PROJECT MANAGEMENT SALARY SURVEY 2014

Transcription

1 ESI INTERNATIONAL ASIA PACIFIC PROJECT MANAGEMENT SALARY SURVEY 2014 An ESI International study

2 SURVEY OBJECTIVES The inaugural Asia Pacific project management salary survey conducted by ESI International aims to uncover salary and compensation trends specific to the profession across the region. The study was conducted in Q with over 600 project managers with varying levels of working experience across multiple industry sectors in the region, spanning China, Hong Kong, India, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Southeast Asia nations including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. In addition to salary trends, the study also examines the critical competencies that hiring managers look for when recruiting PM professionals, employment outlook, and the factors impacting salary improvement.

3 CONTENT 1 Key Findings 7 Recommendations 4

4 KEY FINDINGS Mean Monthly Salary by Country (in USD) Australia 11,350 New Zealand 9,161 Hong Kong SAR 7,500 Singapore 7,033 Malaysia 4,316 China 3,663 India 3,453 Indonesia 3,428 The country with the highest mean monthly salary recorded is Australia, across all industries, roles and experience levels (USD11,350), followed by New Zealand (USD9,161), Hong Kong (USD7,500) and Singapore (USD7,033). The lowest mean monthly salary was recorded in India and Indonesia. On average, PM professionals in mature and advanced economies draw a higher mean salary than those in developing nations. Does your organisation have a PMO? NO Mean Monthly Salary: 5, % 74% YES Mean Monthly Salary: 5, Majority of the respondents said they have an active project management office (PMO) in their organisations, while 26 per cent indicated otherwise. For those who have a PMO in their organisations, a higher mean monthly salary was recorded (USD5,916.52) than those who do not (USD5,083.66). According to the annual Global State of the PMO 2013 study conducted by ESI International, the PMO has been validated as a career-crucial body for project managers in Asia Pacific. PMOs that actively engage in learning sustainment and measure workplace performance have shown to be the most involved in structuring the career path for PM professionals. The success rate of organisations with PMOs that provide career development has also shown to far exceed those without according to the study. 1

5 PMOs play a crucial and strategic role as they help steer PM professionals to deliver value for their organisations. They also provide greater scope of career development and prospect that helps contribute to overall salary improvement. Which area of project management do you currently specialise in or have the most number of years of experience in? 24% Programme Management 20% Waterfall Project Management 19% Project Portfolio Management 9% Agile Project Management (Scrum) 7% Vendor Management 7% Other 6% Lean Project Management 3% Critical Chain Project Management 3% Risk Management 2% Earned Value Management 0.1% Xtreme Programming PM professionals across Asia Pacific have the most experience in programme management, Waterfall or project portfolio management, regardless of the industries they are in. Only 9 per cent of the respondents said they specialise in Agile. Agile has been regarded as the next big thing in project management, and it requires the constant interaction of a highly skilled and motivated team with the product and the customer at every phase of the project. The soft side of Agile, including soft skills, project leadership and an acute understanding of how to apply such skills in a more flexible, people-focused setting, is just as important as the technical side of Agile. Both sets of skills are required and dependent upon each other for success in the Agile environment. Increasingly, organisations in regulated industries, such as the financial services sector, have started to embrace Agile to align business needs with IT, and meet regulatory compliance. 2

6 Which professional project management qualifications do you currently hold? Others 31% 27% PMP ITIL 15% 27% None Across the region, PM professionals generally hold Project Management Institute s (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) credential. 15 per cent of survey respondents indicated they hold an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) qualification, a set of best practices that focuses on aligning IT services with business needs. 27 per cent indicated they do not hold any professional qualifications. Apart from the annual increment and bonus payout, are you optimistic of a further salary improvement in the same organisation in 2014? 38% YES NO 62% With 38 per cent demonstrating a positive outlook, most respondents did not expect a salary improvement this year, apart from annual increment and bonus payouts. Given the current competitive business environment, the finding indicates that organisations may be looking at investing in training programmes for skillset development and upgrading rather than salary revisions in the near term. 3

7 Which factors do you think will help improve your current salary? 44% Better economic outlook 31% Increased PM responsibilities 13% Recognised professional certification 12% Training and development, but without leading to a professional qualification When asked which factors they thought would help improve their current salary, 44 per cent of respondents said a better economic outlook would contribute to that, while 31 per cent attributed it to increased job responsibilities, which will require acquisition of new skills, professional experience and credentials. What are the top two core competencies that you think you will need to fast-track your career? Across Industries: 23% Project leadership 18% Communication and general management skills 15% Stakeholder management 10% Agile Project Management 10% Critical thinking/problem solving 8% Change management 8% Communicating effectively 7% Team development 1% Other IT Industry: 21% Project leadership 20% Communication and general management skills 4

8 Manufacturing Industry: 26% Project leadership 24% Communication and general management skills Financial Services Industry: 20% Stakeholder management 19% Agile project management Telecommunications Industry: 24% Project leadership 24% Stakeholder management Oil and Gas Industry: 32% Project leadership 21% Communication and general management skills Across most industries, project leadership, and communication and management skills are the top two competencies singled out by respondents as critical factors for their career advancement, while those in the financial services sector considered stakeholder management and Agile as the top two core proficiencies vital for career progression. It is interesting to note that technical or hard skills such as Agile, problem solving and change management were ranked by respondents across most industries as of lower importance to their careers. The finding is indicative of a general sentiment among PM professionals in Asia Pacific that business soft skills are more crucial for career development and more valued by employers than technical skills, especially for middle- to senior-level positions. Today s rapidly changing business environment has necessitated the need for leadership and business soft skills to meet the challenges brought about by globalisation, such as cross-border workflow that is compelling PM professionals to work across geographies, cultures and functions. 5

9 If you are a hiring manager, how soon are you looking to make new hires for your organisation? 29% Within the next 3 months 20% Within the next 6 months 3% Within the next 9 months 6% Within the next 12 months 42% I do not have plans to make new hires within the next 12 months Hiring managers that are looking to add new headcount to the PM team are likely to do so within the next 3 or 6 months, which represents a fairly bullish hiring outlook across Asia Pacific for the first half of If you are a hiring manager looking to recruit project professionals, what will be the most critical competencies you would look for in the new hire? 35% Communication skills 34% Project leadership 11% Agile Project Management 8% Industry-certified credentials 6% Team management 4% Change management 2% Negotiation skills Hiring managers across the region regard communication and project leadership skills as the top critical competencies when recruiting PM professionals. Similarly, these are the same exact proficiencies that PM professionals across most industries think will help fast-track their careers. 6

10 RECOMMENDATIONS Improve PM competencies through PMOs PMs in organisations with a designated PMO tend to obtain more structured training and are better equipped with both technical and soft skills. PMOs function as the central governing body providing strategic, tactical or operational guidance in day-to-day business, enhancing the PM culture and contributing to personal development. In adopting a strategic approach to competency planning and learning sustainment, PMOs are critical in paving the career paths for PM professionals. Develop specialised training to manage increased responsibilities While a better economic outlook may be viewed by many as a key factor in improving salaries, increased job responsibilities is another major determinant leading to a pay raise. Such responsibilities can be handled effectively if the employee skillsets are improved through specialised training. Commitment to continuous performance improvement As PM professionals accumulate more working experience as they progress through the years, they will require new competencies, particularly in project leadership, communication and general management skills, in order for them to rise through the ranks. These critical business soft skills are most sought after by employers for senior functional roles. The employment outlook for the PM profession also appears to be positive for 2014 as employers in the region are likely to make new hires in the first half of the year. Continuous learning is instrumental in advancing the project manager s career path and improving salaries across industries. While the PMO should regularly measure training ROI and prove its value to the top management and adopt a more strategic view on training and development, PM professionals are also encouraged to request for ongoing training from their PMO in order to keep their technical and business skillsets updated and aligned with industry requirements. Talent strategies to drive development and retention Project organisations across Asia Pacific are recommended to focus more on developing the talent they already have. Given the current shortages of experienced project managers, the demographic trends in the workplace, and the ramp-up time it takes to acquire industry and organisational knowledge, the future growth of these organisations may very well depend on developing the early and mid-career project managers today. This talent issue is more acute in Southeast Asia given the relatively smaller talent pool available. 7

11 Project organisations should also manage their flow of talent to ensure that project managers are hired and developed in the most efficient way possible to meet both current and future obligations of the organisation. This requires baselining the current talent of their project organisation, defining clear competency requirements for meeting current and future project needs, identifying gaps in achieving those requirements, laying out a development framework for project teams, and executing against that framework. Driving business value through learning investments According to a recent ESI study, the staffing challenges faced by organisations today are best addressed by developing talent internally rather than hiring from the outside. Training new graduates, for instance, has demonstrated a yield of over 500 per cent return on training investment. There is a definite cost and time advantage to developing and nurturing entry and middle level project managers. This advantage dissipates for senior-level talent where it costs about the same to hire as it does to develop and promote them from the middle level. 8

12 For more information about how ESI can help your organisation, call us on , us at infoau@esi-intl.com or visit