Amidst a Cooling Tech Sector Compensation Market, Roles in Clean Tech and Hardware See Largest Gains, According to TAP Network

Amidst a Cooling Tech Sector Compensation Market, Roles in Clean Tech and Hardware See Largest Gains, According to TAP Network

Salary growth and voluntary turnover have slowed in Canada’s tech sector according to TAP Network’s 2024 Tech Sector Salary and Total Rewards Survey

In a rapidly evolving industry, the 2024 Tech Sector Salary and Total Rewards Survey, conducted by TAP Network and produced by Mercer, showed a cooling compensation market with median salary increases of 3.8% and bonus payments mostly at or below target.This is a significant decline from the 2023 median increase of 7.5%. Voluntary turnover also declined dramatically to an average of 9.6% in the last calendar year, in stark contrast to the previous year’s average voluntary turnover of 17%.

“Some of the seismic shifts we saw in the past couple of years seem to have settled,” said Stephanie Hollingshead, Chief Executive Officer at TAP Network. “For most subsectors, salary increases tracked much more closely to budgets this year, showing there was less reliance on off-cycle pay increases to address retention concerns, counteroffers, market adjustments and internal equity. However, there were some notable exceptions to that. Clean Tech and Hardware Design, Development and Manufacturing companies had 5.0% and 5.5% median salary increases respectively.”

Hot Jobs

Mechanical engineering and marketing roles topped the list this year as jobs with the highest year over year increases for common incumbents. Entry level Mechanical Engineer was first at 9.2%, with Intermediate level Mechanical Engineer second at 8.1%. Demand Generation Manager (Growth Marketing) and Entry level Marketing Communications were next on the list, with 7.5% increases.

“The larger salary increases we’re seeing in mechanical engineering roles are being driven by the clean tech and hardware companies in our survey, which were more aggressive with increases this year”, stated Hollingshead. “The federal government has been directing funding to clean tech initiatives as it seeks to position Canada as a global leader in certain clean technologies. However, we may see compensation for some of these jobs cool in 2025 as Canadian fuel cell companies such as Ballard Power have recently undertaken restructuring and layoffs in response to global market challenges.”

Total Compensation Trends

Canada’s tech sector is continuing to invest in health and wellbeing of employees with significant upward trends continuing in the offering of family leave top-up benefits, paid time off to volunteer and RRSP matching.

“Coming out of a tumultuous year of both layoffs and large incumbent salary increases, many technology companies limited spending in 2024”, continued Hollingshead. “We’re seeing that reflected not only in lower salary increases but also in less job postings and engagement in talent acquisition and people and culture activities. There is a spending caution which we haven’t seen in several years. Some of our member companies are using this relative stability in the talent market to make investments in employee health and wellbeing benefits.”

For the first time, TAP Network’s survey also covered in-depth Long Term Incentive policies and plan design information such as eligibility, targets, and plan design and policies for stock options, RSUs, ESPPs and more. According to the survey, 54% of organizations indicated they have a long-term incentive program, and the most prevalent forms were Stock/Share Options and Restricted Share Units. When it comes to short term incentives, while actual bonus payments continue to trend below target, a greater percentage of employees are eligible to receive payouts, according to the survey data.

Survey Expansion

The survey, which gathered insights from 202 tech companies in Canada and includes data on 27,448 incumbents across 243 jobs, continued to expand in 2024 with growth in geographic coverage, number of positions surveyed, and policies and practices data collected. Atlantic Canada data cuts are now available for some positions in the survey and nine additional positions were added to the survey, including Professional Services Manager, Application Systems Analyst, Senior Environment Artist and more.

Looking Ahead to 2025

As Canadian companies navigate a fast-paced and competitive landscape for tech talent, total compensation insights are invaluable for leaders aiming to attract and retain top talent. Looking ahead to 2025, the survey data showed signs of a return to stronger headcount growth, with the highest planned growth within Life Sciences and Healthcare Tech and Technology/Engineering Services and Consulting subsectors. TAP Network's comprehensive survey, powered by Mercer’s analysis, provides a roadmap for tech company leaders to make informed business decisions supporting pay transparency and competitive pay practices.

About TAP Network’s Tech Sector Salary and Total Rewards Survey

TAP Network partners with Mercer to produce an annual salary and total rewards survey focused on the Canadian tech sector, reporting on local and national salaries, total compensation, detailed policy data, and more. Survey participants include startups, scale ups and large multinationals representing a broad cross section of subsectors such as software products, AI, clean tech, hardware design and manufacturing, VFX, animation, video game and interactive digital media and more. Survey submissions were collected in Spring 2024 and results were published in September 2024.

Learn more about TAP Network’s Salary and Total Rewards Survey here.

About TAP Network

TAP Network is a non-profit association for People and Culture professionals in Canada's tech sector, providing members with access to tech sector data, industry experts and an inclusive peer community to drive innovation, collaboration and results. Through programs and events, TAP Network fosters peer-to-peer connections and collaboration that enable learning and knowledge sharing. The association’s 1,000 members lead and influence the People and Culture practices at 250 tech companies spanning numerous subsectors, including ICT, VFX and animation, video games and interactive digital media, cleantech, AI, life sciences and more. On October 28, 2024 TAP Network will be presenting Tech Talent North, Canada’s conference for People & Culture in tech.

Stephanie Hollingshead
Tech and People Network
stephanie@tapnetwork.ca

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