Figuring out appropriate pay for employees is a critical aspect of running a successful business. Whether it be for long-term or short-term planning, compensation data is invaluable in helping HR identify market-level pay rates, budget, and can help you guide the recruitment and retention of top talent.
As markets fluctuate, an organization must be more mindful about planning and managing expenses related to total rewards practices. Incorporating compensation data from salary surveys into a regular review of an organization’s pay helps to minimize underpaying employees as well as improving turnover and retention challenges. Additionally, useful compensation data can help to minimize overpaying, which results in a weaker financial state.
Quality, local data is crucial when developing relevant programs. The Pacific Northwest has unique pay levels and a competitive landscape. In general, pay in the Northwest, particularly in the Seattle/Tacoma metropolitan areas as well as the Portland metro area, is higher than the national average. Additionally, it’s more common in the Northwest to offer sign-on bonuses and equity programs as part of compensation packages.
In many other parts of the country, these higher levels of compensation and additional pay practices are not generally observed. Factors related to your industry, the cost of living, and supply and demand of specific all play a role in compensation. While broad, national-level survey data can be helpful, the nuances and local market trends that are typical among northwest companies, won’t be included in the data of national-level surveys.
While having one data source is better than none, having multiple is the best practice. When assessing what salary survey data is the most helpful to you, consider the collection process and how many sources you’ll be relying on. Great data is updated on an annual basis and is filterable by factors like education, years of experience, and managerial responsibilities.
Healthy organizations update compensation data on an annual basis as it allows human resources and business managers to stay on top of the rapidly changing and evolving marketplace for talent. Being proactive and updating pay practices with current salary survey data can prove to be a significant cost-cutting practice. It dramatically reduces the opportunity costs associated with being reactive and dealing with the costs of turnover, exorbitant last-minute retention offers, and lost production associated with employee dissatisfaction and disengagement.
Compensation data is still relevant despite ups and downs in the market. Whether you’re navigating layoffs or looking to add headcount in the next year—annual compensation planning can help you stay one step ahead.
For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it took a few months for any gradual changes in compensation at the macro level to be evident, often changes are seen on an annual basis and not immediately. It’s important to access up-to-date salary information each year, as it looks at the year as a whole and not the month-to-month fluctuations.
We are proud to offer one of the largest and most comprehensive pay surveys for the Pacific Northwest. Our Salary Survey has over 3300 job titles across various industries and sectors, including non-profit, manufacturing, social services, professional services, technology, and healthcare. The survey has data from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho employers.
This comprehensive benchmark of wage, salaries, and bonus data includes non-exempt, exempt, and executive-level positions. With the ever-changing legal, political, and economic landscape in the Northwest, our data is an invaluable asset for your compensation planning.
Our Salary Survey is free for members with participation. The participation window opens each year in Q1. If you choose not to participate or are not an Archbright member, you can purchase a Salary Survey Access Pass for that year.
Don’t lose your competitive edge. Make sure your compensation is aligned with the local market to recruit and retain the best talent in the Pacific Northwest. We’d be happy to answer any questions about our Salary Survey and Archbright Membership, email us at info@archbright.com