Compensation survey procedure
A compensation survey is a business procedure that usually happens to define the parameters of what an appropriate average salary for an employee is. For the survey to be accurate, data from various similar organizations is collected and analyzed. It helps to determine how many employees in a particular job group need to be paid. The survey must also focus on a specific job title or several positions in an organization. After all this data is collected, the company is finally ready to determine the salary allocated to employees based on their role, experience, and qualifications.
several benefits arise from companies conducting a compensation survey. The biggest one is that these surveys provide essential data that push companies to create competitive salary packages. They also help guarantee that the compensation policies of the company are reasonable. It is because the surveys ensure that no employee feels like other people are being favored, resulting in lower salaries.
The compensation survey is a crucial tool in salary benchmarking. When companies come up with this survey, they learn whether the salaries they pay are externally competitive, which helps them understand their position and competition in the market.
Finally, companies with great compensation benefits can attract the most skilled professionals in the market. The great pay also motivates their work and retains them in the company.
Before a compensation survey happens, the company must first set some goals they hope to meet. They include a collection of information about industrial standards and obtaining information about the salaries employees get in similar companies.
They should also aim to create a compensation plan that is reasonable and immune to bias. An individual’s salary should not be affected by race, religion, sexual preference, disability, or religion. Employees who surpass expectations should also have more benefits, for example, bonuses.
Ultimately, the compensation survey should create a benchmark for appropriate compensation to employees.
There are two types of a compensation survey:
Custom survey- It happens at random, aiming to seek answers to certain questions in the organization from finance managers and Human Resource (HR).
Standard Survey- The company carries out this survey annually or periodically. The same organizations are covered every time, and every year, the results procured are almost similar.
For this to succeed, the organization must hire professional individuals familiar with the survey and how it is supposed to happen. It is because amateurs or non-professional people may mess up the process, thus tainting the results.
The first step is an easy one since one needs only to create a list of companies in the immediate areas from which the survey will be conducted.
Next, create a list of job titles and occupations that need to be researched. Compare this with positions already in the company.
Third, there should be a formal introduction with the companies you want to profile, so send them a letter. In the letter, ask for permission to profile them and provide your credentials to make the process easier.
Provide a disclaimer of confidentiality with the latter stating that the information collected will only be used in the survey and that sensitive information about the company will not be leaked to their competitors.
Next, a questionnaire should be created, with areas that are being covered like job title, rank, job tenure, responsibilities, and training included.
The sixth step includes collecting all surveys from the companies looked at and working out the average salary for each position. Extra information that may be vital in the survey should also be included.
Finally, all the results should be compiled into a report that is easy to understand. It will ensure the data is easily interpreted by everyone who accesses it and give meaning to the survey. The report should be in both hard and soft copies.
certain steps must be followed to implement the survey. They are the collection of any information relevant to the survey that will support it, collaboration with potential companies, conducting the analysis, and creating the basic pay brackets.
They also include working out costs of the different brackets, analyzing and effecting new pay structures, and alerting workers to the new pay system.
The most effective ways to collect data during this survey would be through phone, skype, oral or written interviews, and a detailed questionnaire.
The compensation survey will help companies gain and analyze crucial information about their users and track vital performance indicators.
These performance indicators include the number of visitors, the rate at which certain keywords are used, and the goal conversion rates.
Having a compensation survey will greatly affect the way organizations pay their employees. By its completion, the survey will have helped create flexible and competitive payment packages from the company.
They will also ensure there is are certain benefits for staff members, create training gaps that guarantee future career planning, bring about a clear bonus outline, and offer incentive programs.