In Comp Data, Fresh is Good, Stale is Bad

MarketMatch Goes Farther

By Tim Low, VP of Marketing, PayScale.com

Today, PayScale releases an update to our MarketMatch algorithm. We do these regularly to provide our customers access to the latest and greatest information on the market and the state of compensation at any given moment. We don't believe in 15 month old surveys 'aged' and massaged into categories and slices that might not be relevant to your business today. We believe in real data from the recent past, like the past few days. So, while we don't always talk about changes to MarketMatch in great detail, today I thought it would be good to share with you some of the things that are new and fresh.

The PayScale Index: Wages Finally Climb Back

The Economy Really is Recovering

By Tripp Ritter, PayScale

PayScale’s data on the economy can get pretty specific. With tens of millions of data points on jobs, we often drill deep down to see what is happening in a particular industry or in a particular city. Other times, we take a look at the economy as a whole. When we want to look at what is happening in the economy at all levels, we turn to The PayScale Index.

Are Traditional Compensation Surveys Right for Your Business?

Age is Wonderful for Wine, but Deadly for Data.

By Tripp Ritter, PayScale.com

Many compensation data providers offer well-constructed data products based on reliable data. . .that just happens to be months old. PayScale believes this aged data is not what today's decision-makers need, which is why we came up with a more timely way to collect and organize compensation data.

Do Not Talk Pay with Your Competitors

Why It’s Dangerous to Pay Like “The Guy Across Town”

By Melissa Quade, CCP, PayScale.com

I hear this from my clients all the time:

“I just want to know what MY COMPETITOR 1 and MY COMPETITOR 2 are paying, so I can pay 5% higher.”

“Can you make sure that I only get data from ALL OF MY COMPETITORS in this report?”

“Why can’t I see which companies pay what in this report?”

The short answer is: collusion. It’s a big no-no.

PayScale Compensation Quiz

Compensation Quiz: Are You a Comp Whiz Kid?

By Bridget Quigg, PayScale.com

Becoming a compensation whiz can be an intimidating task, especially with all of the lingo you need to know. How strong is your compensation know-how? This compensation quiz is intended help you test yourself and fill in the gaps in your knowledge.

Why HR Must Know Market Data

Why HR People Should Know Market Data

A lot of people assume that human resources professionals are all about the “fluffy stuff,” like employee morale, following up with benefits issues, making sure an employee gets leave for family emergency and other very human dilemmas. They aren’t usually relied upon for hard-hitting market data. But, they should be. HR pros should be the best resource for data about a company’s labor costs.

Fresh Facts About Canada from The Payscale Index

Aiming Upwards: Canada in Q3 2011 PayScale Index

By Bridget Quigg, PayScale.com

Canada has certainly seen celebrity excitement this year. Royal newlyweds Princess Catherine and Prince William toured through in April and now teen idol and Canadian native Justin Bieber has brought his starlet girlfriend Selena Gomez to Winnipeg for some serious romancing. What more excitement can Canada take? How about a continuing upward trend in national wages? We, here at PayScale, think that is biggest news for Canada this year, but we’re biased. Does The PayScale Index beat out Bieber? Absolutely.

Compensation Topics: Q3 2011 Wage Winners

Energy and Tech Wages Up in Q3 2011

By Bridget Quigg, PayScale.com

A glimmer of hope. That is what the Q3 2011 results for The PayScale Index have brought to some industries, towns and workers. With national average wage trends managing to either grow, or at least not drop, for over a year, it’s clear that the economy is very slowly defrosting. Is pay up in your industry or town? Which job skills are best paid? The most recent results for The PayScale Index provide helpful information to HR leaders and business owners.

Canadian Pay Trends

Welcome, Canada, to The PayScale Index!

By Bridget Quigg, PayScale.com

Last week, PayScale released the most recent results for The PayScale Index, covering Q2 of 2011. And, for the first time ever, The PayScale Index included information about Canadian national pay trends. Guess what? Wages in Canada are growing overall, unlike the US where wages are flat, nationally. Canadian employers, you’d better be have a plan to benchmark positions against current data and work to retain your top performers. Your labor market is heating up.

Good Management Skills for Earning More

HR Knows: Managers Who Set Pay Are Paid More

See if the following fact surprises you: PayScale data shows the management responsibility that most improves salaries is the responsibility to set pay for employees. Shocked, doubtful or nodding your head and thinking, “I already knew that”?

Current Trends in Total Compensation

Early 2011 Compensation Trends: Differences by Location

By Staff Writer

If you’re looking to describe a single, national trend in US wages, you might run into trouble. These days, trends vary widely from city to city, according to The PayScale Index, with some town's wages growing steadily and others’ continuing to slip downwards. Let’s look at who’s pulling ahead and who is falling behind.

Salary Madness 2011 Predictions

Salary Madness: PayScale’s Basketball Tournament Predictions

By Staff Writer

Is someone in your office setting up a pool to predict the winner of the NCAA Division I Men’s basketball tournament? Maybe you’re rooting for the team with the best record in your favorite conference or are participating just for fun. While it may not make sense, PayScale welcomes you to follow our tradition of choosing the winner by our favorite factor: salary.

HR Quiz: Names, Acronyms and More

Exam Time: Basic HR Competency Test

By Staff Writer

Looking to brush up on your professional terminology or just feel great about how smart you are? We offer you our informal HR quiz where you can see how you fare with some basic and advanced HR terminology.

Myths About Employee Pay Practices

Not True! 4 Common Myths About Paying Employees

By Staff Writer

In HR, as in all professions, there are rules of the road and basic bits of wisdom that most practitioners follow. For human resources professionals, a lot of this wisdom has to do with how people are paid and what motivates them.

Compensation Budget Questions

Q&A Session – Refining Your Compensation Budgets

The following is a transcript of questions and answers from PayScale’s webinar, "How to Play a Key Role in Compensation Budgeting." The topics covered include how to make shrinking budgets go farthest towards improving employee performance, ways to encourage performance other than higher wages and how to ensure senior management support. Answers are provided by PayScale’s director of customer service and education, Stacey Carroll, M.B.A., SPHR, Frank A. Cania, SPHR, and Betty Richardson, CCP.

Compensation Analytics with Market Ratios

Compensation Analytics: Alignment of Incumbents within Pay Grades

Once you completed some initial compensation analyses, like looking at how your salary ranges compare to the market compensation data and, if applicable, ensuring that your company follows through and creates a history of pay for performance, you can then move on to doing an analysis of how your employees align within their pay grades. This information can highlight unusually high or low base salaries and give you the opportunity to correct them or adjust your ranges.

Create a History of Pay for Performance

Compensation Analysis: Create a History of Pay for Performance

In our previous discussions on compensation analytics, we discussed why taking the time to review the effects of your compensation plan is valuable to a company and, also, how to perform an analysis of your salary ranges. In this next post on compensation analytics, let’s consider the company that has made a commitment to paying for performance and see how that company can assess whether it is really doing so. Do you really have a history of pay for performance at your organization?

The Value of Compensation Analytics

The Value of Compensation Analytics for Top HR Professionals

Is your compensation program really doing what you want it to? You have to make time to look at the data your compensation practices are producing to find out.

There are many to-dos when an HR professional or business owner is deciding on compensation at their company. You need to set up formal ranges, put people into the ranges, complete performance reviews and much more. But, an essential area that may not receive enough attention is to step back once all of that nuts and bolts work is completed and say, “How’s it working?” That is compensation analytics and the following post provides advice on how to perform it efficiently and effectively.

Pay and Compensation Data Case Studies

Real-Life Stories: PayScale Fills Compensation Data Gaps

By Staff Writer

Are you bumping up against stopping points in your salary benchmarking projects? You’re not alone. Everyday PayScale hears from companies that are looking to fill gaps in their pay and compensation data that traditional compensation surveys are either too costly or are simply not able to fill.

Below we’ve listed three examples where PayScale was able to help a customer out of a tricky spot. These examples were reported by the PayScale’s director of customer service and education, Stacey Carroll, M.B.A., SPHR.

Compensation Plans for Part-Time Staff

Employee Retention: Compensation Plans for Part-Time Staff

By Staff Writer

Do you find that your part-time staff and hourly workers are harder to motivate and retain? Maybe you could improve your part-time employee retention by changing how you compensate them.

Employee compensation and pay plans are often the same for part-time staff versus full-time staff. But, there is one difference in compensation planning that can add up quickly: per diem.

Reasons for Company Layoffs: Save Costs without Salary Freezes

Why Salary Freezes and Pay Cuts Don’t Work

In these tough economic times, many organizations are looking for ways to reduce spending. Inevitably, payroll jumps to the top of the list of costly culprits because it is often one of the largest costs an organization has. But, does shaving down your spending on compensation through across-the-board salary freezes and pay cuts really result in true savings?

Rules for Laying Off Employees

New Rules for Laying Off Employees in a Recession: Consider the Long-Term Costs

With all of the news about rising unemployment and massive layoffs across the country, it would seem that reducing your workforce is essential to surviving in a down economy. While paying less into employee compensation does drop costs initially, more business leaders are recognizing that a reduction in force comes with some unpleasant, long-term side effects.

Q&A Session - Salary Range and Internal Pay Equity Questions

Mission Impossible: Managing and Mitigating Internal Pay Issues

Compensation Questions and Answers from Our Webinar on Managing Salary Ranges and Internal Pay Equity

The following is a transcript of the question and answer session that followed PayScale’s webinar, Mission Impossible: Managing and Mitigating Internal Pay Issues. The main topic covered in these questions is how to negotiate pay raises and cuts with current employees. Answers are provided by PayScale’s webinar leader and director of customer service and education, Stacey Carroll, M.B.A., SPHR.

Successful Employee Incentive Plans

Can You Motivate Employees During a Recession with a Successful Employee Incentive Plan?

By Stuart Jennings

Bonus plans. Pay-for-performance programs. MBO programs. Commission plans. Stock option and phantom stock programs. Stock appreciation rights.

Employee incentive plans go by many different names; you’ve undoubtedly seen your share. But, with our economy struggling, how should you approach your employee incentive plans differently to reach your organization’s goals? Or, can an employee incentive plan actually create the results you need?