I Read All 75 Pages of the 2020-2021 Nigel Frank Salary Survey So That You Don’t Have To. Here Are Its Main Findings.

It’s that time of the year again! The 2020-2021 Nigel Frank Salary Survey is out.

Last year, many people raised an important question: why should we care about it? Women and racialized professionals would tell you that these salary surveys allow us to negotiate our compensation with confidence when applying for new position. If you want to end the gender and racial gap, the salary survey found that salary transparency is the main way to achieve both gender and racial equality in this industry.

Here are some other great findings that will help you move your career forward.

Work From Home is on The Rise

This survey was conducted in March and April, at the beginning of the current global health crisis. As per Nigel Frank’s own admission, running this survey a few months later might have yielded different results.

32% of Microsoft Dynamics 365 professionals see work from home as a way to lure them into a new organization. This is almost as important as an attractive variable compensation structure that includes bonuses (important for 36% of respondents).

Moreover, at the time this survey was done, 22% of professionals are working from home full-time and another 10% are working from home most of the time (3 or 4 days per week).

Impact of Career Development on Job Satisfaction

Only 49% of respondents are satisfied with their career progression and a shocking 40% of respondents are satisfied with the training opportunities available at their organization.

Moreover, 30% of respondents cite a similar reason as to why they are looking to leave their current employer. This is the second most popular reason, after compensation (43% of respondents). Furthermore, 63% of respondents actively looking for a new role mentioned career progression as the main thing that they are looking for in their next opportunity.

Even more shocking, 28% of respondents said that the main reason why they are not pursuing certifications is that they feel a lack of support from their organizations for doing so. If you are a manager at a Microsoft Partner, carefully read on as to why this is a poor strategy for your organization.

Only 16% of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Professionals Have Valid Certifications

Yes, we all read this one correctly. I also thought this must be a mistake. Only 16% of Microsoft Dynamics 365 professionals have a valid and current Microsoft Dynamics 365 certification (MB-2XX for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement).

The strange part is that Microsoft Partners, who are required by Microsoft to have a certain number of certified employees to keep their status, employ approximately 50% of Dynamics 365 professionals.

Therefore, just to meet the current demand for Microsoft Dynamics 365 professionals at Microsoft Partners, 34% of us need to get certified as quickly as possible. This would mean that no Microsoft Dynamics 365 end-user would have a certified administrator.

I personally obtained 3 certifications since the beginning of the lockdown in Canada (March 16 2020) and I am currently working on getting another 2. You do not need to get as many as me, but it is 100% feasible to pass 2 Microsoft Dynamics 365 certifications during lockdown.

The Power Platform is on The Rise

28% of Microsoft Dynamics 365 partners require proficiency on at least one component of the Power Platform. Here they are, from the most requested to the least: Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Power Apps and Microsoft Power Automate. Microsoft Power Virtual Agents and Microsoft AI Builder are too new to be included in this survey.

The 2021-2022 Nigel Frank Salary Survey Will Be The Most Important One in a Decade

This current salary survey does not reflect the full impact of the current global health crisis on our industry. Many leaders in Microsoft Partners expect a global surge in demand for companies who survive to make sure that if this were to ever happen again, their operations would not be as disrupted as they currently are. However, some professionals got furloughed recently due to a drop in customer demand.

I highly encourage you to fill out next year’s survey so that we have accurate data on compensation, benefits and the overall direction of the job market. Even if you are a cisgender caucasian male (55% of the survey’s respondents) and feel like you may not benefit, the other 45% of Microsoft Dynamics 365 professionals that are either women, racialized individuals or both need this data to ensure that we get compensated fairly.

If you want to read the 2020-2021 Nigel Frank Salary Survey, you can read it here.