Integrator Salary Results 2014

By: Brian Rhodes, Published on Aug 13, 2014

IPVM has determined how much sales people, senior technicians, and entry level technicians are earning in our 2014 Integrator Salary Survey.

Key highlights include:

  • Good: Technicians can expect their earnings to grow 127% as they progress from entry level to senior staff.
  • Bad: Entry level technicians make very little money.
  • Worst: Even senior engineers are out earned by their sales counterparts by 46%

    • **** *** ********** *** much ***** ******, ****** technicians, *** ***** ***** technicians *** ******* ** our **** ********** ****** Survey.

    *** ********** *******:

    • ****: *********** *** ****** their ******** ** **** 127% ** **** ******** from ***** ***** ** senior *****.
    • ***: ***** ***** *********** make **** ****** *****.
    • *****: **** ****** ********* are *** ****** ** their ***** ************ ** 46%

    [***************]

    Warning - ******** **** ** ********

    ****** **** ****** ****** the ****** ****** *** Canada, **** ****** ***** countries *** **** ** living *** ******** ******** can **** *******.

    *** *******, ***** ** from ******** **** *** John ** **** *** York ****. **** *** to **** **% ** 100% **** **** ***** to **** *** **** effective ****** / ***** fundamental *****.

    **** ***** **** *****, adjust ************ ** ** down ********* ** *** cost ** ****** ** one's ******.

    Breakdown ** ********

    *** ***** ***** ******* how **** ********** ******** typical ******** *** *** business *********:

    Sales ******

    *** **** ***********, ***** with *** ******* *********** positions *** ** *****, with *** ******* ******* ~$110,00 ** ***** ************.

    • "***** *********** **** **** a **** ****** ** approximately $*** *** **** plus *********** **** ***** place *** ** *** well **** *** *** figure *****.
    • "$*** **** **** *********** equalling $***-$****"
    • "***** ****** (*** "******* Manager") **** $**-*** **** plus *% *********** ** Gross ******."
    • "**** *** $***/**** **** with ****** ***********, ****** are ** *** $**-***/**** range **** **** ** bonuses ** **** ** commissions.

    Base ****** **. **********

    **** *********** ********* ******** salaries ** ******* * commission ******* **** **** them * ********** ** project ***** ** *** of * ***** **** amount. *********** *** **** base ****** ** ~$**,*** with *** ******* ****** from ****** *********** ** sold ****.

    • "** ** **********, ***** people **** *** *********** solely ** ********** **** to ****** *** ***** sale **** * ****** customer. **** **** ** hunt ********* . **** **** + ********** *** **** their ********* ********* *** all ***** ****** ******* they **** **** ********."
    • "**** ** $*** ** $90k. ********** *** * successful ***** ****** ****** be ******* $*** *** year."
    • "$*** - $**** ***** compensation *** ****, ********* benefits."
    • "** $**,*** - $**,*** Base ** $**,*** - +$200,000."
    • "*********** *** *** ******* $100,000 ** *** **** end ** *** *****."

    Other **********

    ***** *********** ******** ***** forms ** ************, ********* tools, ********, ** ***** perks: 

    • "**** * ********** * benefits * ***** (******* car ** *******, ***) are *** **** ** nail **** **** *** place ** ******* ******."
    • "***** ****** ******* * base ** $***.** **** + ******* ******* & phone + *% ** gross ****** *** ** our ***** ****** **** over *** * **** year."
    • "$*** **** **** ***, phone *** ******. **% commission ** *** ******."
    • "$*** - $*** ****, plus *** ********* *** up ** *% **********."

    ******* ***** '***** **********' are ******* ** ********** and ********, *** ******* not ** **** **** senior ********** *********.

    Large ********* *** ******

    ******* *********** ***** ** that ***** ****** ******** by ********, *** ****** integrators **** ** **** bigger ********, **** ** terms ** *********** *** also ****** **** ********:

    • "* ****** ** * large **** ****** **** several ******** ****** **** over $***,*** *** **** commission."
    • "*** *** ******* ** our ****** *** **** $185,000+ * ****."
    • "* ** *** **** about ******** **** - but ** $*** **** + ***** *-*% **********"
    • "[** ** ******** **********] It ** $**-*** ****, with ********* **** *********** in ********** ** *********"

    Senior *********** & *********

    ** **** ** *** average ********* *** **** installers ****? ***** $**,*** per **** ********* ** their ********. 

    • "**** **** ** ******* a *** ** *** industry. ** ******** *** be ****** **** * CAD **** ** * Sr. ********* ********. ******** Sales ************ *********, *********** Engineers *** ******** *********. A **** ***** ***** of *** ********* *** of ***** *** **** in **** ********. *****: $32K ** $****+."
    • "****** *****/********* **** $*** - $*** ******"
    • "$**-** *** **** ********* on ******** ** ************ certifications *** **********."
    • "$**-$*** ******** *** *********."
    • "****** **** ** *******, Texas ******: $**/** - $35/hr *********, ***** *****, *** laptop.

    Large ********* ******** *********

    ********** **** ****** *********, this ******** **** ** broken *** **** *** different ****************. ******* *********** noted ****, **** ****** technicians ********* ******* ** hourly **** ***** ********* are ******** *** ********* earn ****:

    • "********* ******, ********, *** fix ********. *********** **** fix **** *** ********* tell **** ** **."
    • ""****** ***** - $** - $** **, ***** Engineers *** - $**** Annual"
    • "****** ********** $ ** to $** *** ****, with ********* ****** $*** to $**** *** ****"
    • "$***-$*** ********* ** **** kind ** ********** **** are. $**-*** ********* ** what **** ** ******** and ****** ************* **** have."
    • "****** ***** ******* $**,*** to $**,*** **** + Bonuses ********* ******* $ 65,000 **** + *******"

    Entry ***** ***********

    *** ***** ******* **** starting ***, **** **** themselves ** *** **** basic ********* *********** **** to *****. ** ***** level *****, *** **** is ********** *** ***** with *** ********* ****** $33,000 *** **** ********* to *** *********:

    • "** *** ****, ***** level ** ** *** $11-14 *** **** *****, depending **** *** **** and *********** ********** ** the *********. ** ******* has *** **** ***** electronics ** ********** ********, but ** **** ********** in *** ****, ** may ***** ** ** pay ** *** ****** range ** *** ********** indicates ******* ******** ****.
    • "$*** ****, ***** $**/**. For **** *** *** what ** ********* ******, a ***. ******* **** wants ** ***** *** follows * **. **** around *** **** ******/***** ****.
    • "$**\**. *** *** ***** 6 ****** ... $**.**\**. for *** **** * months ***** **** ... $20\hr. ***** *** *** year ** **********. **** there ** **** ******* on ********** *** ******* to ******** ** *** next *****."

    *** ***** *** *****, however, ***** ***** *********** *** use *** ******** ** become ********** ** ******** areas ** ** *********** company, **** **** ******* up ** ****** ****** techs, *********, *** ***** people.

    How ** *** **** ****?

    ** ***** "** * person ***** ** **** the **** ***** ** ** **********, what ***** *** ****** them ** **?" *** four **** ****** ******** they ****** ****:

    • ****** * ***********
    • ***** **** *** *******
    • **** *** ******** *********
    • ***** *** *** ***, Always

    ** ******* **** ************** in ****** *****.

    #1: Become * ***********

    ** ***** "** * person ***** ** **** the **** ***** ** an **********, **** ***** you ****** **** ** do?" *** ****** **** common ********** **** *** was "****** * ***** person":

    • "**** *** **** ***** without ****** ** *** longevity? ****** *** ****** Gecko *****: **** ******** the ******** ***** **** and ****. *************** ***'* **** ** the ***** *****, ***** folks *** ** ******* your ******. ****, ****, sell. *** ******* **** worry ***** *** *******. Lastly, ** ******* *** your **** ******* ***. You *** * ****** to *** ******." 
    • "*****, ***** *** ***** circumstances ** ***** *** greatest *********** ** * high ****** ** *** your *** ********* **** is ****** *****."
    • "***** ****** - *** and **** **** ** you **** ** **** more."
    • "***** **** ** ****** opportunities, *** *** *** people **** **** *****.
    • "** ******? ** **** sales. *** **** **** do **** **** *** themselves."

    #2: Start **** *** *******

    ******* ****** ********** *** the ********* ** ** simply ***** ***** *** integration ******* *** **** very **** ** ****** it * *******:

    • "*** *** *******. *********, most ***** *********** *** notoriously ***** ** ****** competitive. *********** *** ********* are ***** **** ***** to **** **** *** worth."
    • "***** ***** *** *******, work *** **** *** several ***** ***** ********** stressing **** **** **** & ****** ******** ****** decisions. **** * ****** luck, *** * *** of **** ****, ****'** be ***** ****** **** after * *** *****. "
    • "**** *** **** ****** experience, *** **** *** company. ** **** **** many ***** ******."

    #3: **** *** ******** *********

    ******* *********** ********* **** national ******* *********, **** bigger ******** *** **** prospects *** ***** ****** paychecks:

    • "******* ****** ** ** go **** ***** ********** (VP ***** ** ******) at * ******** **********, but **** ***** **** its *** *** ** headaches."
    • "*** *** ***** ** this ******** *** ****** to *** ******."
    • "* ***** *** ****** "big" *********** ******** **** sales ************ ***** **** will ******** *** ****** the ******* ****** *********, but * ***** ***** be ***** ******* **** a ******* **** ****."

    #4: ***** *** *** ***, ******

    *******, ******** ********* ******** ignorance * *** ******* to ******* ****, *** those *** ****** ********** to ***** *** ******** all **** *** ***** the ******** *** ******** they **** ***** ** increase ***** *********:

    • "******* **********. *** ** our ****** **** **** helper ** ** ******** in * ***** ** studying ***** ***** ** sight *** ****** ***** class ** ***** ****."
    • "***** *** **** *** works ********** ** ******."
    • "******** ***** *** ** do ****** *********** *** what ********* ***** ****."
    • "***** ********** **** *** and ***** ** **** as **** *******. **** don't ** ****** ** get ***** *** **** initiative."

Comments (51)

Undisclosed Integrator #1

08/13/14 01:06pm

Excellent article, thank you for posting.

Undisclosed Distributor #2

08/13/14 02:03pm

Great timing, I have my annual review and pay raise coming up. I'm going to point to this and show that I'm actually paid well less than industry average.

Undisclosed Integrator #3

In reply to Undisclosed Distributor #2 | 08/14/14 01:26pm

Usually a good way to leave a bad taste in a supervisor's mouth.

Undisclosed Distributor #2

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #3 | 08/14/14 03:48pm

I'm not posting anonymously for nothing.

Undisclosed Integrator #4

In reply to Undisclosed Distributor #2 | 08/14/14 02:37pm

Absolutely agree. John, I think you've probably caused ripples of discontent throughout the industry, lol.

Anyone accepting resumes?

Undisclosed Integrator #1

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #4 | 08/14/14 02:45pm

Haha, I think it's time to create a job board on IPVM.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #1 | 08/14/14 02:54pm

Btw, we have been thinking about a job board.

The idea would be that it's free for job posters (highly uncommon) but only members get to see the posts.

For us, it would be another service to members.

Let us know if you have any thoughts.

Undisclosed End User #5

In reply to John Honovich | 08/14/14 02:58pm

That sounds like a pretty good strategy, except what about those of us whose membership is paid for by our employer? Not that I am considering leaving or anything like that, but I dont think my employer would appreciate that service too much... just a thought.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed End User #5 | 08/14/14 06:23pm

Lol.

Well, on the plus side, your employer can use IPVM to look for your replacement ;)

In all seriousness, I would think most manufacturers would find such a service a net benefit, given the cost and limited success of general job postings.

Aaron Tankersley

IPVMU Certified | In reply to John Honovich | 08/14/14 04:57pm

As a manufacturer that is often looking for industry experience we would really value being able to post positions on IPVM.

Rukmini Wilson

In reply to Undisclosed Distributor #2 | 08/14/14 04:29pm

Great timing...

Not a good time to talk about your employer paying for next year's IPVM membership... :(

Undisclosed Distributor #2

In reply to Rukmini Wilson | 08/14/14 04:31pm

Comes out of my pocket, actually.

Rukmini Wilson

In reply to Undisclosed Distributor #2 | 08/14/14 06:48pm

I'm going to point to this and show that I'm actually paid well less than industry average.

When you say "point", do you mean vaugely gesture towards or reference a research report? Since the latter could be construed as violating the prime directive:

Do not use IPVM research for promotion.

;)

Avatar

Scot MacTaggart

In reply to Rukmini Wilson | 08/14/14 08:55pm

I will grudgingly and groaningly concede the laugh that you have earned.

Avatar

Daniel Tyrrell

08/14/14 12:37am

Any idea on the areas that were surveyed? Some of the dollar amounts for techs listed are waaayy above anything anyone in my area (Manitoba, Canada) could make, unless they are self employed, or working for an Electrical Contractor.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Daniel Tyrrell | 08/14/14 12:43am

We got over 100 responses from all around the world. For the stats and commentary, we focused on the 70+ from North America (which were from varying metro and rural areas).

Of course, even within the US or Canada, pay is going to vary depending on region. These are national averages. People in Manitoba or Minnesota are likely going to make less than people in Vancouver or San Francisco. For the later areas, the survey results likely underestimate the average salary, given their higher cost of living, etc.

Bradley Adams

IPVMU Certified | In reply to Daniel Tyrrell | 08/14/14 02:16pm

Hey Daniel,

Im also from Manitoba! Small world.

Completely agree with you though, don't know anyone even close to some of the higher dollar amounts around here.

Avatar

Daniel Tyrrell

In reply to Bradley Adams | 08/14/14 10:25pm

Small world indeed, I even know two of your co-workers, and currently work with one of your former co-workers! Haha

Rukmini Wilson

In reply to Daniel Tyrrell | 08/15/14 12:51am

Waaayy above anything anyone could make unless...working for an Electrical Contractor.

Double your voltage, double your pay? Or the same work, just with a different boss?

Avatar

Scot MacTaggart

08/14/14 03:39pm

I'd like to have more context for these figures though - any plans for to do surveys to determine how much these reps are selling, or the workloads of these technical people? I don't think it's as simple as "big" companies and "small" ones, or "experienced" vs "inexperienced" field people. The amount of work you do has to figure in somewhere.

Even averages would be useful since that's what this survey is really about.

Avatar

Brian Rhodes

IPVMU Certified | In reply to Scot MacTaggart | 08/14/14 04:05pm

We are going to release an equivalent manufacturer salary piece soon.

In preparing that report, a prominent theme was 'big markets are more lucrative' , meaning that a salesperson in a large metro area will have a much broader range of opportunities / targets than someone with equivalent skills in a small, rural market.

I agree with you - it is not just 'big' vs. 'small' companies, and overall volume is a big factor. Also, the relative experience in these positions is normalized. A salesperson starting tomorrow will be compensated much differently than a closer with 15 years of experience.

If I lived in a tiny market (well, I do) and found myself earning less that the averages reported here, the last thing I would do is drop this on my supervisor and demand more without first gauging factors like local 'cost of living' and skillset rarity. The numbers here normalize so many different factors across the entire market.

These numbers are useful as a benchmark.

Avatar

Meghan Uhl

08/14/14 03:58pm

I don't disagree that more detailed context i.e. geographic, experience, quota etc, information related to overall compensation would great BUT....this survey provides a very good starting point for discussion I think. Thanks for doing this John, I think its very helpful for employers, as well as, anyone negotiating for a position.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Meghan Uhl | 08/14/14 06:25pm

Btw, this should be obvious, but I want to emphasize these averages reflect a range. The 'average' sales person in the survey total compensation was $110k but we saw many responses ranging from $80k to $150k+.

As you note, location, size of company, experience, etc. all factor in actual levels.

Undisclosed Manufacturer #6

08/14/14 04:57pm

I only make 2000 a month. Oh well I guess I get paid what I am worth.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Manufacturer #6 | 08/14/14 06:26pm

If you are literally only making $2,000 per month, you should be able to find higher paying options.

Unless you live in Manitoba ;)

Bradley Adams

IPVMU Certified | In reply to John Honovich | 08/14/14 06:31pm

lol, darn Manitoba... hey John, any job openings somewhere in Honolulu? Although, I dont know if I could handle that much warm weather ;)

Rodney Thayer

08/14/14 09:07pm

Sad to see sales reps making that much given the bad behavior they too often exhibit. It does however assuage my guilt at getting them fired when I catch a bad one red handed. Hopefully there are good sales reps out there and I'll meet some, eventually.

Undisclosed Manufacturer #6

08/14/14 10:34pm

I think this is a good survey. The info was spot on for the parts of the country and expectations of the employers. John, I would do a little bit better job of formating info. But all in all great job.

I should point out I am the guy only making $2000 dollars or sheckles a month. I am the big gun guy. I have bagged many, many elephants. I am also a true sales person, not necessarily an account manager etc. I think sales people on the one hand make too much money compared to techies.. But when a company has income problems they dont call the techie on the carpet. But you will see blood on the carpet from the last sales guy. Again in the Boardroom they only look at income. So what is the salesman worth.

Since I am 68 years old, been in pure sales for the last 30 years. I come with a different perspective than most. I also have CS Degree from UC Berkley, Wrote code for IBM and Honeywell. Develop and taught course work for Cisco Systems (CCNA) and help in the consulting side for SAP (Oracle was my nemisis) I had to get my MCSE cert to truly understand what kind of special brew I was dealing with at SAP. "IT TAKES A TEAMS TO WIN THE BIG OPERTUNITIES. We need great senior techies/engineers. And we need a constant flow of beginners (new recruits) in tech for a few good potential sales people of the future. I typically would not hire a sales person unless he had field tech experience. When you have a few years at cleaning up some one elses mess and sturpid promisis, you become a great sales person. Empathy goes a long way.

Good luck and great sales to all. And the grass is never greener on the other side of the fence

Undisclosed Manufacturer #7

08/15/14 02:30pm

Looking forward to the "Manufacturing" article. From my experience, the best way to make money is to move to a manufacturer. I've been on both sides, and it's been true for me. That being said, you may not get the same level of warm and fuzzy when you become part of the machine of a large manufacturer.

I'm amazed when I hear about good sales people or biz dev types with loads of experience who are making $85k at an integrator when they could easily double that with a major manufacturer.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Manufacturer #7 | 08/15/14 02:43pm

G, damn you! Now you've ruined the surprise for the manufacturer one :)

But yes, our results will confirm what we both know from experience, manufacturers make a lot more than integrators.

Rukmini Wilson

In reply to John Honovich | 08/15/14 03:56pm

G, damn you!

Was that one as funny to write as it was to read? ;)

Undisclosed Integrator #8

08/29/14 08:54pm

I haven't gotten any surveys in awhile. Did the survey ask participants to put a cash value on things like retirement matching, medical and pension if any and add that to their total compensation?

Tedor Gligorich

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #8 | 08/30/14 10:56am

You only missed just $5 that they compensating for all the 3 question cash/crecit value (only but good to your next ipvm), not worth any pensions worth. Try and hell do it again, nexttime

Undisclosed Integrator #8

In reply to Tedor Gligorich | 09/02/14 12:22pm

Tedor, I'm sorry I do not completely understand your response. So were you saying "Yes", things like benefits including health insurance, any matched retirement contributions, company vehicle, etc, were asked to be estimated by the respondent and added the overall annual salary...?

Avatar

Brian Rhodes

IPVMU Certified | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #8 | 09/02/14 01:01pm

We asked integrators "what is the typical compensation range" for the positions listed above.

Undisclosed Integrator #8

In reply to Brian Rhodes | 09/02/14 01:24pm

I would suggest on the next survey to have the questions specifically request respondents to add estimated value on all benefits. Some people can be answering based solely on what their paycheck says, but truth is all the other benefits like 401K match and especially company vehicle if it's allowed for private use, or just for the portion used between home and work, are a form of compensation.

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #8 | 09/02/14 02:28pm

Ok.

To note, a minority did mention their vehicle use. Few, if any mentioned 401K match, which I suspect is a low percentage of total compensation for most integrators.

Here's a new discussion on this: What Type Of Retirement Benefits Does Your Company Provide?

Harun Seel

IPVMU Certified | 09/14/14 10:56pm

This was a fantastic article for me. The earning map seemed almost prophetic for my own career (I.E. Entry level to migration to bigger company compensation).

I would ask if there were any articles/information regarding what courses to take to become an Engineer and even a better senior Technician.

Thank you for this one. A great read!

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Harun Seel | 09/14/14 11:39pm

Harun, excellent question. I've started a new discussion with my feedback here: How Can I Move Up From A Junior Tech To An Engineer?

Undisclosed Integrator #9

09/18/14 11:14am

Knowing results are dependent on location, we pay at least what is listed or higher plus full benefits and company match retirement yet we still have an extremely hard time finding qualified, committed professionals. Those that have been with us for 10+ years are great employees but anyone in the entry to mid level tech positions are just "revolving door" team members.

In fairness we are quite rural, in a primarily white collar community so finding skilled technicians local is difficult (not to mention the entitlement of the young "junior"workforce not wanting to accept $15 -$20/hr).

Coming from a high end/critical security end-user environment in which employees were dedicated, focused and thankful to have their jobs, I have found that (generally) the same dedication is harder to find in the workforce on the integrator side.

A job board would be an great benefit to us (and yes, we do provide IPVM memberships to our staff as a benefit, which many juniors don't bother to use - despite consistent reminders).

John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #9 | 09/18/14 12:26pm

Thanks for the feedback.

Btw, one way you can encourage your junior employees to learn more is to assign them quizzes. We have this as a feature, see: Quiz Your Co-Workers

Undisclosed Integrator #10

10/21/14 02:56pm

I want happy employees that enjoy what they are doing. If my employees are strictly driven by money, they probably shouldn't work for me :)

They ARE however compensated properly and are paid higher than average. Salary/Hourly pay should not be based upon how hard somebody works, it should be based upon the responsibility and role you take on within an organization!

Undisclosed End User #5

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #10 | 10/21/14 03:48pm

Do you think you could find employees that would remain happy if you paid them minimum wage? I get that you would want happy employees, but if you arent paying employees enough I seriously doubt they would remain happy forever. Obviously you stated that you compensate employees properly, so don't take this as a personal attack, but the point is that to keep an employee happy, money is likely involved. Nobody likes to work for free.

And I'm afraid I have to disagree that pay should not be based on how hard somebody works. This is something that definiately needs to be taken into account in my opinion.

I've worked side by side with employees that work their asses off as a real go getter, whether its +40c out and they are first to jump in an attic, or -40c out and they are the first outside climbing a ladder. These are the guys I'd rather work beside. But from personal experience, I've seen a lot of these hard workers that love what they do, but go to competitors simply over wage.

My opinion: Knowledge and experience can be trained. Having a happy and motivated team needs to be "bought".

Undisclosed Integrator #10

10/21/14 04:02pm

I get what your saying, but when do you stop "throwing" money at your employees? And if you continue to throw money at them, they begin to fill entitled and are always looking for that extra dollar. In my opinion, this may be the true reason somebody leaves a job for more money, because you created that monster!

All of our employees are go getters, because of the culture we create. When somebody needs to crawl under the building or in the hot attic, every single one of our technicians is ready to start, nobody is waiting to be told what to do. And guess what, all of our technicians get paid differently, some more than others!

Using industry standards for salary and compensation is great for a starting point, especially for a new or young company. If I paid each person based on how hard they worked, every employee in my organization should be getting paid $100/hour. So the way we increase salary, outside of commission obviously, is to tie it to something tangible like certifications, roles/responsibilities, etc.

To each his own and thanks for sharing :)

PS - I've had technicians leave our company for more money, 3 weeks later they came crawling back because they missed our culture that we bring to the table. He came back making less money than where he went and left each day going home happy!

Undisclosed End User #5

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #10 | 10/21/14 04:11pm

Sorry for the confusion, I don't mean to pay them solely based on how hard they work, but surely you must agree that it needs to be taken that into consideration! The point is that I've seen guys that work their asses off, and I've seen other guys getting paid twice the amount sitting in a van barking orders to everyone else. It's not right in any industry, but it does happen.

P.S.

Sounds like you're running quite the organization there! Good on you! It's too bad that more companies don't run like that

Undisclosed Integrator #10

In reply to Undisclosed End User #5 | 10/21/14 04:19pm

Agreed 100%

But you HAVE to weed out the lazy ones. Regardless of their pay, there shouldn't be somebody in the van barking orders while others are working twice as hard :)

And believe me, not everybody is interested in culture, it takes time to build a quality team!

Avatar

Ethan Ace

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #10 | 10/21/14 04:22pm

If someone is in a van barking orders and they are not in a position to do that, there's a problem.

But if someone is in a van barking orders and not working "as hard" as everyone else, I would hope that they were put in that position (management, essentially, but it could be called a "lead tech" or "foreman"), and they are doing different work. Saying they're not working as hard because they're not pulling as much cable would be silly, right?

Undisclosed Integrator #9

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #10 | 10/21/14 08:55pm

Undisclosed J -

We tie compensation to tangible goals as well. Where we struggle is with certifications (something we quite often tie to salary increases). I would be very interested in hearing feedback as to how many integrators pay for industry certifications and how many integrators feel it's the employee's responsibility to pay for certifications. Similar to maintaining PMP or other "executive" level certifications that are a requirement of employment but not necessarily covered by the company. Possibly this would be a good survey?

This can get extremely expensive, even more so now that it seems every manufacturer seems to have another revenue line: certification. More fustrating still is that many certifications yields little in the way of actual, valuable, "training" for our team members that they find useful in the field. But that would be a whole other discussion, wouldn't it?

Undisclosed Integrator #11

12/23/14 05:18pm

Interesting articles! I read them both, Intergrator and Manufacturer.

Compensation and Culture and both very important. Compensation should be tied to the Value the person creates to the Company and the Marketplace, both count.

As far as Culture, some Salespeople forget to treat their own co-workers at least as good as they treat their customers. These are the people who take care of your customers after who have aquired them. Many also forget about how good they may have it, compensation vs. degree of difficulty. Other times Management either does not recognize what and "Outstanding" employee looks like or they simply are trying to get the most for the least and squeeze blood from a stone. Developing a Culture where people, clients and co-workers both, feel valued and appreciated goes a long way. Rewards, Promotions, Titles, Privilages and more can be used instead of increasing the monetary Compensation, because you have increased their Emotional Compensation. Promoting ONLY based on "Dollar Volume" or "Contract Value" can often breed the Salesperson who disreguards "Setting Expectations" and sells whatever they can to whomever they can regardless of the consequenses.

As for Compensation, most of us, when we are honest with ourselves, has a pretty good idea of their value to the Company, however they are too shy or too scared to ask for a raise. If you truely feel that you add more value than you are being compensated for, test the waters and see what others will offer you. You have now put yourself in a position to ask for more or choose to leave for what you feel is a better opportunity.

I have been a business owner, an employee and an Independent Contractor. Business owners need to understand that if they don't recognize their best people, they will lose them to someone who does. Head hunters make a living finding people who are not being taken care of well enough.

Be careful about the Culture you create and the Value you put on people. There is much more than money that is important to make a Company thrive and survive in this world if Company wants any longevity. If the Company only cares about the Current and Short-Term Valuation, it is probably because they are looking to sell or go public and then... "Employee Beware".

Overall great article and some great comments. Keep them coming. I agree that a job board would be a nice addition to this site. It would surely keep both sides "honest" and be a great place for Companies to identify people that would fit in their Company well.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Prosperous New Year!

Undisclosed Integrator #11

12/23/14 05:31pm

By the way, I am a top producer at my company and I believe I also bring value to the company in many other ways, like office moral, cooperation, training, research and creating networking partners. It is interesting to me that people put so much value on "Experience" with in an Industry.

While "Experience" in an industry has a Value, there are many other things that an employer should be looking for, in my humble opinion. They should be looking for the ability and desire to learn, a strong work ethic, loyalty, charisma, character, intelligence and experience in other areas that create Value.

We hired salespeople with years of experience in Security Technology and they have not been able to sell at all, while I picked up the job in two years. Of course I have had a career in Sales even though it has not been in the Security Technology Industry. Sometimes people who come in without prior "Bad Habits" are the best to teach...LOL

Avatar

Christopher Freeman

03/29/15 02:52pm

As one manufacturer eluded to , the grass is never greener on the other side of the world.

Every area has its own set of set backs, problems, prices to pay for the rewards of return.

Nothing is free and everything has a price to pay.

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