Service Leadership Inc., a ConnectWise solution, has announced the opening of its annual Service Leadership Index Annual IT Solution Provider Compensation (Remuneration) Survey. The survey and related report are designed to offer TSPs insight into compensation trends across many IT positions. The survey runs from Oct. 2 through Nov. 30, 2023, culminating in a 300-plus-page report.

Survey participants from TSPs globally will be the first to receive the Service Leadership Index Annual IT Solution Provider Compensation (Remuneration) Report in early 2024 and will receive it at no cost (a $1,799 value). In addition, participants will be entered into a drawing for a one-hour private consultation with Peter Kujawa, vice president and general manager of Service Leadership Inc.

"In talking with TSPs around the world, the need for accurate compensation (remuneration) data focused specifically on the TSP industry is greater than ever," Kujawa said. "Inflation and staying competitive in the marketplace to recruit and retain talent is top of mind with owners and executives. By taking the survey, TSPs will contribute to a report that will provide exclusive analysis and insights into what is being paid for various positions by the lower- and higher-performing TSPs. In turn, participants will receive the report first and at no cost."

After a six-year hiatus and due to popular demand from TSPs, the proprietary compensation (remuneration) report was reinitiated in 2022 amid widespread concerns about the ongoing IT skills gap and wage inflation.

Last year's survey brought record participation from these geographic regions: Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Europe (primarily the United Kingdom and Ireland), and the United States. With countless IT companies still struggling to fill essential roles and with continued high inflation, this year's Service Leadership Index IT Solution Provider Compensation (Remuneration) Survey is once again poised to play an essential role, granting businesses the broader industry insight needed to recruit and retain top talent.

The Service Leadership Index IT Solution Provider Compensation (Remuneration) Survey focuses on 50-plus positions encompassing various responsibilities, including sales, marketing, general administration/finance, technical services and more, with three levels of seniority for each. Respondents will input data covering total annual earnings for each position and projected raises, bonuses and more. All individual data submitted is kept confidential, and no individual organization data will be released. Survey results will be reported in aggregate to ensure confidentiality.

The resulting report will provide a wealth of high-level information on TSP-specific compensation (remuneration) practices, granting respondents and stakeholders throughout the industry insight into what market pay is for these positions and the impact inflation has on these rates. The report will also provide much-needed insight into the staff-to-management ratio of top profitability TSPs by business model, the amount allocated to incentive pay for each position and seniority level throughout the industry, and what owners make by specific business model and company size. It will also include information on the highly discussed topic of work arrangement, providing details on how each role is performed, whether 100% in office, some version of hybrid or 100% remote.

New to the 2024 report will include detailed information on work arrangement, by position — solely in the office, hybrid version or remote — along with how much paid time off (PTO) is given by position and experience level.

This exclusive data can help to form the basis of a recruitment strategy optimized to entice top talent despite the worsening skills gap. TSPs can pinpoint where they stand on each position's compensation (remuneration) scale — best-in-class, median, bottom-quartile and so forth — and adjust their methods accordingly.

"Since 2005, the Service Leadership Index has been the largest, most detailed and most accurate TSP benchmark in the IT industry worldwide," said Jake Varghese, executive vice president and general manager of business management solutions, ConnectWise. "For 19 years as of 2023, and now as part of the ConnectWise family, the Service Leadership Index has identified objective best practices in the IT industry and helped to set the bar for TSP owners and executives in more than 100 countries. The Compensation (Remuneration) Survey is an important part of that continuing mission."

TSPs can take the survey here.