The 2018 Indigo C-Level salary guide highlights the complexities of forming effective compensation strategies, emphasizing the significance of understanding market influences on talent remuneration. Key findings from a survey of 167 top managers reveal that salaries vary significantly based on industry, education, age, gender, and company characteristics, with digital and e-commerce sectors offering the highest median salaries. Moreover, the report discusses motivators and demotivators for executives, underscoring the importance of professional development and flexible working conditions.

1. SALARY SURVEY
C-LEVEL
2018

2. Table of contents

3. Welcome
to the 2018
Indigo’s C-Level
Salary Guide

4. Introduction
Forming an effective compensation strategy is not as easy as it appears. Some managers might use
their instinct to throw a dollar figure at an employment contract, but successful salary
planning requires a careful understanding of factors that influence the amount required to secure
appropriate talent.
The market for talent in the tech field is tighter than others, heightening the importance of proper
compensation. In addition to salary tables, this salary guide provides a high-level overview of hiring,
a look at employment in IT, and several key hiring strategies for 2019.

5. About Indigo
Over the past year, we have closed 30 top-level positions for IT companies and found that neither
candidates nor employers are confident in numbers. For instance, $ 5000 for the service station - is it a lot
or a little? Who should provide options? Is flexible scheduling motivating?
This prompted us to create a salary and compensation package survey for top managers.
167 top managers shared information about their income and other types of remuneration and motivation.
Our biggest thanks to our partner Vitaliy Luzhentsov for the competent help with statistical analysis
required for the report.
We hope the content herein will help you to make informed life and management decisions.

6. How
to Use Our
Salary Tables

7. How to Use Our Salary Tables

8. Definition of positions

9. Definitions of Terms used in the Survey
Number of incumbents
Deciles
Quartiles

10. Definitions of Terms used in the Survey
Median
Mean

11. Salary survey:
general
information

12. Salary (without bonus)

13. Salary + Bonus = Total monthly reward

14. Salary (without bonus). Median

15. Salary + Bonus = Total monthly reward. Median

16. Salary (without bonus)

17. Salary + Bonus = Total monthly reward

18. Satisfaction of top managers, depending on the level
of total monthly reward.
Here is the general data on the remuneration of top managers.
From the table it is clear that one can be completely satisfied in receiving $ 4000 (median), and for another the feeling of
satisfaction is not felt. We assume that not only the level of wages affects job satisfaction.
Next we'll consider other factors.

19. What motivates
and demotivates
employees?

20. BONUSES

21. BONUSES (upgraded)

22. KPIs that affect the bonus

23. Employee job satisfaction, depending on KPIs

24. C-Level compensation package

25. What motivates C-LEVEL employees

26. Employee job satisfaction, depending on the compensation package

27. What demotivates C-LEVEL employees

28. Dependence
of employee
rewards on
various factors

29. Total monthly reward depending on company’s sphere of work. Median
The data illustrates that
the largest amount of
information was
obtained in the fields of
Digital, E-commerce,
FinTech and Banking
The highest level of
remuneration on median
in these areas is $ 5100
in E-Commerce
If not taking into account
the amount of data, the
highest remuneration per
median is in the field of
Blockchain.

30. Total monthly reward depending on education
It looks like it's time to defend a thesis or, on the contrary, not to waste time on education and gain
experience from school years :)
But for the right conclusions, we certainly need more data.

31. Total monthly reward depending on age

32. Total monthly reward depending on age. Median
The majority of participants
(97) surveyed are aged from
31 to 40 years.
The average salary of a top
manager of this age
is $ 5000.

33. Total monthly reward depending on gender
The table shows that 130 men and 37 women participated in the survey. The overwhelming majority
of women, who occupy managing positions are HR, COO, SMO and also CEOs.
This is a common situation in the IT field.
As a result, the difference in payment for men and women differs by 2 times.

34. Total monthly reward depending on gender. Median

35. Total monthly reward depending on company’s years on the market
The older the company is, the more mature its processes are, including the wage system. Perhaps, that is why the level
of wages in companies with more than 20 years of experience, does not have a huge run-up.
The table also shows that the number of years the company has been in the market does not have a significant impact
on the level of payment for top managers.

36. Total monthly reward depending on company’s
years on the market. Median

37. Total monthly reward depending on company’s type

38. Total monthly reward depending on company’s type. Median

39. Total monthly reward depending on capital type. Median

40. Total monthly reward depending on number of employees
From the presented data it is clear that the larger the company is (in this case the criteria
is the number of employees), the higher the salaries of top managers are.

41. Total monthly reward depending on number of employees. Median

42. Total monthly reward depending on the country
of foundation of the company
Quite an interesting observation: according to the median the highest level of wages is in companies based in the
United States. 2nd place belongs to Europe, and the 3d place belongs to Moscow, Russia.
But the upper border of the salary level shows that the highest level of wages is in the companies based in Ukraine.
It can be assumed that in the Ukrainian businesses the labor remuneration system and the compensation package
are not built effectively, so you have to compete with the principle of “throw + $ 500”

43. Total monthly reward depending on the country
of foundation of the company

44. Total monthly reward depending on the company's revenue

45. Total monthly reward depending on the company's revenue. Median

46. Total monthly reward depending on the number of subordinates
The data shows that the number of subordinates influences the level of payment for top managers.

47. Total monthly reward depending on the number of subordinates

48. Total monthly reward depending on the number
of years of work in the IT field

49. Total monthly reward depending on the number
of years of work in the IT field. Median
The data shows that the level of
remuneration of top managers
is gradually increasing with the
number of years of work in the
IT field.

50. Total monthly reward depending on the number
of years of work in the role of top manager

51. Total monthly reward depending on the number of years
of work in the role of top manager. Median

52. General
conclusions

53. General conclusions
The highest
remuneration is at
grocery companies with
an income of $ 7 million,
based in the United
States, with 200
employees and
attracted investors.
38.3% of top managers have no bonus (!).
For most specialists the bonus is annual
(25.6%) or quarterly (23.9%) and depends
on the company's profit (36.67%) and/or
KPI’s implementation of the department
(32.78%). The most satisfied top
managers are those, whose bonus
depends on the implementation of an
individual KPI plan.
01 02
The highest
remuneration have top
managers with more
than 11 subordinates
and experience in IT
above 5 years, with
experience as a top
manager from 4 years.
03

54. General conclusions
Most companies offer top
managers a flexible work
schedule (57.2%) as the
compensation package,
medical insurance is in
second place (31.67%),
and payment for additional
education is third(33.3%).
The most demotivating for
top-management is incompetent and
ineffective management of the
company (47.2%), lack of work-life
balance and freedom in decision
making and their implementation
(44.4%), as well as lack of
professional growth (43.9%) and
culture of distrust in the company
(42.4%).
04 05
Most of all, top management
is motivated by professional
development (65%), freedom
in making decisions and their
implementation (63.9%),
salary level (59.4%), culture
of trust in the company
(53.3%), open and friendly
corporate culture (51.1%).
06

55. Why do you need to seek C-level candidates with Indigo?
For us the recruitment process is not just a
search for candidates. We dive deep into the
goals of your business, help you form the
position profile, understand the correlation with
other roles in your organizational structure, and
provide advice on salaries based on market
analysis.
Triple screening will ensure the selection of only
the most suitable candidates.
98% of C-LEVEL level candidates hired by us
successfully achieve their goals.
Over the last 2 years we have closed positions of VP of
Business Development in New York, VP of Propulsion for
the space industry in San Francisco, Head of Digital
Marketing in the UAE and 27 more top-notch top
managers.
We find the ideal employee within 60 days.
We have expertise in the following areas: organizational
design, employer branding, payroll systems, recruitment
and adaptation processes, and other HR issues. We are
always happy to provide advice to our clients.

56. We wish you success!
Ekaterina Osadchuk, CEO