By Jose Rivera and Jim Campbell
The mission of the Control System Integrators Association is to advance the industry of control system integration. Relevant quantitative SI company performance benchmarks are key, yet not easily available. Most independent SI companies are privately held and, as such, not required to publish their financial results. Large automation equipment vendors are publicly held but don’t disclose in detail the performance of their system integration services as they normally represent only a small percentage of their overall business.
CSIA Pulse and its predecessor programs, such as KPICs, filled this void since CSIA was formed, providing participating SIs with quantitative benchmarks on KPIs. A separate benchmark study was offered on industry compensation via the CSIA Salary Survey. Through dedicated work, participating SIs, the Statistics Committee and iLumen (the provider of the platform) were able to deliver these surveys and create actual benchmark data. CSIA leveraged this data to compare the performance of certified vs. non-certified SI companies and publish the results in the “Proven Better Performance” white paper in support of the CSIA Best Practices and Certification program.
The vision for these programs was for broad participation by CSIA members to provide not only statistical significance, but also an actionable level of granularity (e.g., salary levels in a region). While the programs provided significant value and were regularly promoted, participation level remained modest. The effort required for the data preparation and entry were identified as obstacles by many. Pulse was developed as a simplified KPICs, yet it probably didn’t go far enough. Along with the Statistics Committee and input from the CSIA Board of Directors, CSIA is now moving to a new program for 2019. Pulse and Salary Survey will continue to run its normal course for 2018.
The NEW program
What keeps SIs up at night is the ability to attract, retain and develop talent, according to recent CSIA membership surveys. Beginning in 2019, CSIA will replace the current version of Pulse and the Salary Survey with a comprehensive annual talent compensation survey (to be conducted during Q1 starting in 2020), that, in addition to salary-specific questions, creates a more holistic compensation picture by including benefits (e.g., company-matched 401k, medical, dental).
CSIA successfully launched the monthly EZ Stats program to all members. The initiative asks two simple questions: revenue for the past month and business sentiment (up or down). The program has gained some traction, and it is starting to provide some interesting developments (e.g., 24% drop in SI business sentiment from December 2018 to January 2019). CSIA plans to retain this program and will add a single “talent” or business relevant question (e.g., Is your company seeing clients using blockchain?).
Implications and Next Steps
The Statistics Committee has been working with iLumen (provider of the platform) and staff to define the new program. We have made significant effort in defining the format, selection of the benefit and other questions for the new surveys and are getting close to selecting the new program name. The annual price will be $500, and the talent compensation report will be provided in Q2 to those contributing data. It is very important to stress that this program requires the SIs to contribute the data.
Changing the focus of the program shifts the target audience for the completion of the survey. The HR department plays a key role in this, in contrast to the finance department’s role with Pulse. It is very important that SI owners support this transition.
In early 2020 and to conclude Pulse, we plan to create a custom and detailed report to all those companies that participated in Pulse and regularly contributed data. We will have a more summarized report for the rest of the CSIA members. This will be the contribution of Pulse to advancing the SI industry. In some ways this is analogous to the work done by the Best Practices Committee sharing best practices for the benefit of all the SI members. As it has always been the case, we highly guard the confidentiality of the provided data.
A Very Big Thank You
The Statistics Committee has met on a monthly basis for many years to provide CSIA members with actionable data. We want to warmly express our gratitude to those regular contributors of the Pulse and Salary Survey participants. We expect the new talent compensation program to continue the tradition of CSIA helping our members to improve!
Jose Rivera is CEO of the Control System Integrators Association in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. Jim Campbell is owner and president of Viewpoint Systems Inc in Rochester, N.Y.