How Do I Set Up Grades and Pay Structure in My IT Company? Need Your Advice!

Hi,

I work in an IT company in the HR department. I have to formulate grades/levels in my company and also fix the pay structure accordingly. Can somebody help me with this, please?

Regards,
Soumya Shankar

Hi Soumya Shankar,

I have first made a list of all the designations that suit the company:

1. Programmer
2. Software Developer
3. System Analyst
4. Group Leader
5. Team Leader
6. Project Leader
7. Project Manager
8. Project Owner

Please let me know what I should do next. How do I assign skills and pay structure to each designation? When assigning the skill set, what are the things I need to keep in mind?

Regards,
Soumya Shankar

Hi Sowmya,

I suggest you sit down with one of your senior managers (from top management) and jot down the job profiles of each designation and the skill sets/attributes required for that designation. Then, identify the KRAs for each position. Fix a baseline for each level. Next, add up the extra allowances according to their KRAs/responsibilities. You should not play with the baseline; it has to be equal for all staff at the same level, but the allowances can vary depending on their responsibilities. For example, a manager from the accounting department and a manager from the marketing department may have the same baseline pay, but the allowances vary, creating a significant difference between their salaries.

I hope you understand what I meant to say.

All the best.

Shradha

Hi, Soumya.

Try to get in touch with some HR professionals from other IT companies, maybe smaller or larger in size. You could gather a lot of valuable insights from them. They might not hesitate to share since what you are asking for is not any trade secret or competitive advantage.

There may be HR individuals from other IT companies on this forum who could assist you. If not in the open forum (which would be preferable for learning for all), then through direct email or private messaging.

Hope some IT HR professionals are listening. All the best!

ShoOOonya

Hi there,

Thanks to Shoonya and Shraddha for your replies. I also had in mind that I can study the job profiles/responsibilities through the resumes on the job site. This way, I would get an idea of the skill levels for each category. What do you say?

Regards,
Soumya Shankar

Well, well, that's a nice (LOT) line of thought. You could tap into your batchmates/alumni network of your institute too for help in this project directly or through study of job postings. TIMES Ascent and other such regular/weekly publications will also provide you with profiles.

Once an initial groundwork is done, putting it in front of the senior people in your organization for review and fine-tuning.

All the best... You are doing a very challenging job.