The State of Pay in the Software Industry
The landscape for pay has changed rapidly in the last 12-18 months.
The tech industry has seen significant pay increases, redundancies and now the finance people have placed a hold to the spending and are asking for returns.
Well-financed startup companies offered increasingly high salaries in an attempt to lure you, however this is changing.
Is a lucrative basic salary the only option to attract individuals to join?
We take a look at the options software businesses face and why software professionals are making the decisions they do.
Current salary levels
Firstly, let’s look at some trends at the core of the software world. Let’s start with the building of the software as this will have an effect on all salaries in the software world.
· The basic salary for an experienced sales professional will range from $120-180K in the USA and £80-130K in the UK.
· The basic salary for a pre-sales professional will range from $100-140K in the USA and £80-140K in the UK.
· Just as a point of reference – the average salary for a senior software developer in the USA is £125K and in the UK it’s £47K, depending on seniority and experience.
It was clear that competition for the right individual and the need to hire quickly affected salary levels.
However, it is now evident that the latter – the need to hire quickly – has resulted in redundancies and desire to offer significantly increased basic salary.
What else is on offer?
We appreciate salary and remuneration are key and significant points when considering a new role. Since the recent round of redundancies, surveys of individuals looking for a new role have listed salary third in order of importance after flexible working and the challenges of the role.
Here’s another interesting consideration. Having worked within the VC backed software sector for 20+ years, startups’ remuneration packages are driven by three elements – salary, benefits and equity – is equity still a player?
What will change?
Increasing numbers of employees are seeking intangible benefits such as flexibility within the workplace, caregiving leave, the opportunity to advance in their career, the ethical reputation of a company, an inclusive and diverse workforce, and volunteering opportunities in a local community, to be as appealing as ‘traditional’ benefits like a company pension or health insurance.
In addition, the demand for flexible working is increasing the ability to work from home, avoiding a long and costly commute, and to work variable hours, many eschewing the 9 – 5 in favour of a culture that values the quality of work done, rather than the hours worked.
What can employers do?
Research has found that considerations such as leadership transparency, giving back to the community, and shared values were hugely important for potential employees. This shift reflects changing values in our society and an awareness that no business exists in a vacuum.
In order to attract and retain the best talent, startups must:
· Make their workplaces outward looking, emphasising their brand values, their openness and the opportunity for both employees’ continual learning and their professional advancement.
· The work/life balance of employees must also be considered, given that people spend around one third of their lives at work.
· Today’s employees are no longer tolerant of hierarchical working relationships, preferring collaboration, respect and the meeting of mutual needs.
If a VC backed software business can put together a package which contains all these elements, or a combination of the best of them, they’ll be at a distinct advantage in terms of recruiting and retaining the best talent.
Adam Tully
JIE Search is a leading authority for VC backed software organisations when building and growing high performing businesses. JIE Search can build and scale teams for innovative software organisations with no obvious restrictions to top talent.
