Compensation Study? What!? Do We Really Need One? 

Employee compensation is one of the largest expenses in an organization and one of the most critical drivers in employee satisfaction. It’s important for HR professionals to have a solid knowledge of their employee’s compensation. Some of the questions you should ask yourself in determining if you need a compensation study are:

• Do I know what the market wage is for each position in the organization?
• Is there employee turnover in one specific department due to salaries? Or company-wide turnover?
• Are we having trouble recruiting?
• When is the last time our organization has updated or looked at salaries?

Determining market wages for each position is one of the most valuable management tools, even if your organization is on budget constraints. Companies don’t want to underpay employees, but some may not have a choice. Knowing your market will allow the organization to make more effective decisions. For example, can your company supplement its benefits or job in some way to make up for paying below-market wages? On the flip side, an organization also does not want to overpay for a position, adding unnecessary costs to the bottom line. But, paying “over-market” for certain positions may be necessary to attract the right talent.

Employee pay drives recruitment, retention, and performance. So, if you’re unsure what “market pay” is for positions, are experiencing costly turnover, are having trouble hiring, haven’t looked at the wage structure, or don’t have one, then it’s time for a compensation study. A compensation study will define for your organization the market pay for each position and ensure that the wages and policies align with the company’s strategic business objectives.

Valliant Consulting Group’s Compensation Study

Valliant Consulting Group has been conducting compensation studies since 1999. Our primary focus has been tribal governments, tribal casinos, tribal entities, and other municipalities but we have the resources to provide services to any organization. Our compensation studies include the following and can be tailored specifically to meet your organization’s needs:

1. Determination or review of an organization’s compensation strategy
2. Job description review, update, creation
3. Market analysis for each position
4. Development of wage/salary structures
5. Cost impacts for the implementation of wage structure(s)
6. Alignment of policies with the compensation system
7. Implementation strategies
8. Information on how to maintain the system going forward

Call or email Valliant Consulting Group today to find out how our compensation study services can help your company!