Need Help Starting a Salary Survey in HR? Seeking Advice from Experienced Peers

Dear All,

Hi. I am working in an Engineering Consultancy firm in Dubai as an HR Assistant. I was given a task of doing a Salary Survey. I have never done one. Just wondering if anyone can help me or give me an idea how I should start this project.

Thanks.
Minel

Dear Minel,

One of the key objectives of a salary survey is for benchmarking purposes - to determine how competitive your company's salary practices are against the industry you are in or against the general market in order to make informed salary decisions. There are a couple of ways in which you can go about achieving this objective:

Participate in a survey conducted by Consulting Firms:
Participate in salary surveys conducted by established survey providers, e.g., Hay, Mercer, Hewitt, etc. This is the best approach because these companies have the resources, experience, and tested survey methodology to administer the survey. They may already have a general market database which you can subscribe to and benefit from. All organizations need to do is pay a participation fee, go through a job matching/job mapping process, submit the required salary data, and soon will receive the required reports and analyses. The average participation fee is about USD 3500 to USD 5500 per annum.

Sponsor a "Club" survey:
For this approach, your company will engage the services of the above consulting firms, and your company will basically pay for the whole study. This is a tailored approach where the sponsor can determine who you want to invite for the survey, what kind of data you want to see, how data should be reported & formatted, and when you want to receive the results. However, fees can be quite substantial as it is both scope-driven and multiplied by the number of invited companies. For credible statistical analysis, a minimum number of participants is required. In this approach, you are in control, and the invited companies will also receive the results at the end of the day for the effort and data contribution. The consulting company will also be the one to conduct a telemarketing campaign and site visit to the invited companies to solicit participation, conduct job matching, and collect data. The total sponsor fee averages USD 40,000 or more.

Conducting your survey:
While this is not impossible, it is an uphill task. As salary is highly confidential, your competitors will never submit their data to you for consolidation and analysis. Moreover, you would not have the experience to design the data collection kit, the creation of market job descriptions for the job matching process, how to "clean" data, analyze data... etc.

With the above information, you may want to clarify with management again so that you know the exact intent of this request. Email me if you need more clarifications.

Regards,
Autumn Jane

Dear Minel,

I hope this message finds you well. Firstly, I must say, you have a cute name.

Embarking on a salary survey can indeed seem like a herculean task. Have you pondered what your HR Manager is up to? Well, I guess this undertaking falls within his/her realm of responsibilities... just kidding.

You will find a plethora of resources on the internet regarding salary surveys. I recommend visiting the site www.salary.com for valuable insights.

I have something that I had kept for myself and believe it might be beneficial to you.

Produce a Comprehensive Salary Survey

1. Limit the number of job descriptions covered in your salary survey to address high-demand positions. Consult with department heads to ascertain hiring needs for the upcoming year before commencing the survey. For instance, a private college should focus on information technology positions over faculty positions due to higher turnover rates.

2. Develop a survey questionnaire to be distributed to temp agencies and local businesses well-versed in your industry. The questionnaire should solicit information on job responsibilities, educational requirements, and salary ranges for each position.

3. Compile a list of temp agencies, businesses, and industry groups within your region to partake in your salary survey. Ensure your list includes fax and phone numbers, as well as email addresses for the HR contacts of each company.

4. Delegate sales and HR personnel to conduct initial interviews with the contacts on your call list. Each interview should aim to gather information on the company's size, scope of operations, location, and willingness to participate in the survey. These interviews are crucial in identifying businesses of comparable size to ensure fairness in your survey.

5. Review and refine your salary survey questionnaire before converting it into a Portable Document Format (PDF) for distribution to survey participants. It is advisable to seek feedback from technical writers, advertisers, and other stakeholders outside your survey working group. Look out for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, as well as redundant or poorly worded questions.

6. Follow up with survey participants after receiving completed questionnaires to clarify any job responsibilities mentioned. This step is crucial to ensure alignment between the positions in your survey and those of the participants.

7. Calculate salary averages based on the collected questionnaires as you prepare your survey report. Break down the numbers into median and mean averages, as well as annual salaries of each survey participant.

8. Organize job descriptions, educational requirements, and other relevant information into individual sections as part of your salary survey. Begin each section with an overview of the positions covered in the survey and provide pertinent details about these positions within your organization.

9. Share your salary survey findings with company executives and department heads for review and potential action. Adjust your company's budget for the upcoming year to accommodate any necessary changes in salaries and benefits. If actionable, make revisions to job offer forms and recruitment materials to reflect these adjustments.

It's worth noting that placement agencies and job portals are valuable resources for salary surveys and data collection.

Tips & Warnings:

Establish a concrete timetable for the submission of salary questionnaires by survey participants. Aim to complete your salary survey before the fiscal year ends or ahead of a significant recruitment drive where accurate salary data is essential. This timeline should consider the number of questions and positions covered by the participants.

Consider conducting a salary survey annually to optimize spending on salaries, insurance, and other compensation. Some organizations conduct surveys every two to five years, overlooking potential savings from avoiding overpayment to entry- and mid-level professionals.

Wishing you the best of luck with your salary survey project.

Regards,

Ukmitra