76 Percent of Business Executives Would Pay a Salary Premium for Certified Information Professionals

We just released the results of an independent market survey of more than 200 business executives, attesting to the value of certification for information professionals.

The net-net:  Executives are willing to pay a premium for both internal staff and external consultants with the Certified Information Professional (CIP) designation.

Conducted in January 2012, four months after AIIM launched the Certified Information Professional program, the survey shows that:

• 64 percent of business executives would prefer to hire a Certified Information Professional (CIP) versus a non-certified candidate.
• 76 percent of business executives would pay a CIP a salary premium. Of these, 45 percent indicated that they would pay more than a 10 percent salary premium.
• 61 percent of business executives would prefer consultants that hold the CIP designation over those who do not.
• 62 percent of business executives think having CIP-certified staff would enhance the perception of their organization in the industry
• 60 percent of business executives would prefer CIP-certified IT staff.
• 66 percent of business executives think having CIP-certified staff would improve their ability to find, manage, and exploit their information assets across the enterprise.

Debra Logan, vice president, and distinguished analyst at Gartner Research, and Regina Casonato, managing vice president at Gartner Research, confirmed the need for a professional designation for the emerging information professional, a role distinct from current IT skill sets. “An 'information professional' will not be one type of role or skill set, but will, in fact, have a number of specializations,” wrote Logan and Casonato in the 2011 Gartner “CIO Alert: You Need Information Professionals.”

The Certified Information Professional designation was developed by a team of subject matter experts in conjunction with AIIM, in accordance with ISO 17024 methodologies. The purpose of the certification is to establish a core body of knowledge relevant to the needs of content and information professionals. The certification exams are independently administered by the global Prometric testing centers. A study guide and sample exam questions are available now from AIIM.