps youreready to walk away. While this stance of last resort sometimesworks to the advantage of my friend in China (with the vendorsquickly chasing after him with yet another counter offer), itobviously can fail miserably, too.

Granted, a lot of this is common sense and some standard wisdom.Seasoned IT executives already may have been there, done thatbutmaybe not, or not in the current budget-conscious environment. Ifnothing else, it seems like a good time to reassess situations andplan strategy. Money isnt everything, but as the economy improves,there may be more of it around, so you might want to consider howto get some of those bucks now.

Sharon S. Schwartzman
Editor-in-Chief