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Survey highlights business benefits of CompTIA certifications

Information Technology (IT) managers believe their companies benefit financially and operationally by having a high percentage of CompTIA-certified employees on their staffs, according to the findings of a recent survey conducted by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).

IT managers reported that they see clear benefits in such critical areas as network availability, help desk and field service productivity and employee retention.

"It is clear from the results of this study that more and more IT managers view CompTIA certifications as a business necessity that affects their bottom line," said John Venator, president and chief executive officer, CompTIA. "By investing in CompTIA certifications, businesses can save money when compared with organisations that do not."

Venator discussed the value of CompTIA certifications in an address this week before the National Trades Union Council in Singapore.

IT managers who participated in the study believe that CompTIA Network+ certified staff members are able to manage larger, more complex networks more efficiently. They reported that network downtime at organisations with a high percentage of CompTIA Network+ certified staff is markedly lower than at organisations with a low percentage of certified staff.

One aspect of operations explored in the study was the impact of CompTIA's A+ certification on help desk and field service productivity. IT managers with these responsibilities reported that high certification help desks can handle 11 percent more phone calls per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee than low certification help desks. For field service calls, high certification help desks handle 28 percent more calls per FTE than low certification help desks.

Organisations with a high percentage of CompTIA Network+ certified staff members require fewer employees to manage their networks, IT managers reported. For example:

• An organisation with 75 percent or more of CompTIA Network+ certified staff requires only 1.89 fulltime-equivalent (FTE) employees to manage and support a network of 500 personal computers.
• An organisation with fewer than 50 percent of CompTIA Network+ certified staff requires 2.77 FTEs to manage the same 500-PC network.

"In effect, the organisation with a high percentage of CompTIA certified employees has a lower total salary cost than an organisation with a low percentage of certified staff handling the same workload," Venator said. "Investing money on certification actually saves money in the long run."

The study also suggests that CompTIA certified IT professionals have a high level of job satisfaction and have a strong desire to remain with their current organisation. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed (63.8 percent) intend to do so. IT managers also reported lower turnover in organisations with a high percentage of CompTIA certified staff. Reduced turnover leads both directly and indirectly to reduced costs and greater productivity.

Finally, managers were asked to evaluate the performance of their IT employees in 20 behavioral and skill areas, including ability to adapt quickly to changes in technology; trusted to handle the most difficult questions; confidence the employee has the skills necessary to do the job; capable of handling multiple problems at once; productivity; impression on customers; ability to explain things clearly; customers' perception. CompTIA certified employees were rated higher in every area.

External link

For information on CompTIA visit www.comptia.org

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