Philippine IT managers among the lowest paid in the world

Philippine IT managers among the lowest paid in the world

October 29, 2007
Updated 17:03:59 (Mla time)
Abigail L. Ho
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine information technology managers are among the lowest paid IT executives in the world, ranking second from the bottom rung in Asia Pacific and third from the last in the world in terms of annual total cash compensation.

According to consultancy firm Mercer's "2007 IT Pay Around the World'' study, Philippine IT managers were ahead of only their counterparts in Vietnam and Bulgaria when it came to base pay and annual bonuses.

The survey was conducted in 36 areas in 35 territories around the world.

Philippine IT managers, the study showed, were only getting paid an average of $22,280 a year, including base pay and annual bonuses and other cash compensation.

IT executives in Vietnam and Bulgaria were getting yearly cash compensation of only $15,470 and $22,240, respectively.

While IT managers in the Philippines were obvious laggards in the pay department, junior IT professionals were at an even greater disadvantage, getting paid a dismal $8,130 a year.

David Van De Voort, IT workforce specialist at Mercer's Chicago office, said the low pay in countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam were reflective of the ongoing outsourcing boom.

"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,'' he said.

To prove this point, the study showed that IT managers in European companies were the highest paid in the world, with six such countries landing on the Top 10.

The US and Canada occupied the sixth and eighth spots, respectively, with Hong Kong and Australia being the only Asia Pacific countries that made it to the list.

In contrast, seven of the 10 areas where IT managers were paid the lowest were in Asia Pacific, including Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, China-Shanghai, Malaysia and China-Beijing.

According to David Conroy, a principal at Mercer's London office, the generally low pay for IT managers and professionals in Asia Pacific was not exactly because they were not as good as their western counterparts.

In the US and Europe, in particular, pay increases more proportionately with experience -- which was not exactly the case in Asia Pacific.

"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,'' he said.

"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,'' he added.