Technology industry employees who have been waiting a long time for a raise have cause for optimism: the wage freezes that were prevalent in the sector last year appear to be thawing.
While two-thirds of technology companies in B.C. reported wage freezes in 2009, only 10% have implemented salary freezes this year and only 3% are anticipating a need to freeze wages in 2011.
This according to Vancouver’s HR Tech Group and Towers Watson, whose annual High Tech Salary Survey also reveals that wage increases are higher than they were last year.
“We’ve always had wage increases in the technology sector,” said Allison Rutherford, HR Tech’s executive director, “so last year, to see so many frozen was new for our industry.”
The 72 companies that participated in the survey reported that they’re increasing wages by 2.3% on average this year. Last year’s average increase was 1.9%. The reported 2.3% rise mirrors the anticipated 2010 increase that companies reported in last year’s survey.
It shows that companies are also anticipating raising wages 3.1% in 2011.
Rutherford said the survey results suggest the return of the talent crunch, and with that crunch, she added, comes additional employer efforts to recruit and retain staff.
For example, recruiting key talent is again a top corporate priority.
“Last year, recruiting key talent wasn’t even on the radar,” said Rutherford. “It was a tough year – salaries were frozen, companies weren’t hiring as much and some companies had layoffs.”
Employee engagement and leadership development remain top priorities for human resources departments.
As in previous years, about half of the companies in the HR Tech-Towers survey, which is in its 19th year, are in information technology.
But whereas last year’s survey included results from 175 different technology jobs in B.C., this year’s survey includes 202.
Interestingly, the 32 new jobs added to the survey are all from the digital media sector, which, according to Rutherford, reflects that sector’s growth in B.C.
Those 32 jobs represent a broad cross-section of roles – from digital-effects creators in the film sector to animators in the video game sector.
“There wasn’t as many as those kinds of people out there last year,” said Rutherford.
“[HR Tech] had huge demand from companies like Rainmaker, Ubisoft and film companies who said, ‘Hey, we have even more jobs that you’re not covering right now. Can you expand the survey?’”
The survey builds on the optimism reported in the British Columbia Technology Industry Association’s (BCTIA) TechTalentBC Labour Demand Study.
Released last spring, the study found that technology companies expected to increase their headcount 6% in 2010, bringing the industry back to its previous employment peak by the end of 2010 or early 2011.
According to the BCTIA, B.C.’s technology industry shed approximately 6% of its workforce, or about 4,700 jobs, during the downturn. •