How do you know the right salary range for a position? HR struggles with this all the time because industry standards change as the job market changes. One of the most helpful tools for setting salary ranges are salary surveys. In this article, we’ll help you understand what a salary survey is, where to get them, and how to use them.
A salary survey, also called a market survey, is a form of external salary data. Companies participate in the survey by providing average salaries for all or some positions in their company. Salary surveys can be organized by location or region, industry or specialized industry, company size, and other factors. Because the purpose of salary surveys is to show averages for common positions, participating companies typically provide salaries for positions that are likely to exist within the industry. These types of positions are called benchmark positions.
As an HR professional, you help the company make important salary decisions, including job offers and compensation adjustments. Below are some reasons why you need salary survey data to make these decisions:
There are three main types of salary-survey resources: vendors, membership associations, and free sources.
Culpepper is a compensation-surveying and consulting company focused on helping companies establish competitive, fair salaries. They provide salary data by industry, job function and geographical region.
Mercer is a large asset-management firm with multiple subsidiaries, one of which provides salary survey data based on industry and function. Mercer also provides some international salary information.
PayScale is a popular salary-data resource for both companies and employees. It provides some free data, and you can research salaries for free based on job title, company, degree, certification, and geographic region, among many other categories. In addition to providing data, PayScale offers compensation software.
Willis Towers Watson provides multiple business-related services to domestic and international companies. One of these services is compensation strategy, which includes help researching market salaries and creating efficient benefits packages. Willis Towers Watson also provides compensation software.
SHRM is one of the two primary professional associations for human resource professionals. SHRM provides salary survey data to members through the SHRM Compensation Data Center, and also keeps an updated list of approved salary survey vendors.
Non-profit salaries are unique since they’re often limited by the non-profit’s funding. Still, non-profits sometimes have flexibility in their compensation plan, and salary survey data can help. The National Council of Nonprofits helps members connect to state associations, which often provide salary survey data for non-profits.
CUPA-HR is a leading HR association for higher education professionals. Members have access to various types of benchmarking data, including salary survey data, available through their Data OnDemand.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects various kinds of employment and salary data. Two sources of salary data within the BLS are the National Compensation Survey and Occupational and Employment Wages Statistics.
Indeed provides salary information based on job title, industry, and location. It also rates companies based on various factors, including compensation.
Salary.com provides free salary information for individual positions. Although it won’t provide salary survey data across multiple job groups, Salary.com also has some company-specific salary data.
Salary survey data can be overwhelming, and it might be difficult to figure out what to do with the information. Below are a few case studies to help you get the most out of your survey data.
Salary surveys may or may not provide you with adjustments for cost of living, which shows how salaries compare in value when adjusted for the cost of living in their respective cities. If they do not, you can find cost-of-living adjustments online for free, like CNN Money’s cost-of-living salary tool. Don’t be afraid to share resources like this with the candidate, as they may not have considered how much the cost of living impacts a salary’s value.
If you discover a pay inequity within your organization, salary survey data can help you even out the scales. In this context, salary surveys provide you with:
Internal salary information is very important for pay equity adjustments because a primary factor is what you’re paying other employees in your company who are doing “comparable” or “substantially similar” work. You can pay a compensation survey company to help you with your internal survey, but if you have HR software, you’ll be able to do this yourself. External salary data can also helps you understand how equitable your company is in comparison to others—but you’ll still need to remove internal inequities. Learn more about correcting inequity arising from employee's location
Pay raise requests are common when an employee has accumulated some tenure with your company. When an employee is asking for a raise without a promotion, factors you’ll want to consider are how many years of experience they now have, what raises they’ve received, whether they’ve taken on additional responsibilities, and external data. Salary surveys can provide you with salary averages based on experience. If you realize the employee has taken on responsibilities outside their original job description, you can probably find data that matches the employee’s current duties.
Natasha is a writer and former labor and employment attorney turned HR professional. Her experience as a litigator and HR trainer inspired her to begin writing about anti-discrimination laws in the workplace. As a writer at Eddy HR, she hopes to provide helpful information to both employees and HR professionals who need help navigating the vast world of human resources. When she's not writing, you might find her cheering on the Green Bay Packers or hiking in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.
Frequently asked questionsShould I conduct my own salary survey?
It’s always helpful to check in on your internal salaries, particularly for pay equity reasons. Depending on the size of your company, survey data may not provide much comparative information for a single position, but it will still help you understand your human resources investment.
Are salary surveys accurate?
Whether salary survey data is accurate depends on many factors. The survey should be recent, and it should come from a trusted resource. Before investing in a particular source of salary survey data, review the organization’s methods and whether they’re Certified Compensation Specialists.
