This year, Pearl Meyer’s flagship compensation survey hits a milestone as 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the CHiPS One World Total Compensation Survey. (It was originally launched as the SC/CHiPS Survey or the SemiConductor/Computer and High Performance Systems Total Compensation Survey.) When annual data collection begins this month, it’s anticipated that more than one hundred participants will once again provide highly sought-after data.
Facing a need for competitive total compensation data in a time period when it was scarce, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) fully sponsored a new survey for technology-based exempt professional benchmark positions. CHiPS began as a membership survey of larger technology corporations with a steering committee that included Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM Corporation, and Intel Corporation. Survey participation quickly grew as it became known for its high value and quality, particularly on long-term incentive information. Little to their knowledge at the time, DEC was creating a product that set the foundational principles for salary surveys. Beth Florin, managing director at Pearl Meyer, said, “I feel fortunate to have helped grow the survey from its early days and it’s become the basis of our Survey and Employee Compensation Practice.”
Survey ownership moved from DEC, to Executive Alliance, and eventually Pearl Meyer. Over the years, CHiPS has evolved into a portfolio of surveys, with expanded scope. There are now three annual surveys in the CHiPS umbrella: the CHiPS One World Total Compensation Survey, the Executive and Senior Management Total Compensation Survey, and the College Graduate and Intern Compensation Survey. The core survey itself has also seen many changes, without diminishing the reputation it had built in the industry. CHiPS now collects global data from more than 50 countries and the position coverage is more extensive with the addition of technical/operations, non-exempt, and sales positions.
Throughout all of these iterations, quality—an original cornerstone of the survey—remains integral, with dedicated Pearl Meyer account managers to assist clients with any survey need. Value has also been scrupulously maintained and combined with participant price reductions over the years.
The 2017 CHiPS One World Total Compensation Survey is available for purchase on our site here, where you can also contact us for details on participating in the 2018 survey.
