EDITORS NOTE

Dollars and Sense

Not yet jaded, Im still in awe of what any desk potato (spud cousin to the couch kind) can find on the Web. Virtually (no pun intended) everything is out thereincluding the lowdown on that often-sensitive subject of money.

For example, just for kicks, I recently visited sites that offer compensation information. I clicked on the CIO title and, for location, chose New York, figuring that might represent the higher end of the pay scale. Some sites offered more customized information for a fee. Those with free feedback usually stuck to generic data based on their own survey information. Tech job site Dice.com indicated the mean salary for 26 respondents who are full-time members of IT management (defined as CEO, CIO, CTO, VP, or director) with one year of experience is $107,423. With 15 years experience, the figure given for the one and only respondent went up to $180,000. By contrast, Salary.com reported the median expected base-pay salary for a typical chief information technology officer in New York is $210,616. Compare these numbers with some that are more insurance specific in the cover feature, Payment Due, p. 12.

But inconsistencies and variances aside, a notable consequence of all this info access is it levels the playing field. In terms of salary negotiation, whether for a new job or a raise, its a lot tougher 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 such factors as region, skills, etc. Second, prove what youre worth. Quantifiable achievements make a heck of an argument. Third, focus your energies on areas that seem to be paying offwhich today, industry insiders say, mean business-side savvy and process-improvement expertise.

This topic reminds me of a friend who often visits China and, for fun, bargains with street merchants there. He speaks no Chinese; the merchants speak little or no English. Yet, he tells me, they haggle flawlessly by literally pushing the right buttonstapping numbers into a calculatorand the deal gets done. In salary talks, pushing the right buttons means using the arguments the decision-maker will acceptand assign value to.
Equally important is knowing what to doif turned down. Perhaps other rewards would be acceptable or negotiable. Perhaps youre ready to walk away. While this stance of last resort sometimes works to the advantage of my friend in China (with the vendors quickly chasing after him with yet another counter offer), it obviously 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 thatbut maybe not, or not in the current budget-conscious environment. If nothing else, it seems like a good time to reassess situations and plan strategy. Money isnt everything, but as the economy improves, there may be more of it around, so you might want to consider how to get some of those bucks now.

Sharon S. Schwartzman
Editor-in-Chief