Compensation survey companies provide data primarily used by human resources and compensation professionals to determine the salaries and benefits of their employees. The survey collects data from a variety of employers in order to create a market analysis, often referred to as a benchmark compensation survey, that can be used to set wages.
There are a number of different compensation survey companies that will aid you with salary benchmarking your employees, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. In this article, we’ll cover some of the best compensation survey companies that are out there and discuss the survey market data as well as what advantages a salary survey can provide.
Top salary survey providers
There are a number of different salary survey companies out there providing salary survey data. Compensation planning is a crucial aspect of their services. Many of these providers offer a benchmark compensation survey, which covers a wide range of jobs and industries, providing detailed information on compensation policies and practices. Some of the top providers who offer compensation data include PayScale, SalaryCube, Radford-Aon, Mercer, and other compensation consulting firms.
Each of these companies has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to market pay data. Some are more complex than others, and the prices vary greatly for participants amongst them. Below is an overview of each of these companies’ solutions.
1. SalaryCube
SalaryCube is a top survey provider that takes a fresh approach to salary surveys. SalaryCube offers a benchmark compensation survey that covers various industries and job roles, providing detailed insights into compensation practices. Straightforward compensation analysis tools, built with simplicity in mind using their own proprietary job technology. Each survey was designed with the user in mind. They have a simple, user-friendly interface that makes it easy to find the reliable information you need, including custom compensation reports.
They also have a large database of information, especially related to executive compensation benchmarking, technology jobs, real estate, manufacturing and information technology salaries that help you attract retain the right talent. They also specialize in helping organizations conduct custom salary surveys. Additionally, the custom compensation reports, including total cash compensation reports are accurate and up-to-date, and the participation costs are remarkably lower than the competitors while providing the same value.
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2. PayScale
PayScale is a well-known provider of compensation software, compensation rates, and salary surveys. PayScale’s benchmark compensation survey provides comprehensive data on compensation policies and practices across various industries. They have a large database of compensation information that they use to create their reports. This gives them a lot of data to work with, which means that their reports tend to be reliable. However, their reports can be expensive, and they don’t always cover every job in every industry.
3. Mercer
Mercer salary surveys are well-known and a recognizable provider of compensation surveys. Mercer’s benchmark compensation survey covers a wide variety of industries and provides detailed information on compensation practices. The Mercer wage survey has a large database of salaries that they use to create their reports. They cover a wide variety of industries and specialties such as life sciences and healthcare. They also focus on global compensation data by way of their annual surveys. For some, their survey process can be complex, and while designed to offer extensive salary survey data to the global employer community, it can have a steep learning curve that can be overwhelming to some.
4. Radford
Radford– Aon salary surveys is another provider of compensation surveys, market rates, and other compensation-related services. Radford has become a resource for organizations worldwide to help with their global compensation programs. Radford’s benchmark compensation survey helps organizations benchmark their employees’ total compensation against industry standards. They also have industry specific surveys such as life sciences and technology. Their salary surveys are designed to help organizations benchmark their employees’ total compensation and total direct compensation against those of their competitors. While Radford is a great resource to attract and retain top talent in a specific industry, we have also compiled a list of 12 Radford alternatives.
5. Korn Ferry
Korn Ferry, a global management consulting firm, and offers compensation surveys that can help organizations benchmark their salaries against industry standards. Korn Ferry’s benchmark compensation survey provides global compensation market data to help employers with salary structures. Their salary surveys provide global compensation market data to help employers with salaries salary structures. Their surveys provide HR professionals with market data by job function and includes information covering base salary, cash allowances, and overall total compensation.
6. Willis Towers Watson
Willis Towers Watson is a global professional services company that provides salary surveys, consulting, salary survey data analysis, and data services in the area of human resources. Willis Towers Watson’s benchmark compensation survey offers a range of compensation data products to help organizations benchmark their pay and benefits packages. They offer a range of compensation data products that can help organizations from different industries benchmark their pay and benefits packages.
7. Pearl Meyer
Pearl Meyer is a provider of independent compensation surveys, survey market data, compensation management software, executive compensation, and compensation consulting services. Pearl Meyer’s benchmark compensation survey provides market data and insights to help organizations benchmark their pay programs. Their specialized surveys provide market data, as well as insights and best practices, to help organizations benchmark their pay programs.
A benchmark compensation survey can provide the freshest salary benchmarking data by industry, location, and company size.
Other sources of salary data
Glassdoor is another popular provider of salary data and hourly pay rates. A benchmark compensation survey is a comprehensive source of salary data that covers a wide range of jobs and industries, including information on incentive eligibility. They cover thousands of organizations and offer a more affordable option than others, but their reports aren’t always as comprehensive as salary surveys.
Indeed is another provider of salary data. They have a large database of salaries sourced from job postings which differ from other compensation data providers. Their reports are often more affordable than the others, and they offer a good mix of jobs and coverage, but lack information on incentive eligibility, short term cash incentives, and long term incentives. So keep this in mind if you are looking to make informed decisions.
There are a number of other salary data providers out there, but these are some of the most popular. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to choose the one that’s right for your compensation needs.
Related:Tell me the purpose of Salary Surveys.
How much does a compensation survey cost?
The cost of a salary survey can vary depending on the provider and is often cheaper for participating companies than non-participating companies. Despite the cost, a benchmark compensation survey provides valuable insights into compensation policies and practices. Some providers offer reports that are more expensive due to higher participation costs. Others, such as SalaryCube, offer a more affordable option while providing comprehensive and robust survey data. Pricing can also vary by the number of users who need access to the service. Therefore it’s important to choose the provider that’s right for you and your organization.
How do you determine if a salary survey is reputable?
The compensation data should contain information including an effective date, demographic breaks, good job descriptions, and good sample sizes. A reputable benchmark compensation survey should contain information including an effective date, demographic breaks, pay ranges, and good sample sizes. The survey methodology used should also adhere to industry standards and be able to provide you with comprehensive salary survey data.
The data by job title should include base pay, hourly pay, base salaries, pay ranges, and total compensation. Beyond that, the salary data may include shift differentials, executive pay, industry-specific options, and short-term bonus information, and benefits surveys.
Related compensation insights: SalaryCube Compensation Benchmarking
What is included in a compensation survey?
The compensation information can be different from survey to survey. However, most commonly it focuses on salary data by job title and pay factors broken out by employee sizes, company size, industry, revenue, non-profit status unions, and location. A benchmark compensation survey typically includes salary data by job title, pay factors, and other compensation-related information. The employee pay information in the survey reports are usually represented as average salary, median salary, and salary percentiles. Occasionally the report also provides a breakdown of the time and place each employee worked within their organization.
What do companies gain from compensation surveys?
The compensation survey data allows human resource professionals to make informed business choices by identifying and comparing employee compensation practices, trends, and pay rates in an industry. A benchmark compensation survey allows human resource professionals to make informed business choices by identifying and comparing employee compensation practices. Data driven market intelligence plays a big part in creating competitive compensation packages for employees. Salary surveys are helpful tools when it comes to creating a successful long term compensation strategy, and to develop pay equity plans. They are useful for obtaining compensation ratios, also known as compa ratio, to help with salary structures, pay practices, internal pay equity, and pay levels. They also allow human resources and compensation professionals to understand the talent market better and promote employee retention. This is especially true when it comes to executive compensation, including board members.
Why a compensation survey is needed?
A salary survey provides employee pay benchmarks that reflect industry size and competitor’s closest talent pool. A benchmark compensation survey provides employee pay benchmarks that reflect industry size and competitor’s closest talent pool. This compensation intelligence helps HR professionals gain access to insights and understand talent markets better by using the salary survey data, rather than word of mouth or guesswork. Additionally many salary data sources that are available for free do not provide good information on geographic location pay, incentives, and variable pay practices which are extensively covered in a compensation survey from a top compensation provider. These important data points are critical to employers when it comes to market pricing and understanding employee compensation.
Are salary surveys effective?
Consistent involvement in salary surveys and equity compensation is an essential part of a good compensation management strategy. A salary survey, and often a benefits survey, can be a great way to benchmark your company’s reward strategy.
Surveys can help you identify best practices and keep your pay programs current through the use of quality salary information. They can also help with legal compliance with labor laws and when using a third-party salary survey, avoid price manipulation accusations. Overall, compensation surveys provide invaluable pay and benefits data that can help you make informed data driven business decisions.
Related article from SalaryCube’s compensation specialists: The Benefits of Salary Survey Compensation Data
Who has the most accurate salary information and current compensation data?
There are a number of different salary survey providers and salary survey resources out there, but some are more popular than others. A benchmark compensation survey is known for its accuracy and comprehensive coverage of compensation data. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to choose the one that’s right for you and offers comprehensive data.
SalaryCube is a new provider of salary data, and they’re quickly gaining ground for their modern approach to compensation reports and salary surveys. Their reports are often priced lower than the others, and they offer great accuracy and coverage.
PayScale is a popular provider of compensation rates and salary data, and their reports are often more comprehensive than those of other providers.
There are a number of compensation data companies out there, but these are some of the most popular. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to market pricing, so it’s important to choose the one that’s right for you.
Wrapping up our compensation market data review
The cost of a salary survey, and the salary survey data, can vary depending on the provider and the number of users who need to access the salary services. Some providers offer more comprehensive reports that are more expensive. Others, such as SalaryCube, offer a more affordable option to employers while still providing great salary survey data and salary information.
A benchmark compensation survey provides accurate data that can be used to make data driven decisions about compensation programs.
When looking at a salary surveys and compensation data providers, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that the data is accurate. The first is to look at the effective timeframe of the data collected. This will ensure that you’re using the most current information.
The second is to look at the demographic breaks included in the salary surveys. This will ensure that the data is relevant to your company. The third is to look at the sample size of the employees. This will ensure that the data is representative of the population.
Overall, salary surveys which produce comprehensive data analysis are a valuable tool for any HR professional or company that need to attract and retain talent within different functional areas, as well as ensure pay equity amongst their employees. They provide accurate data that can be used to make informed business decisions about their own compensation programs.
