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Disaster Resource Guide Interview - 2004 Salary Survey Review Please explain BC Management's role within the business continuity/ disaster recovery field. BC Management, Inc. is an executive search firm that exclusively places business continuity, disaster recovery, information security, emergency management and risk management professionals worldwide. Our firm just celebrated five years in business and our staff has decades of combined BC/DR experience. This is BC Management's 4th Annual Salary Review for business continuity/ disaster recovery professionals. What motivated you to start such a review exclusively for this profession? The recruiters at BC Management recognized that our hiring managers were uncertain of what to pay professionals within the business continuity/ disaster recovery field. Many of them viewed this niche field as either being a subset of information technology or a project management/ business analyst role and thus paid their BC/DR professionals based on salary trends in those specified fields. Our goal in conducting an exclusive salary review was to elevate this profession in educating both our clients and candidates on average compensations based on defined criteria. We were also disappointed that the salaries for business continuity/ disaster recovery professionals were missing from leading salary reviews so we decided to take it upon ourselves in supplying this information. This survey review analyzes 2004 compensations. When was the data collected and why is it labeled 2004 and not 2005? The survey was distributed in January of 2005 so the total compensations (base and bonus) for 2004 could be analyzed. The data highlighted in the survey review was collected between January 13, 2005 and February 20, 2005. It is important to note that each year we conduct a salary review we collect data for the two previous years. The 2004 Salary Review gathered data on 2003 and 2004 compensations. How did BC Management distribute the survey? The on-line survey was posted on our website and distributed through our newsletter and industry partners. Our industry partners and associations who assisted with the distribution included the Association of Contingency Planners, DRI International, Business Continuity Institute, Contingency Planning and Management, Continuity Central, Continuity Insights, Continuity Planner and Disaster Recovery Journal. Our vendor, Pulse Research, developed and maintained the survey as well as tracked for duplicate respondents. How many responses were received? We were extremely pleased with the number and quality of the respondents and we attribute much of that success to the assistance from our partners and associations. Over 1,200 people from 30 countries completed the on-line survey. After careful review, those respondents were trimmed to 1,174 valuable data points. Duplicate responses, missing salary data and unintelligible data were eliminated. A majority of those respondents came from the United States, which totaled 988. Of those respondents, 931 were full-time employees, 42 were independent contractors and 15 were unemployed. Our salary review focuses on the full-time employees within the United States. BC Management also released the first annual Contractor Review which focuses on the independent contractors within the United States. The big question is how are the salaries on average for the business continuity field? Did compensations increase or decrease in 2004 and what do you conclude as the trend? We were pleased to report that our salary review indicated an increase in 2004 average total compensations for BC/DR professionals. According to our results 78% of the respondents received an increase in their total compensations compared to 73% in 2003. In fact the 2004 compensations surpassed what was reported in our 2001 Salary Review. Of course BC/DR compensations were very generous in 2000 and 2001 as companies paid (in some cases) very large bonuses for successful Y2K implementations. Salaries have continued to rise since the dip in 2002, which was attributed to the recession, downsizing, 9/11 and the saturated BC/DR job market as a result of new BC/DR professionals entering the field and many professionals seeking employment after SunGard's acquisition of Comdisco. BC Management attributed the rise in 2004 total compensations to a recovering economy and an increased awareness at the executive management level. Corporations eased their budget spending during the last half of 2004. Business continuity and disaster recovery became a hot topic as companies strived to understand and abide by the changing regulations. A few companies showed renewed dedication to their BCP program in hiring executive BC/DR directors to assist in consolidating an enterprise global program. Our salary review also indicated that BC/DR professionals were rewarded for their hard work with increased bonuses. Contractors enjoyed a 13% increase in their compensations compared to 2003. Contracting salaries are not at the same levels of 2000 and 2001 compensations, never the less, this is a sizeable increase. What do you consider the different criteria in determining a professional's salary in business continuity? There are several criteria that determine a professional's salary. The areas of focus in the salary review include position title, industry (financial, healthcare, etc.), certification, IT expertise, number of years working, number of years field (BC, DR, etc.) experience, geographical location and travel. There are other intangible aspects that should be taken into consideration when determining a salary. These were not discussed in the salary review since it is difficult to quantify via an on-line survey. Intangible aspects include anything that involves a professional's ability in making a difference within an organization. These can include communication skills, presentation skills, staff management skills, the ability to lead and motivate others around you and proven project management skills, to name a few. What are some of the highlights or changes in the 2004 Salary Review? BC Management strives to continuously improve upon our previous salary reviews. We have always tracked suggestions and input and have tried to integrate where ever possible. This year we added several new position titles to accommodate those individuals who are permanently employed within BC/DR professional services. We also included position descriptions for each title listed so respondents knew what level to check. This became necessary as BC/DR titles vary tremendously between corporations. Another highlight was inquiring if BC/DR professionals received an increase in their total compensation as a result of becoming certified. Our survey indicated that 17% of the respondents did enjoy an increase in their total compensation as a result of becoming certified. The average increase in total compensation after becoming certified was $5,521. This year we also continued to expand upon the average total compensations for different geographical locations. Due to the incredible response we were able to include several metropolitan locations within the United States as well as several international locations. It is important to note that we only included the geographical locations where a significant response was received. Lastly we also highlighted the respondent characteristics detailing industry experience, total work experience, field experience and job title so those individuals reviewing the results have a better understanding what the respondent pool consisted of. Did you notice any unique trends in the 2004 Salary Review? Yes. We were encouraged to see several positive trends with certification, increased bonuses and change in employment. The 2004 Salary Review indicated that many professionals who earn a certification will enjoy higher total compensations. The only exception is with those professionals who are ABCP or CEM certified. The ABCP certification encompasses those professionals who are new to the BC/DR field. The CEM certification typically includes those professionals who work within the private sector and although their total compensations may be traditionally lower they do enjoy sizeable benefit packages, which are not accounted for within our review. On average, all other certified professionals enjoyed higher compensations compared to their non-certified peers. Our survey review also indicated that 58% of the respondents received a bonus in 2004, compared to 47.2% in 2003. The average bonus increased from $11,268 to $12,270. Global practice managers received the highest average bonus as a percentage of their base salary, which was 47.8%. Global managers, FTE managing consultants and VP/directors followed with 18.8%, 17.6% and 17.5% respectively. It is also interesting to note that 18% of the 2004 respondents changed employers compared to 27% in 2003. In 2003 many BC/DR professionals were seeking new employment as a result of being downsized in 2002 and 2003. BC Management attributes this decline in changing employers to individuals not being forced to seek new positions. We noticed that many of the job changes in 2004 were a result of seeking career opportunity or advancement. How should a BC/DR professional utilize this salary review? When reading our salary review it is important to keep in mind that the compensations listed are total compensations (base plus bonus). Our salary review includes several charts and graphs. It is crucial to review each chart and graph in order to appropriately benchmark your compensation with your peers. Readers should not assume that they should be earning a compensation level based on one chart. The most critical graphs to review include average total compensation by job title and average total compensation by years of field experience. I always encourage individuals to contact a representative of the BC Management team to discuss the results in more detail. To learn more about BC Management, please visit http://www.bcmanagement.net About the Author
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