Expert insights. Personalized for you.
Or is this skill set (interface with customers) a compensable factor at all? . 1) Ensure that these positions are regularly surveyed for competitive pay practices, and then 2) Create a report segmenting the actual pay of your customer-facing employees to determine the average compa-ratio and spotlight the presence of low paid workers. Chuck is a broad based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation. MORE
This is a lesson from our forthcoming ecourse on compensation analytics, and builds on what we covered in the post on setting goals. PayScale’s 2017 Compensation Best Practices Report says the average increase still hovers around 3-5%, and the average increase timeline is roughly annually; those with a market-ratio that is 5% off may be about a year away from where they belong. Compa-Ratio. Usage: Compa-ratios help answer the question “Are we paying according to our plan?”. MORE
The compensation and benefits manager plays a key role in coordinating the corporate compensation and benefits department. We dive into the core responsibilities of the compensation and benefits manager, take a look at his/her salary, and finish up with an example job description. MORE
This is a lesson from our forthcoming ecourse on compensation analytics, and builds on our previous post on how to dig into comp analytics for specific questions. You spent some time making sure your compensation plan is current and that it prioritizes the things that drive organizational success. Then you explored the analytics that help you track compensation , calculated them for your organization and dug deeper into some particular issue areas. MORE
In its original use, compa ratio (or comp ratio, or compensation ratio) is a simple formula designed to compare an individual’s actual salary to the midpoint of a defined salary range. Over the past few decades, HR and compensation professionals have found many more ways to use it. MORE
This is a lesson from our forthcoming ecourse on compensation analytics, and builds on our previous post on five comp analytics to track. In the last lesson, we overviewed five compensation analytics that help track whether your organization is moving in the direction you’re targeting. Compa-Ratio by Function. Compa-ratio can also be used for groups of employees. MORE
As a product manager, one of my favorite activities is hopping on calls with our customers to talk about all things compensation. It has been fascinating to have an opportunity to connect with managers within organizations to get their perspective about how compensation affects their role. In order to create a product that really helps, it was important for me to better understand managers who are involved in compensation decisions at organizations. MORE
Like other professionals, compensation professionals can throw around a bunch of terms and acronyms that may or may not make a lot of sense to those not in the field. Just last week, I was asked the difference between compa-ratio and range penetration and had to check to be sure I was accurately explaining both terms. With that in mind, here’s a short overview of compensation terms that are sometimes confused with one another. Compa-Ratio vs. Range Penetration. MORE
Pay structures define employee compensation for different jobs or groups of jobs. Here’s our guide on why and how to set up a pay structure: Why you need structured employee compensation. Pay structures (also know as salary structures or compensation structures) help companies offer equitable, competitive salaries and map out employees’ path to growth and higher pay. Competitive compensation packages play an important part in persuading candidates to accept job offers. MORE
Your compa-ratio is 80%. After three years your pay is now $90, and your new compa-ratio is 83.6%. compa-ratio will likely have you starting the new job similarly low in your new salary range. These are the ones you can’t afford to lose – so keep track of their compensation packages. The merit pay process usually works well for one full cycle, but for the long term, the mechanics don't provide the compensation level that the employee is worth. MORE
To accomplish this at work you should create quantifiable metrics that will collectively illustrate the well-being of your compensation program(s) - and then establish baselines (current state) and forward-thinking targets for each performance indicator. MORE
Google is the latest company to come under fire for allegedly paying female employees less than their male counterparts , but the tech giant has refused to disclose compensation information to Department of Labor (DoL) investigators. Gender equity is an issue of incredible focus and debate for employers and lawmakers, particularly when it comes to compensation. If women have a lower than average compa-ratio, then it is likely that pay decisions are not being made equitably. MORE
And, as Margaret O'Hanlon explains, it's also a good time to clean the cobwebs and accumulated dust from your compensation programs. Maybe it's because the lighting in most offices is far from warm, but the impulse doesn't seem to be as common in Compensation departments. Maybe that's why most of the audits that my clients do are part of a planned compensation program redesign. After all, part of the "art" of compensation is making our practices systematic and consistent. MORE
Pay is not compa-ratios —it’s Karen from accounting, wondering how she will pay her skyrocketing rent—when she just got passed over for an expected raise. Too many compensation managers and compensation programs gloss over the fact that they exist to serve the business in attracting and retaining people. At PayScale we keep this notion central in all that we do to support companies in doing Modern Compensation. MORE
Whether or not these compensation policies are helping employee retention, boosting productivity, or otherwise making the best use of your compensation budget is a mystery. . This isn’t because of a lack of desire to make good decisions–it’s because complex compensation data is siloed in a payroll system wholly unsuited for doing analysis and disconnected from other measures of workforce success. . The post Are Your Compensation Policies Helping or Hurting You? MORE
Companies must go beyond manual pay planning to explore the value of using compensation management software. In this post, we will take a deep look at the many moving pieces of the compensation strategy while analyzing whether companies should make use of a compensation solution and why. MORE
You can put in all the work you want developing a great company culture, but if you don’t get compensation strategy right, you’ll be fighting a losing battle to motivate and retain your employees, and you’ll miss out on attracting top talent. Review compa-ratios for each employees. MORE
1) Ensure that these positions are regularly surveyed for competitive pay practices, and then 2) Create a metric that segments the actual pay of your customer-facing employees to determine the average compa-ratio and spotlight the presence of low paid workers. Chuck Csizmar CCP is founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations. MORE
Compensation and benefits refer to the benefits a firm provides to its employees in exchange for their labor. Compensation and benefits are thus a key part of Human Resource Management. In this article, we will provide you with a full guide about compensation and benefits. Contents What are compensation and benefits? Why are compensation and benefits important? What are compensation and benefits? Why are compensation and benefits important? MORE
More than a few times I've stood in front of a podium, either ruminating over the intricacies of Compensation Management with practitioners and business leaders, or trying to instruct HR Generalists so that those who didn't give a hoot about Compensation could pass a SHRM certification test. The size of your movement could create potential compa-ratio issues (employees falling much lower in their salary range) that you might not have the budget - or management will - to correct. MORE
For example, if you find your average compa-ratio to be skirting 80%, and your market pricing study indicates base salaries are an average -10% to market, blindly advocating what everyone else is doing for midpoint adjustments and merit spend percentages may not be an appropriate strategy for you. Chuck Csizmar CCP is founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations. MORE
Google is the latest company to come under fire for allegedly paying female employees less than their male counterparts , but the tech giant has refused to disclose compensation information to Department of Labor (DoL) investigators. Gender equity is an issue of incredible focus and debate for employers and lawmakers, particularly when it comes to compensation. If women have a lower than average compa-ratio, then it is likely that pay decisions are not being made equitably. MORE
Compensation analysis is vital to providing fair, equitable compensation. Smart organizations know that providing the right compensation is one of the key pillars to attract and retain the best talent. Contents What is a compensation analysis? MORE
Editor's Note: Pay progression may seem like a topic that can and should only interest the true compensation nerds among us, but if this Wall Street Journal article is picking up on a genuine pay growth trend out there we would all be well-advised to push this up to the top of our list for serious attention - if we wish our programs to maintain credibility. Yes, this is “math stuff,” but compensation professionals should be on top of such things. MORE
For example, if you find your average compa-ratio to be skirting 80%, and your market pricing study indicates base salaries are an average -10% to market, blindly advocating what everyone else is doing for midpoint adjustments and merit spend percentages may not be an appropriate strategy for you. MORE
Is your compa-ratio competitive? Chuck Csizmar CCP is founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations. Chuck is a broad based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation. Compensation Communication Compensation Philosophy Competencies MORE
As an HR leader for your organization, you know that employee compensation is not just something you determine when you hire a new team member and then forget about. After all, without fair and enticing compensation, people may start to leave. What is Employee Compensation? MORE
On the other hand, compensation practitioners can use knowledge as a component in their influence skills development, in developing their persuasiveness toward advancing their own agenda. Compa-ratio : The relationship of an employee’s annual base pay to their pay range midpoint. MORE
Jenni Marquez, CCP, PayScale Compensation Professional Wow! Can you believe it that we’re half way through our 4-Part Comp Glossary bringing you closer to ‘comp’lete mastery of the compensation language?! 1) PAY RANGES, PAY GRADES, and PAY BANDS Definition: A pay range is the upper and lower limits of compensation, typically including a minimum, midpoint, and maximum. 4) COMPA-RATIO Definition: How an employee pay rate compares to the midpoint of their range. MORE
Companies must go beyond manual pay planning to explore the value of using compensation management software. In this post, we will take a deep look at the many moving pieces of the compensation strategy while analyzing whether companies should make use of a compensation solution and why. MORE
Jenni Marquez, CCP, PayScale Compensation Professional Wow! Can you believe it that we’re half way through our 4-Part Comp Glossary bringing you closer to ‘comp’lete mastery of the compensation language?! 1) PAY RANGES, PAY GRADES, and PAY BANDS Definition: A pay range is the upper and lower limits of compensation, typically including a minimum, midpoint, and maximum. 4) COMPA-RATIO Definition: How an employee pay rate compares to the midpoint of their range. MORE
You can add columns for compa-ratio and range penetration, if you’d like to track that metric as well. Depending your organization’s compensation philosophy, not to mention your current pay rates, using the 25th or 75th percentile as the midpoint may be a better fit for your organization. Compensation Compensation Administration Compensation Planning BLR data pay rate SPHR MORE
I once worked for a CEO who thought that any compensation proposal could be reduced to a single piece of paper, including plenty of white. “If To accomplish this you should create quantifiable metrics that will collectively illustrate the well-being of your compensation program(s) - and then establish baselines (current state) and targets for each performance indicator. Compa-ratios (comparison of pay to a salary range midpoint). Compensation Philosophy Competencies MORE
After many years in the compensation profession, I remain completely befuddled at the idiotic policies still blindly followed as “best practices” when they are merely popular mistakes continually repeated by a majority. For example: if you increase your grade midpoints 3% every year while the average employee gets a 4% pay increase, the average worker's Compa-Ratio will only improve one percent per year. MORE
Examples include survey results, skill sets, LOS in current jobs, compa-ratios and more that will provide insights into how ready employees (and HR) will be to evolve to achieve your goal. A former Board member for the Bay Area Compensation Association (BACA), Margaret coauthored the popular eBook, Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communications, a toolkit that all practitioners can find at [link]. MORE
For example, HR can play a role in articulating and initiating policies in recruitment, compensation and other functional areas to ensure equal roles receive equal pay, anti-discrimination and increase diversity in terms of fair representation of different groups of people.”. Specifically, HR technologies that provide an employer with meaningful insight into how it is both compensating and promoting its employees. MORE
Analytics in HR
JUNE 15, 2021
In its original use, compa ratio (or comp ratio, or compensation ratio) is a simple formula designed to compare an individual’s actual salary to the midpoint of a defined salary range. Over the past few decades, HR and compensation professionals have found many more ways to use it.
Analytics in HR
JANUARY 19, 2021
Compensation analysis is vital to providing fair, equitable compensation. Smart organizations know that providing the right compensation is one of the key pillars to attract and retain the best talent. Contents What is a compensation analysis?
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Keka HR Blog
MARCH 24, 2021
Companies must go beyond manual pay planning to explore the value of using compensation management software. In this post, we will take a deep look at the many moving pieces of the compensation strategy while analyzing whether companies should make use of a compensation solution and why.
Keka HR Blog
MARCH 24, 2021
Companies must go beyond manual pay planning to explore the value of using compensation management software. In this post, we will take a deep look at the many moving pieces of the compensation strategy while analyzing whether companies should make use of a compensation solution and why.
Astron Solutions
OCTOBER 1, 2020
As an HR leader for your organization, you know that employee compensation is not just something you determine when you hire a new team member and then forget about. After all, without fair and enticing compensation, people may start to leave. What is Employee Compensation?
Digital HR Tech
NOVEMBER 11, 2019
Compensation and benefits refer to the benefits a firm provides to its employees in exchange for their labor. Compensation and benefits are thus a key part of Human Resource Management. In this article, we will provide you with a full guide about compensation and benefits. Contents What are compensation and benefits? Why are compensation and benefits important? What are compensation and benefits? Why are compensation and benefits important?
Workable
NOVEMBER 7, 2017
Pay structures define employee compensation for different jobs or groups of jobs. Here’s our guide on why and how to set up a pay structure: Why you need structured employee compensation. Pay structures (also know as salary structures or compensation structures) help companies offer equitable, competitive salaries and map out employees’ path to growth and higher pay. Competitive compensation packages play an important part in persuading candidates to accept job offers.
Digital HR Tech
NOVEMBER 27, 2019
The compensation and benefits manager plays a key role in coordinating the corporate compensation and benefits department. We dive into the core responsibilities of the compensation and benefits manager, take a look at his/her salary, and finish up with an example job description.
Paycor
DECEMBER 21, 2020
You can put in all the work you want developing a great company culture, but if you don’t get compensation strategy right, you’ll be fighting a losing battle to motivate and retain your employees, and you’ll miss out on attracting top talent. Review compa-ratios for each employees.
Compensation Cafe
OCTOBER 5, 2018
Editor's Note: Pay progression may seem like a topic that can and should only interest the true compensation nerds among us, but if this Wall Street Journal article is picking up on a genuine pay growth trend out there we would all be well-advised to push this up to the top of our list for serious attention - if we wish our programs to maintain credibility. Yes, this is “math stuff,” but compensation professionals should be on top of such things.
Compensation Today
SEPTEMBER 5, 2017
This is a lesson from our forthcoming ecourse on compensation analytics, and builds on our previous post on how to dig into comp analytics for specific questions. You spent some time making sure your compensation plan is current and that it prioritizes the things that drive organizational success. Then you explored the analytics that help you track compensation , calculated them for your organization and dug deeper into some particular issue areas.
Compensation Today
AUGUST 31, 2017
This is a lesson from our forthcoming ecourse on compensation analytics, and builds on what we covered in the post on setting goals. PayScale’s 2017 Compensation Best Practices Report says the average increase still hovers around 3-5%, and the average increase timeline is roughly annually; those with a market-ratio that is 5% off may be about a year away from where they belong. Compa-Ratio. Usage: Compa-ratios help answer the question “Are we paying according to our plan?”.
Compensation Today
SEPTEMBER 1, 2017
This is a lesson from our forthcoming ecourse on compensation analytics, and builds on our previous post on five comp analytics to track. In the last lesson, we overviewed five compensation analytics that help track whether your organization is moving in the direction you’re targeting. Compa-Ratio by Function. Compa-ratio can also be used for groups of employees.
Compensation Today
NOVEMBER 2, 2015
Jenni Marquez, CCP, PayScale Compensation Professional Wow! Can you believe it that we’re half way through our 4-Part Comp Glossary bringing you closer to ‘comp’lete mastery of the compensation language?! 1) PAY RANGES, PAY GRADES, and PAY BANDS Definition: A pay range is the upper and lower limits of compensation, typically including a minimum, midpoint, and maximum. 4) COMPA-RATIO Definition: How an employee pay rate compares to the midpoint of their range.
Compensation Today
NOVEMBER 2, 2015
Jenni Marquez, CCP, PayScale Compensation Professional Wow! Can you believe it that we’re half way through our 4-Part Comp Glossary bringing you closer to ‘comp’lete mastery of the compensation language?! 1) PAY RANGES, PAY GRADES, and PAY BANDS Definition: A pay range is the upper and lower limits of compensation, typically including a minimum, midpoint, and maximum. 4) COMPA-RATIO Definition: How an employee pay rate compares to the midpoint of their range.
Compensation Cafe
JULY 8, 2021
For example, if you find your average compa-ratio to be skirting 80%, and your market pricing study indicates base salaries are an average -10% to market, blindly advocating what everyone else is doing for midpoint adjustments and merit spend percentages may not be an appropriate strategy for you.
Visier
AUGUST 22, 2017
Google is the latest company to come under fire for allegedly paying female employees less than their male counterparts , but the tech giant has refused to disclose compensation information to Department of Labor (DoL) investigators. Gender equity is an issue of incredible focus and debate for employers and lawmakers, particularly when it comes to compensation. If women have a lower than average compa-ratio, then it is likely that pay decisions are not being made equitably.
Visier
AUGUST 22, 2017
Google is the latest company to come under fire for allegedly paying female employees less than their male counterparts , but the tech giant has refused to disclose compensation information to Department of Labor (DoL) investigators. Gender equity is an issue of incredible focus and debate for employers and lawmakers, particularly when it comes to compensation. If women have a lower than average compa-ratio, then it is likely that pay decisions are not being made equitably.
Compensation Cafe
APRIL 3, 2018
Your compa-ratio is 80%. After three years your pay is now $90, and your new compa-ratio is 83.6%. compa-ratio will likely have you starting the new job similarly low in your new salary range. These are the ones you can’t afford to lose – so keep track of their compensation packages. The merit pay process usually works well for one full cycle, but for the long term, the mechanics don't provide the compensation level that the employee is worth.
SumTotal
NOVEMBER 14, 2019
For example, HR can play a role in articulating and initiating policies in recruitment, compensation and other functional areas to ensure equal roles receive equal pay, anti-discrimination and increase diversity in terms of fair representation of different groups of people.”. Specifically, HR technologies that provide an employer with meaningful insight into how it is both compensating and promoting its employees.
Compensation Cafe
SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
I once worked for a CEO who thought that any compensation proposal could be reduced to a single piece of paper, including plenty of white. “If To accomplish this you should create quantifiable metrics that will collectively illustrate the well-being of your compensation program(s) - and then establish baselines (current state) and targets for each performance indicator. Compa-ratios (comparison of pay to a salary range midpoint). Compensation Philosophy Competencies
Compensation Cafe
JUNE 15, 2015
After many years in the compensation profession, I remain completely befuddled at the idiotic policies still blindly followed as “best practices” when they are merely popular mistakes continually repeated by a majority. For example: if you increase your grade midpoints 3% every year while the average employee gets a 4% pay increase, the average worker's Compa-Ratio will only improve one percent per year.
HR Daily Advisor
APRIL 7, 2017
You can add columns for compa-ratio and range penetration, if you’d like to track that metric as well. Depending your organization’s compensation philosophy, not to mention your current pay rates, using the 25th or 75th percentile as the midpoint may be a better fit for your organization. Compensation Compensation Administration Compensation Planning BLR data pay rate SPHR
Compensation Today
AUGUST 9, 2016
As a product manager, one of my favorite activities is hopping on calls with our customers to talk about all things compensation. It has been fascinating to have an opportunity to connect with managers within organizations to get their perspective about how compensation affects their role. In order to create a product that really helps, it was important for me to better understand managers who are involved in compensation decisions at organizations.
Compensation Cafe
JUNE 28, 2016
More than a few times I've stood in front of a podium, either ruminating over the intricacies of Compensation Management with practitioners and business leaders, or trying to instruct HR Generalists so that those who didn't give a hoot about Compensation could pass a SHRM certification test. The size of your movement could create potential compa-ratio issues (employees falling much lower in their salary range) that you might not have the budget - or management will - to correct.
Compensation Cafe
MAY 16, 2017
Is your compa-ratio competitive? Chuck Csizmar CCP is founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations. Chuck is a broad based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation. Compensation Communication Compensation Philosophy Competencies
Compensation Cafe
NOVEMBER 27, 2017
Or is this skill set (interface with customers) a compensable factor at all? . 1) Ensure that these positions are regularly surveyed for competitive pay practices, and then 2) Create a report segmenting the actual pay of your customer-facing employees to determine the average compa-ratio and spotlight the presence of low paid workers. Chuck is a broad based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation.
Compensation Cafe
JULY 21, 2020
To accomplish this at work you should create quantifiable metrics that will collectively illustrate the well-being of your compensation program(s) - and then establish baselines (current state) and forward-thinking targets for each performance indicator.
Visier - Talent Acquisition
NOVEMBER 28, 2018
Whether or not these compensation policies are helping employee retention, boosting productivity, or otherwise making the best use of your compensation budget is a mystery. . This isn’t because of a lack of desire to make good decisions–it’s because complex compensation data is siloed in a payroll system wholly unsuited for doing analysis and disconnected from other measures of workforce success. . The post Are Your Compensation Policies Helping or Hurting You?
Compensation Cafe
DECEMBER 18, 2018
Examples include survey results, skill sets, LOS in current jobs, compa-ratios and more that will provide insights into how ready employees (and HR) will be to evolve to achieve your goal. A former Board member for the Bay Area Compensation Association (BACA), Margaret coauthored the popular eBook, Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communications, a toolkit that all practitioners can find at [link].
Compensation Cafe
MAY 31, 2018
1) Ensure that these positions are regularly surveyed for competitive pay practices, and then 2) Create a metric that segments the actual pay of your customer-facing employees to determine the average compa-ratio and spotlight the presence of low paid workers. Chuck Csizmar CCP is founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations.
Compensation Cafe
APRIL 2, 2019
And, as Margaret O'Hanlon explains, it's also a good time to clean the cobwebs and accumulated dust from your compensation programs. Maybe it's because the lighting in most offices is far from warm, but the impulse doesn't seem to be as common in Compensation departments. Maybe that's why most of the audits that my clients do are part of a planned compensation program redesign. After all, part of the "art" of compensation is making our practices systematic and consistent.
Compensation Cafe
JANUARY 18, 2017
For example, if you find your average compa-ratio to be skirting 80%, and your market pricing study indicates base salaries are an average -10% to market, blindly advocating what everyone else is doing for midpoint adjustments and merit spend percentages may not be an appropriate strategy for you. Chuck Csizmar CCP is founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations.
SuccessFactors
JULY 21, 2016
Pay is not compa-ratios —it’s Karen from accounting, wondering how she will pay her skyrocketing rent—when she just got passed over for an expected raise. Too many compensation managers and compensation programs gloss over the fact that they exist to serve the business in attracting and retaining people. At PayScale we keep this notion central in all that we do to support companies in doing Modern Compensation.
Compensation Cafe
MAY 4, 2021
On the other hand, compensation practitioners can use knowledge as a component in their influence skills development, in developing their persuasiveness toward advancing their own agenda. Compa-ratio : The relationship of an employee’s annual base pay to their pay range midpoint.
48 
Let's personalize your content