WTPF 2011 Compensation Survey: INSIGHTS INTO COMPENSATION TRENDS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES INDUSTRY IN THE GREATER WASHINGTON, D.C.-AREA

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Introduction to the WTPF 2011 Compensation SurveyWTPF—The Business Forum for HR Professionals is dedicated to equipping its members with the skills, knowledge and tools to produce HR solutions that positively impact business results. One of the many services and benefits WTPF offers is the organization’s flagship Compensation Survey. Conducted annually since 1989, the WTPF survey provides competitive regional pay information for over 80 of the Washington, D.C.-area’s premier employers to human resources professionals supporting the government contracting, technology, and professional services communities. The survey also includes detailed policies and practices information on topics such as salary budgets, security clearances, and variable compensation data.

For the second year in a row the survey was managed by Pearl Meyer & Partners, a national compensation and survey consulting firm.

The WTPF survey covers over 500 positions at multiple job levels across job families, including:

Engineering Telecom/Satellite Information Technology Sales Professional Executive Scientific Project Management Administrative and Support

It provides extensive compensation-related information on over 70,000 employees from the Washington, DC metro area.

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WHAT IS A

COMPENSATION

SURVEY?

There are various

organizations including

industry associations,

educational institutions,

compensation consulting

firms, and state and federal

governments that collect

compensation information

from organizations in

specific regions and/or

industries and aggregate

that information for analysis.

Purchasers of the survey

use the data to assess their

compensation programs

and, more specifically,

employee pay levels against

the competition and

enhance the effectiveness

of their practices.

According to a Salary.com

poll, more than 80 percent

of business managers

and HR professionals said

their companies either

participate in or purchase

at least one salary survey

each year.

.

We’ve used the WTPF survey for over 10 years, it’s a great source of data for our cleared positions that aren’t adequately covered in other surveys, and the companies represented in the survey are a good representation of our competitive field,” said Tina Hourihane, Sr. Manager, Compensation for Orbital Sciences Corporation.

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Hiring and Retention in the Washington, D.C.-areaThe employment market in the Washington, D.C.-area is like no other in the country. Driven by government and the industries that support the government, it is one of the strongest labor markets in the nation with an unemployment rate well below the national average. This translates into a uniquely competitive market for employers particularly when it comes to filling positions that require special skills and/or security clearances.

Still, with federal budget pressures and ongoing uncertainty around support for specific programs, government contractors and professional services firms of all sizes, must take a pragmatic approach to compensation programs. Data from the WTPF Compensation Survey equips business managers and HR professionals with the information they need to make informed compensation decisions that optimize attraction and retention.

The 2011 WTPF Compensation Survey includes a comprehensive policies and practices report specifically for these types of employers in the region. Data on turnover rates, compensation levels for those with security clearances, premiums for special or ‘hot’ skills, the use of sign-on and retention bonuses as well as other pay practices are included.

Analysis of the survey data provides valuable competitive information to any employer with operations in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. For example, the survey can be used to address questions such as:

What are the most common pay practices, variable and non-variable, for security cleared and non-cleared personnel?

What are some of the most effective incentives for attracting and retaining cleared and non-cleared personnel?

What percent of organizations employ premiums for special or hot skills? What are the average voluntary and involuntary turnover rates? What are the most effective recruiting sources for attracting cleared and non-cleared

employees?

“We’ve used the WTPF survey for over 10 years, it’s a great source of data for our cleared positions that aren’t adequately covered in other surveys, and the companies represented in the survey are a good representation of our competitive field,” said Tina Hourihane, Sr. Manager, Compensation for Orbital Sciences Corporation.

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Key Findings Designed and constructed to support the needs of large and small government contractors and professional services firms, participating companies include some of the region’s biggest employers — Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, IBM Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Northrop Grumman — as well as mid-size and smaller companies, such as Energy Enterprise Solutions, SRA International, SERCO and Praxis Engineering. Of the 82 companies participating in the survey, 62 do most of their business in the government contracting arena with a heavy concentration operating in Northern Virginia. (For a complete list of 2011 Survey Participants see Appendix A.)

The WTPF Compensation Survey is available to both WTPF members (at a discounted price) and non-members. Subscribers gain access to features new to the 2011 survey including a quick reference guide to easily find compensation information on specific positions, 24/7 access to online ‘data on demand’ and a more user-friendly hardcopy version of the report. (For a sample report page see Appendix B.) Custom cuts of the data are also available upon request (e.g. by location or by peer group).

Data from the 2011 Survey can be used to uncover trends in a wide range of areas:

CompensationThe table below compares average change in base salary and total cash (base salary + short term incentives/bonuses) from 2010 to 2011 for several of the most highly populated positions.

In addition, survey results point to target annual bonuses/incentives as the most prevalent variable pay programs used by participating companies.

Security ClearanceAlso included in the survey is detailed data on positions that require various levels of security clearance. With respect to filling such positions, in 2011 organizations report having little difficulty recruiting personnel with a secret clearance level – 80% responded either ‘Not Difficult’ or ‘Slightly Difficult.’ However, difficulty increases dramatically with the degree of security clearance with 76% citing Top Secret/SCI – Full Scope Lifestyle Polygraph clearance level as being ‘Very Difficult’ to recruit. The majority of participating organizations report they find many of their recruits at other

Position Base % Change Total Cash % Change

Systems Engineering – Advanced Professional 2.9% 3.0%

Intelligence Analysis – Advanced Professional Systems

4.2% 4.2%

Administrative Assistant – Lead Administrative 5.3% 5.4%

Information Security – Advanced Professional 2.0% 2.5%

CEO (Corporate) -2.5% 9.2%

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government contractors already possessing the required security clearances. Compensation varies as well according to security clearance level – those with the highest clearance levels command an average base pay that is 12% higher than those without security clearances.

RecruitingSign-on bonuses are widely used among the companies surveyed, most often at the executive and management levels, a strong indicator that the Washington, D.C.-area remains a competitive market for employers seeking top talent. When asked about top recruiting sources, particularly for cleared personnel, respondents cite employee referrals as the leading source of qualified candidates. This suggests employers should have strong employee referral programs in place.

Hot SkillsOne of the key growth areas for government contractors is cyber security. A December 2010 report from INPUT, “Federal Information Security Market, 2010-2015,” predicts that federal investment in information security will rise from $8.6 billion in 2010 to $13.3 billion by 2015 at a compound annual growth rate of 9.1 percent, nearly twice the rate of overall federal IT spending. This presents significant opportunity for government contractors with cyber security talent. This is the first year the survey has included Cyber Security as a job family. Actual incumbent pay data received on this job family was limited, but, as the new job family evolves we expect the data set to become more robust.

Users can conduct data cuts by an array of variables for a wide range of jobs with and without security clearances. With insight into indicators in areas such as premiums, movement by levels and turnover, organizations can anticipate and better prepare for market and competitive pressures..

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ConclusionMost business professionals and HR managers rely on the insight from compensation surveys to guide and refine their organization’s compensation practices.

In the Washington, D.C.-area, despite general economic uncertainty and high national unemployment levels, attracting and compensating top talent competitively remains a key challenge. The WTPF 2011 Compensation Survey provides the most comprehensive, detailed information of its kind focused on this region. Over the past two decades WTPF’s annual compensation surveys have become an important tool that organizations rely on to inform their hiring and retention practices.

The survey is available to both member and non-member organizations as well as participants and non-participants. However, members of WTPF receive special pricing on the survey as does any organization that chooses to participate in the survey.

Surveys may be purchased by visiting www.wtpf.org. For more information about WTPF and the benefits of membership, please contact (703) 433-9576 or staff@wtpf.org

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Accenture Ltd.Adaptive MethodsAlion Science and TechnologyAmerican Institutes for ResearchAmerican Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationAnalytic Services Inc.AnonymousArgon STA-TEKAvaya Government SolutionsBattelle NationalBooz Allen Hamilton Inc.Bowhead Technical & Professional ServicesCACI International, Inc.CGI Technologies and Solutions, Inc.CNACobhamComputer Sciences CorporationCOMSO, Inc.DAI SolutionsDCS CorporationDelex Systems, Inc.Dell Services Federal GovernmentDRS Technical Services, Inc.Dynamics Research CorporationDynCorp International Inc.Energy Enterprise SolutionsFairchild Controls CorporationFGM, IncFirst Potomac Realty TrustGeneral Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Inc.General Dynamics Corp.George Washington UniversityGTSI CorporationHealth Net Inc.Helios HRHewlett-Packard CompanyHoneywell Technology Solutions, Inc.Hughes Network SystemsIBM CorporationICF International

Institute for Defense AnalysesIntegrity Applications Inc.Intersections Inc.ITT Geospatial SystemsITT-Information SystemsJohns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics LaboratoryL-3 STRATISLevel 3 Communications, Inc.Lockheed Martin CorporationLogistics Management InstituteManTech International CorporationMDA Information Systems, Inc.National Rural Electric Cooperative AssociationNJVCNoblis, Inc.Northrop Grumman Information SystemsOrbital Sciences CorporationPal-Tech, Inc.Parsons CorporationPraxis Engineering, Inc.Qwest Communications International Inc.Raytheon CompanySAIC, Inc.SapientScitor CorporationSedna Digital Solutions, LLCSercoService Source, Inc.SRA International, Inc.Sunrise Senior LivingSWIFTTASC, Inc.TCOM, L.P.Technica CorporationThales Communications, Inc.The Aerospace CorporationTriple CanopyUnisys CorporationUnited Service OrganizationsVentera Corporation

Appendix A – 2011 Participating Companies

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Appendix B – Sample Report Page

About WTPF Founded in 1960, WTPF—The Business Forum for HR Professionals is dedicated to equipping its members with the skills, knowledge and tools to produce HR solutions that positively impact business results. WTPF delivers on this vision by providing career-enhancing educational and networking opportunities to mid-career level HR practitioners working in the professional services and other industries. With more than 500 actively involved individuals from top government contracting, technology, engineering and financial services organizations in the Washington, D.C.-area, WTPF delivers high impact, quality services to members at a reasonable cost. To learn more go to: www.wtpf.org.

2010 Corporate Ridge, Suite 700., McLean, VA 22102

Phone: 703.433.9576 | Fax: 703.884.9165 | Email: staff@wtpf.org