The survey showed that while 21% of the respondents said they have plans of shifting to a non-IS career, mostly in business entrepreneurship, 53% admitted that they have plans of putting up their own business establishments, either related or not related to IT. These respondents -- whether they are getting salaries lower or within industry standard -- are also considering the possibility of not only transferring to other firms that offer much better pay but also accepting overseas assignments. As a matter of fact, 84% of respondents claimed that if ever they leave for work abroad, they will choose the US, Australia and Canada as the best countries to work in, with IS management, networking and communication as their preferred fields/jobs.

Meanwhile, most respondents described pay increases as below average to average, with 46% saying they get modest salary hikes ranging from five percent to 10% every year. Fifteen percent claimed they were given an average of more than 10% in salary adjustments, while 38% have been granted pay increments lower than five percent. But even with these modest salary rate hikes, majority of survey respondents can still sufficiently cope with the continuing increase in the prices of goods and services -- so far. The increase in prices, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) reached an average of three percent in the first five months of the year, still below the five percent lowest salary rate increase reported.

More than one-third of the respondents consider the budget of the company for IT, including personnel costs, as the greatest factor that affects the salaries of IT personnel. The adjustment in salaries always depends on the allocated company budget which is dependent on the annual financial performance of the organization. One of the 38% who believes that the increase in salaries is dependent on the company's operational budgets, Villao explained that "being a support team, we only share a piece of the available pie." If the company performs favorably, "it would mean a much bigger pie that we have to share with other group," he added.

Determined by most respondents, the annual performance of the individual employee and company also influenced compensation increases of IT personnel. Both are important factors in determining the increase in salary rates an employee may receive. Not only is the individual performance that is to be considered, the amount of funds from which pay increases of workers are based must also be taken into consideration.

Performance Evaluation