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What is a Salary Survey?Chapter Highlights1. What are Salary Surveys?2. Types of data gathered in a salary survey.3. Where can I find salary surveys?4. Choosing the right survey for you. What to look for in a survey.5. Participating in a Survey.6. Conducting in a Survey.1. What are Salary Surveys?Salary Surveys are tools used to determine the median or average compensationpaid to employees in one or more jobs. Compensation data, collected from severalemployers, is analyzed to develop an understanding of the amount of compensationpaid. Surveys may focus on one or more job titles, geographic regions, employersize, and or industries. Salary surveys may be conducted by employer associations

(e.g., SHRM), survey vendors, or by individual employers.Survey data is often time sensitive and may become out-of-date quickly. Becauseof the time sensitive information, surveys are often identified by by the year orquarter in which the data was collected.The purpose of salary surveys provide a means for comparison of salaries at thecompanySeveral salary survey demos are available at: HR-Survey.Principles of Compensation DiscussedSurveys gather and summarize compensation information and provide a means forcomparison of salaries at the company.2. Types of data gathered in a salary surveySalary Surveys are analyses of compensation data. This data may includequantifyable aspects of compensation such as:1. Base salaries2. Increase percentages or amounts3. Merit Increases4. Salary Ranges5. Starting Salary6. Incentives/Bonuses

7. Allowances and Benefits8. Working HoursSalary Surveys may also include non-quantifyable aspects of compensation suchas:1. Educational Requirements2. Geographic Location3. Source of Hire (Internal/External)

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4. Working Conditions3. Where can I find salary surveys?List of on-line survey vendors available at HR-Guide.Associations conduct surveys of their members including:1. Society for Human Resource Management2. College and University Personnel Association3. ACA4. NACUBOSurveys are also available from various government departments including:1. Bureau of Labor Statistics2. Occupational Compensation Survey3. State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates4. Choosing the right survey for you.What to look for in a survey.

How do I choose a salary survey? The results of surveys conducted by third parties(e.g., associations, consultants, survey vendors) can be relatively inexpensivecompared to the cost of developing the same results your self. Surveys conductedby associations and vendors are often have a large number of participants whichresults in a more accurate analysis. Before purchasing survey results, you shouldmake sure the results contain:1. Appropriate JobsSalary Surveys collect compensation data for one or more jobs (job titles). The

jobs may vary depending on industry and or size of employer. For example, somesurveys for printing companies may include titles such as: Press Operator, BindingMachine Operator, or Lithographic Press Operator. Job titles specific to thebanking industry include: Teller, Cashier, Account Manager, or InvestmentManager. Job titles should be have little overlap and should unique titles thatdescribe the job. For example the following job titles: Secretary A, Secretary B,and Secretary C do not adquately describe the heirarchical relationship between thethree job titles.2. SummarySalary Survey results should contain a summary of the data analysis. Thissummary is useful for understanding trends that are occurring the labor market.

3. MethodologyIs there a minimum number of responses needed before reporting results? Datashould not be reported for too few incumbents. Need to report median salary aswell as averages. The mean is the average of all numbers divided by the number of responses. The 'mean' can be affected by extreme values. The median is themidpoint with half of the responses are above that number and half fall below.Please note that in salary data, the median tends to be lower than the mean due to

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the fact that there is no upper limit to the rates that can be paid for a job. However,the lower limit is zero. Therefore, the distribution of salaries tends to be skewedwith a few salaries at the extreme high end of the range. Fact: In salary data, themedian will almost always be lower than the mean. Explanation.4. TabulationsAt a minimum, survey results must be tabulated by Job Title. This means that theaverage or median salary should be reported separately for each job in the survey(assuming that there were sufficient numbers of participants to make the analysismeaningful). If the survey includes data from a large number of participants, thevalue of the survey results will be increased if the results can be tabulated by otheremployer demographics such as: funding type (public/private), industry,geographic region, size (number of employees or financial measure)Examples of industries often used in tabulations include the Standard IndustrialClassification (SIC) codes:

07Agricultural services10, 12-14Mining15-17Construction20-39Manufacturing40-42, 44-49Transportation, communication, and public utilities (TCPU)50-59Wholesale and retail trade60-65, 67Finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE)70, 72, 73, 75, 76, 78-84, 86, 87, 89ServicesPrinciples of Compensation DiscussedUse survey results that will match jobs at your organization within the sameindustry and/or geographic location.

5. Participating in a SurveyHave you been asked to participate in a Salary Survey? If so, you you need to dothe following things:1. Identify the response deadline. Often a salary survey will collect data during aspecific time frame so that the results will be created and published on time.Responses that are submitted late may not be accepted by the survey vendor.

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2. Matching jobs on the survey questionnaire to your institution - Job matchingshould be based on several factors:1. Title - The easiest jobs to match on a survey questionnaire are those in yourinstitution that have an identical job title. All companies have a President and atleast one Secretary. Most have a Director of Marketing, Director of HumanResources, Director of Information Systems, Director of Facilities.2. Organizational Structure - The next easiest technique for matching jobs is to find

jobs in your organizational structure that match the implied (or even displayed)stucture on the survey. Often a survey will examine the salary data for jobs atseveral levels within a career path. For example, the jobs Accountant, SeniorAccountant, Director of Accounting, Chief Financial Officer may be included inthe same survey questionnaire. The structure of two or more jobs within yourinstitution may closely match the structure of jobs on the questionnaire.3. Job Duties - The most time consuming technique for matching jobs is to match

them on the basis of decriptions.3. Determining what data is needed1. Salary Ranges2. Lists of employees by job title with salaries4. Copying the completed questionnaire before returning6. Conducting in a SurveyIf you want to conduct a salary survey. Feel free to request a free customized demoto show you how HR-Survey can assist you with web based software designedspecifically for this purpose.