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PAYMENTS SALARY & INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 1st Edition 2015
"This survey puts readers in touch with the thoughts of people working within the payments industry"
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Content zz PREFACE
zz 04
zz METHODOLOGY
zz 06
zz DEMOGRAPHICS
zz 07
zz JOB SATISFACTION
zz 08
zz JOB SECURITY
zz 10
zz WILLINGNESS TO MOVE ROLES
zz 12
zz FACTORS THAT DRIVE JOB CHANGE
zz 14
zz HOW PROFESSIONALS FIND A ROLE
zz 17
zz SALARY OVERVIEW
zz 21
zz GENDER PAY GAP
zz 21
zz ABOUT Alopex
zz 22
www.alopexsearch.com
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about the report Welcome The payments sector is going through a period of
Do people feel secure and satisfied with their role? How
As a result we have intertwined results from an
consolidation with a number of mergers executed in
do employees in the industry feel about their internal
online survey (with over 1,000 respondents) with the
2015. Deals such as Global Payments decision to buy out
career opportunities? What makes people move to a new
data available internally. This has allowed us to examine
Colm Lyon’s Realex Payments, along with Barclaycard
job?
peoples opinions about the payments industry at large.
acquisition of Skrill has created a changing and dynamic
We have used aggregated data from our own
So, whether you are looking to hire, get hired or just
landscape for professionals working within the payments
records and relationships with key stakeholders in the
have an interest in the results, we hope you enjoy
sector.
payments sector. We have also attended various
reading this reporat as much as we enjoyed making it.
taking control of The Logic Group and Optimal Payments
payment related conferences to speak with people Our ‘Salary & Industry Insights’ report aims to become
directly about their experiences over the past 12
an extremely valuable tool for employers and candidates
months.
alike. This is the first edition and we set out to answer a number of questions that employee’s face.
Dan Gallagher Director & Founder Alopex Search
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www.alopexsearch.com
Preface
dustry and it’s employment conditions for the
Alopex Search’s first edition of the ‘Payments
people working within it. Areas we delve into
Salary & Industry Insights’ survey has a large
include job security, job satisfaction, what
This document has been produced and
data set with over 1,000 respondents. This
drives people to change roles, how willing
designed entirely by Alopex Search.
survey was inspired by a lack of detailed data
they are to move and more.
available to the payments sector. It provides
We have also included a short description
Any queries regarding the contents of this
granular industry insight into opportunities
of our methodology and an overview of the
report can be directed to;
available to both employers and employees.
main demographics for those who would like
dan@alopexsearch.com.
We have analysed the perception of the in-
a little more insight into what data we have
Junior: 0-3 years experience, non management Mid-Level: 3-7 years experience, mid-management level
Throughout the report you will see data broken down into four levels of senioroity. Whilst the particulars of each level may shift depending on the skill set, the levels can be generally considerd as outlined as stated here.
and how it was accumulated.
Senior: 8+ years experience, senior management level C-Level: Country Manager, Director or Board level status.
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methodology and demographics& Our research was primary, quantitative and
results. This was to excise partial responses,
Internal Data
descriptive, with the scope of pointing out the
irrelevent respondents and errors. Our final
We took a total of 384 records from our
main co-ordinates of the investigated issues.
sampling data consists of 1,159 - all working
own administrative database, this includes a
We used three sets of data
in the
mixture of job specifications and candidates
overall - an online survey, our own
payments sector and coming from a wide
from 2014 up until August 2015. These two
candidate pool and job specifications.
range of job positions and skill sets.
datasets give us access to salary information at a variety of seniority levels.
Online Survey
The questionnaire structure took into
We gathered the data through a pre-tested
consideration a number of factors regarding
Final Data Total
and then revised questionnaire throughout
respondents behaviour, namely:
In total we have 1,543 individual data records
June, July and August of 2015. The responses
•
to form the basis of our analysis.
Direct influences - demographic
were collected online and hosted on
variables (age, gender, seniority, job title
esurveycreator.com, then analysed in
and salary).
Microsoft Office Excel.
•
Behavioural variables - career level, years in industry, skill.
We receieved an exceptional number of
6
•
Deduced influences - job satisfaction,
responses - over 1,000. To ensure consis-
security, attitudes, lifestyle, career pat-
tency of data we invalidated 128 of the
terns.
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Age
Time in role
Time in industry
5.9%
11%
10.2% 5.3%
5.3%
26%
21.8%
23.7%
41.7%
26.3%
33.5%
26%
56.9%
<25
<46-55
<1 year
<5-10y
<1 year
<5-10y
<26-35
<56-65 (0.6%)
<1-2y
<10-20 (0.6%)
<1-2y
<10-20 (0.6%)
<36-45
<65+ (0.2%)
<2-5y
<20y+ (3.2%)
<2-5y
<20y+ (3.2%)
Seniority
Gender
Sector 9.2%
10.9%
15.3% 38.6%
19.2%
41.3%
49.1%
36.4%
16.4% 63.6%
<Junior
<Senior
IT
Operations
Men
<Mid-level
<C-level
Sales
Finance
Women
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39 % 39% of C-level executives are VERY SATISFIED with in their roles.
64 % 64% of respondents are SATISFIED in their roles
28 %
Importance of CAREER PROGRESSION to job satisfaction
8
81%
72%
Junior
Mid-Level
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28% of those in their current role for 2 - 5 years are dissatisfied.
63% Senior
53% C-level
job satisfaction Keeping staff happy and engaged is a key
valuable employees). Our research found
factor in ensuring the best employees remain
that the hightest levels of satisfaction were
When it comes to company sucess, 60% of
part of your business. Our survey questioned
amongst those with between two and five
juniors feel this isn’t relavent to their level of
respondents on their level of job satisfaction.
years service, with 27.7% expressing
satisfaction, compared with long standing
dissatisfaction. 17.7% of respondents in a
employees - 80% of those serving for 10 to 20
role for 5 years or more are dissatisfied.
years mention this as a very important factor
The results show that 64% of professionals are satisfied in their roles, with C-level
in their satisfaction. Seniority has the same
respondents showing a higher level of job
We also asked respondents what elements
satisfaction (38.9% are ‘very’ satisfied)
of a role influenced their levels of satisfaction
compared to only 23.3% of juniors and 17.4%
and found that personal interest in the role
Recommendations:
of mid-level professionals. When broken
and career progression were the biggest
•
Monitor staff with 2-5 years in the role
down by gender, there is no split in levels of
factor by far. Analysing further reveals that
•
Engage juniors in business values and
satisfaction.
those most interested in their role are professionals with many years of experience.
Length of tenure is a key metric that can
Having competent colleagues and being
effect the level of satisfaction in a job, with
recognised for their achievements are the
the main concern for employers being the
next most important factors according to 6
loss of those in a role for many years (often
out of every 10 respondents.
mindset.
success - get them to buy in •
Make career progression opportunities clear
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C-level Senior
Mid-level Junior 0 20 40 60 80 100 very secure
Graphic: Job security by seniority (Overall)
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somewhat secure
neutral
somewhat insecure
very insecure
job security Job security is another relevant factor in
Interestingly, almost half of the respondents
Unsurprisingly, the survey also reveals that
regard to employees. Those who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel
under 25 said they are very secure (47.6%) -
job security is far lower with companies
secure are likely to jump ship for a role that
feelings not share by their elders (only 27.1%
that made redundancies or that have been
seems safer. This is demonstrated by the fact
of the age group 36-45 feel very secure).
bought by larger organisations in the past 12
that 84.4% of respondents who are
months. Only 24% of respondents being very
insecure in their jobs want to move,
Furthermore, job security is highest in the re-
secure compared to 45.4% of the
compared to only half of those who feel
spondent groups that have been in their role
respondents in firms that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make
secure.
for 1-2 years (41.6%) and 5-10 years (43.9%),
redundancies.
compared to 35.7% of employees in their Overall, 75.4% of respondents are secure
roles for less than a year.
in their roles - a great testament to the UK payments industry. When breaking this down
Seniority breakdown points to C-level and
between PSP providors and
junior professionals being the most secure -
merchant providors there is a slight nod
mid-level and senior are the most insecure,
towards individuals in merchant providors
likely due to the natural evolution of careers
being more secure (40.9% respondents are
at that level.
very secure compared to 33.6% of PSP professionals).
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71%
72.4%
Of those in their second year of employment have indicated that they are the most likely to move in the next 12 months.
Of people working in companies that have been acquired by larger organisations or who are working with companies who have made redundancies in the past 12 months are actively looking to find a new job.
willingness to move roles With today’s highly dynamic and ever
Refining our data across PSP side employees
working in a company making redundancies.
changing payments landscape, there are
and merchant/acquring providors shows PSP
In terms of willingness to leave, the most
constant opportunities for professionals to
professionals have a higher intention of
concerning figure we unearthed is that those
move roles. New technology, new best
moving, altough only 4% more than their
in their second year of
practices and new businesses abound.
counterparts.
employment are by far the most likely to move in the next twelve months (71%).
Losing talent is a serious concern for
Bonuses and paid overtime hours heavily
employers.
impact people’s willingness to move - 10%
Recommendations:
more respondents, who don’t receive a
•
Overall, 59% of respondents see themselves
bonus or get paid overtime, say they would
changing roles in the next year. Intention
move.
Engage closely with 2nd year staff as they are the most likely to leave.
•
is slightly higher amongst men (60.3% v
Consider bonus and/or paid overtime to increase loyalty.
56.3% of women). Across levels of seniority
Organisational change can also be highlight-
however, numbers vary more widely. Least
ed as a significant driver of people wanting
intention to move sits with C-level employees
to leave. Unsurprisingly, 72.4% of people
(44.5%), with mid-level being the most likely
working in companies reducing in size or who
to move (63.3% are considering a move in the
have been acquired by a larger business
next year).
intend to move on, alongside 67.2% of those
•
Effectively communicate company change to soothe employees’ concerns.
•
Redundancies scare people - be transparent about why they happen.
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+8
50
better opportunity % 44.2
increased salary %
40
fresh challenge %
37.7 36.3
36
36.1
30
30.3
26.7 22.7
20 17.1
16.4
14.3
10 7.1
0
Junior
Mid-level
Graphic: Most significant factors driving job change (Overall)
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Senior
C-level
8%
Factors that drive job change Job security is another relevant factor in -4%
regard to employees. Those who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel
Interestingly, almost half of the respondents
Unsurprisingly, the survey also reveals that
secure are likely to jump ship for a role that
under 25 said they are very secure (47.6%) -
job security is far lower with companies that
seems safer. This is demonstrated by the fact
feelings not share by their elders (only 27.1%
made redundancies or that have been bought
that 84.4% of respondents who are insecure
of the age group 36-45 feel very secure).
by larger organisations in the past 12 months.
in their jobs want to move, compared to only half of those who feel secure.
Only 24% of respondents being very secure Furthermore, job security is highest in the
compared to 45.4% of the respondents in
respondent groups that have been in their
firms that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make redundancies.
Overall, 75.4% of respondents are secure in
role for 1-2 years (41.6%) and 5-10 years
their roles - a great testament to the UK digital
(43.9%), compared to 35.7% of employees in
industry. When breaking this down between
their roles for less than a year.
people between PSP providors and merchant providors there is a slight nod
Seniority breakdown points to C-level and
towards individuals in merchant providors
junior professionals being the most secure -
being more secure (40.9% respondents are
mid-level and senior are the most insecure,
very secure compared to 33.6% of PSP profes-
likely due to the natural evolution of careers
sionals).
at that level.
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Junior %
80 75.3
Mid-level %
70
Senior % 60
C-level %
59 55
50
54.9
50.9
51.4
50.4
47.3
45.9
46.5
40 38.8
36.2
30
36.6
38
32.9
35.2
34.9 28.4
27.1
20
21
10 0
Recruitment Agency
Graphic: Methods of finding a role by seniority (Overall)
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Headhunter
Word of mouth
Company Website
how professionals find a role Various people adopt different methods of
Analysing these trends across the levels of
Interestingly, there is a striking difference be-
finding themselves a new job. Some consult
seniority highlights a potentially expected
tween the number of C-level people who opt
their peers for opportunities and yet more
result, but one worthy of mention none the
to use a recruitment consultancy (36.27%) v
contact their preferred recruiter. We
less.
headhunters/executive search (50.49%). This
questioned individuals in the industry on their preference.
suggests professionals at this level not only Whilst junior, mid-level and senior
understand the recruitment process well,
professionals are happy using all methods
but prefer to entrust their career move with
When it comes to how professionals
of job hunting, C-level professionals show
specialist executive recruitment teams (head-
intend to find their next role, it seems
a clear preference for using more personal
hunters) rather than standard recruitment
people like to cast their net wide. Recruit-
methods. Generic sources of roles such as
practitioners.
ment
job boards (11.76%) and company websites
consultancy (50.6%), LinkedIn (60.1%),
(21.07%) score very low. Face to face
Headhunter (42%), employers website
methods, on the other hand, have much
(30.7%) and word of mouth (38%) were all
more importance. Word of mouth (46.56%),
marked as methods that would be used. Print
Headhunter (50.49%) and LinkedIn (51.46%)
is very low on peoples radar and social has
were the most common for C-level job
yet to make a significant impact on job search
seekers.
practices.
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80
Graphic: Methods of find a role by seniority (Overall) Technology %
70 66.9
Sales & Marketing %
69.7
Operations %
60 50 40
56
Finance %
58.7 52.1
44.4
51
51.3
47.9
45.6
41.3
41.3 38.2 34.9
30
39.5 34.8
35.2 29.1
29.7 26.9
20 10 0
Recruitment Agency
Graphic: How roles were found by seniority (Overall) 18
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Headhunter
Word of mouth
Company Website
how professionals find a role ctd.... When it comes to the industry breakdown,
through an employer’s website, 11.9% were
Recommendations:
recruitment consultancies and LinkedIn are
referred by someone in their network and
•
by far the most commonly used methods for
11.2% applied through job boards. Social
job searching. Both technology and
media is still looking to make a foothold as a
sales respondents are more willing to use
method of sourcing a new job, with only 3.2%
these job seeking techniques compared to
of respondents gaining their current employ-
other discplines. Our data also points out
ment in this way.
that trade and company websites are the
ing candidates, especially on LinkedIn. •
It seems we have eventually seen the long
new job, a trend that can be seen across all
drawn out death of print as a medium of job
disciplines.
advertising - only 0.3% use this medium.
Develop strong relationships with a proven recruitment consusltancy.
•
Avoid print advertising, but consider job boards.
•
least used mediums for coming across a
Ensure good social presence for attract-
Engage with a reputable headhunter / executive search firm for senior roles.
Finally, we asked respondents how they found their current role. The most common method by far is through a recruitment consultancy (38.6%). Behind that come a number of methods, all hovering around the same levels of occurence - 14.4% applied directly
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Table: Salary overview
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Overall
Agency
Client-side
Junior
£23,567 / £151
£21,238
£26,161
Mid-level
£37,915 / £298
£30,461
£39,486
Senior
£69,565 / £506
£60,830
£61,873
C-level
£102,895 / £800
£95,212
£114,199
salary overview and gender pay gap Salary Overview
command near the average when taking into
gap stands at 7%. Issues around the number
Before we break down salaries across the
account OTE earnings as a whole.
of women at board level, or lack thereof, is
various specialisms, let’s look at the overall average industry salaries.
well discussed in the wider industry press Gender Pay Gap
and beyond.
A burning question for any industry has to Our data shows a split across salaries that
be ‘is there a gender pay gap?’. UK wide and
Across the other levels of seniority the pay
can be commanded between merchant
across all industries, the gap is 19%. This puts
gap is far less - junior is only 1%, with
providor and psp roles. It seems the
the UK way down the list of EU nations as
mid-level and senior both coming in at 3%.
merchant providor side world pays more
one of the worst offenders. So, how does the
at all levels, altough senior roles are pretty
payments sector compare?
much in line. The overall column also shows average day rates for contractors (see fig 2.34
It actually compares very well. Our data
on page 20).
shows that the gender pay gap across payments is at 4% - reassuring to know.
These figures make positive reading for the industry. The UK national average wage is
If we break this down across the four levels
estimated at around £26,500, meaning that
of seniority, we can see the main culprit for
juniors working in the payments sector can
gender disparity is at C-level - here the pay
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Executive Seach know-how applied to all vacancies Our success to date can be attributed to our approach to our clients needs. Having spent a number of years working in executive search we wanted to create a business that works as a talent partner. So rather than working with you in a purely transactional method we spend time to understand your business, your culture and then carry out a detailed search on all talent in the market, regardless of their currently job search status. This ultimately means you get to see the best candidates who are interested in your business rather than those who are only looking for ‘another job’.
Technology Disciplines Covered • • • • • • • • • •
Director & Head of Departments Program Managers Project Managers Product Managers Client Delivery Managers Development Managers Enterprise Architects Security Architects Solution Architects
Sales Discipilnes Covered
Multi-Hire assignments - we do more for less
• • • • • • • • •
Our multi-hire product came about after we spoke with a client who was looking to hire 10 staff over a period of 3 months but who didn’t have the time to work with multiple agencies. As we were able to demonstrate our understanding of his business and the marketplace we created a framework for the management team that allowed them to work to an agreed timeline for reviewing CVs, interviewing and making offers to candidates.
VP of Sales Sales Directors Regional Sales Managers Head of Sales Senior Sales Managers Sales Managers Business Development Directors Pre-Sales Directors Pre-Sales Managers
Our fee structure takes into account the fact that we are working as partners rather than suppliers on this project and can save up to 20% on final invoices.
Payments Operational Disciplines Covered
Industry Insights & Market Data The UK is suffering from a skills shortage as it is, so we now have a real issue of supply and demand that is creating a vacuum of talent that needs to be addressed by companies to ensure they continue to grow. We carry out a number of surveys each year that allows us to gain a better understanding of our clients marketplace. The surveys are aimed at decision makers and talent managers who will provide the raw data for us to compile a report that we send out to our clients.
Payments C-level • • • • • •
Chief Executive Officers Chief Information Officers Chief Technology Officers Chief Digital Officers Chief Finance Officers Manager Directors
• • • • • • • •
Finance Directors Global Heads of HR HR Directors HR Business Partners Regulatory Directors / Managers Compliance Directors / Managers Risk Directors / Managers Legal Counsels
Reference checking solution for every CV submitted We are the only recruitment business in the UK to provide clients with a detailed reference report each time we submit a CV to an open position. This reference checking solution allows us to build a competency and performance assessment based on your job spec along with the ability to create custom questions that reference providers need to answer. And of course, we also provide 3 reference details with full contact details. There are multiple benefits of having a detailed reference report to hand when reviewing CVs, not least, saving time and money in collecting reference details for new starters.
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www.alopexsearch.com
About Alopex search Alopex Search was established as a platform to create a low volume, professional services staffing firm that’s sole objective is to create value for clients. Our experience predominantly comes from the executive search sector of the industry but we are now applying this know-how and methodology to low volume niche skill sets. Our sweet spot in recruitment terms tends to be niche and managerial vacancies that sit within the £50k to £130k range in base salary terms. As we all busily juggle multiple tasks we are often pressured to rush ahead and hire without being fully convinced a person is the correct hire. Most of the time poor hires are hidden from the view of the outside world, but rarely are they concealed from those most effected: organizational leaders, employees and clients.
Our success to date is simply down to following a good process. We work hard to pinpoint the aspects of the recruitment process that will help our clients the most. We measure out outcomes; depth and breadth of the candidate pool, client and hired candidate satisfaction as well as length of hired candidate tenure and promotion record. Since we believe that no one solution fits all, our team adopts different channels and methodologies in attracting, identifying and slecting talent in order to offer the best possible solution ot our clients.
My promise to our client base is the following; • • • •
•
Faster hiring cycle times. Improved hiring effectiveness/client satisfaction. Improved hired candidate satisfaction. Reduced hiring risk due to technical oversights such as reference background checking. Reduced employee turnover.
Dan Gallagher Director & Founder E: dan@alopexsearch.com P: +44 (0) 118 438 0080 M: +44 (0) 7999069233 W: www.alopexsearch.com
www.alopexsearch.com
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a l o p ex
contact us 4-6 Spicer Street,
P: +44 (0) 118 438 0080
St. Albans,
M: +44 (0) 7999069233
AL3 4PQ,
F: +44 (0) 118 919 5058
United Kingdom
email: dan@alopexsearch.com
www. alopexsearch.com