Finding Out What to Pay Staff
By TorontoJobs.ca

Deciding what to pay employees is a fundamental decision that can impact both the companies who hire as well as the potential candidates who will apply and accept positions. Employers want to attract employees by offering competitive compensation packages, but they also need to keep in mind affordability from the organization's perspective. At the same time, employees will expect, at the very least, to be paid the "industry standard " for the field or position they are in.

With various factors to take into consideration when deciding employee compensation, some of which can be contradicting or conflicting, it is important for employers to take the time to research and utilize resources that will help them find out what the appropriate reimbursement is for each of their employees.

This article will provide resources, information and tips on how to research and agree on the appropriate salary structure for staff.

1. Online Salary Wizards
   Online Salary Wizards are useful for both employers and employees. Employers can use these salary wizards to investigate the competitive market rate, or salary range, for particular job titles in the company's geographic area. Employees can use these wizards to compare, contrast and set personal benchmarks. Salary wizard companies vary in how they receive their data. Some commonly used resources include surveys of employees joining the salary wizard websites and reports from human resource professionals. There are various salary wizards available online, including www.Salary.com, which provides salary services for both Personal and Employer usage.
   
   
2. Compensation/Salary Surveys
   Various companies, professional associations and industry researchers will occasionally release compensation and salary surveys to the public, many of which can be found online. For example, the compensation survey for the CA Profession conducted by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and the Provincial Institutes/Ordre, can be found online at: http://www.casource.com/employerGlobal/initArticleSearchAction.do?id=3&catId=11. These surveys provide detailed information on employee compensation in various positions within a specific profession, typically outlining the compensation structure overall for that profession.
   
   
3. Recruiting Firms/Recruiters
   Recruiting Firms/Recruiters are privy to a vast range of information for various industries and positions. Networking with a recruiting firm or recruiter who regularly sources candidates for a particular industry or area of expertise and enquiring about the salary ranges for a particular position can be very helpful in setting up a benchmark for the compensation to be offered.
   
   
4. Interviewing Similar Candidates
   Interviewing multiple candidates with similar qualifications and gathering information on their salary expectations can help employers get a feel for the average expected salary for a particular position. Also, doing so can help give employers an idea of what other companies have or are currently paying for similar positions, as candidates will often request salaries comparable to those they have received in similar roles in the past.
   
   
5. Consider the whole package
   When deciding what to pay employees, it is important that employers consider the value of the whole employment package, i.e., base pay, bonuses, commissions, and benefits. Doing so will help employers decide on what they can afford to pay the employee, while also helping them create a benchmark to compare to other companies.
   
   
6. Asking Candidates/Employees Directly
   Asking candidates or employees directly is always a sure way to get an idea of the compensation not only desired, but expected, in order for the candidate or employee to successfully take on or continue in a position. Sometimes the best way to figure out how to compensate an employee is to simply ask what they expect and decide if (a) it fits within the company's budget and (b) if the employee's value is equal to the amount requested.

Conclusion
Overall, when deciding what to pay staff, it is important that employers conduct some research in order to discover not only what their industry's salary ranges are for particular positions, but also what is expected from potential candidates and current employees.  You need to also factor in signing bonuses, performance bonuses, benefits and any other non-base salary-related compensation when comparing information.

With a wealth of resources available to employers, such as Online Salary Wizards, Compensation Surveys, Recruiters, their candidates and employees themselves, finding out what to pay staff can be a stress-free process.

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