The number one business challenge for most integration companies is finding, hiring and retaining much-needed talent. The annual CI, SSI and NSCA State of the Industry Report verifies that fact year in and year out. There are a lot of reasons that talent is such a big obstacle for the integration industry. This is not an effort to oversimply the challenge, but one small part of an integration company’s efforts to attract and retain talent should be knowing industry-specific compensation and benefits metrics.
That’s why, every two years, NSCA updates its Compensation & Benefits Report. And we just released the most recent version. The research, based on data gathered from 100 systems integrators across North America, tracks and benchmarks compensation and benefits data for a variety of key positions within the industry, including technical, non-technical and C-suite roles.
Survey Responses
Commercial integration firms of all sizes and across all regions responded to a survey that collected information about company background, staffing levels, employee benefits, compensation, travel reimbursement and salary increases. The goal of the report is to arm integration company leaders with valuable benchmarks to help them understand how the compensation and benefits that they offer across various positions stack up against what other integration companies offer — broken down by company size and geographic region. It’s a tool that NSCA member companies can use to help them attract and retain staff members.
Leaders can use the report to pinpoint wage trends, identify potential compensation discrepancies, consider the costs of adding to their existing benefits package and determine appropriate wage levels for employees.
The Compensation & Benefits Report also presents metrics about the following:
- Staffing levels (number of full-time and part-time employees)
- Benefits offered and associated costs, including health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, vision plans, disability, retirement and bonuses
- Compensation for positions ranging from the C-suite to HR, accounting, installation, design, purchasing, marketing and project management
- Bonuses for sales, administrative and project-management professionals
- Business travel reimbursement (mileage, cell phones, expense accounts, per diems, etc.)
How to Approach Hybrid-Work Options
Beyond salary and traditional benefits, the report provides data on how integration companies approach hybrid-work options. Anecdotally, remote-work and hybrid-work options appear to be increasingly significant for employment seekers. As integration company leaders wrestle with this factor, NSCA provides some insight on what competitors are offering.
Among respondents, the trend is moving to fewer staff members working remote or hybrid. In a different NSCA survey — the 2023 Financial Analysis of the Industry survey — companies were asked about hybrid work. In that, 62.6% of companies said they would have 0% to 25% staff as remote or hybrid. The new Compensation and Benefits Report shows similar results by employee category. All position categories outlined in the report have 50% or more companies stating they will be 0% to 25% hybrid.
Many integration companies are poised for growth this year. The solutions that integrators offer customers across all vertical markets are more relevant than ever. An impediment to success, however, is often the ability to find and retain the talent to support that growth.
Of course, this data on integration company industry standards for compensation and benefits won’t solve all talent challenges. But it’s the most industry-specific and reliable compensation and benefits data that we’re aware of, and it does help to know what you’re up against.
Tom LeBlanc is executive director of the National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA). To learn more about becoming an NSCA member, visit NSCA.org.