Looking to Benchmark Pay?
Interactive Exercise
Research Software
ERI's Salary Assessor® (SA) database collects and analyzes available salary survey data. It provides pay range information for over 19,000 job titles in over 9,500 locations and 1,100 industries.
Using the SA, you can compare your organization's entire salary structure against the market. The following problem statement will teach you how to use this software to audit your organization's salary structure.
Problem Statement
Erie Construction is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has $1 billion in revenue. The table below displays eight benchmark job titles, which are representative of other jobs close to their pay level.
| JOB TITLE | AVERAGE SALARY | MIDPOINT (Market -5%) |
EXPERIENCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction Engineer | $106,200 | $109,000 | 9 |
| Construction Foreman | $85,700 | $83,000 | 8 |
| Construction Analyst | $74,200 | $74,000 | 7 |
| Electrician - Certified | $74,400 | $72,000 | 8 |
| Drafter | $80,100 | $80,000 | 7 |
| Construction Framer | $59,600 | $63,000 | 6 |
| Cement Mason | $61,650 | $64,000 | 5 |
| Construction Helper | $42,000 | $47,000 | 3 |
The table displays the:
- current average base salary for that job
- midpoint of the base salary range according to the pay policy
- average experience of the incumbents
Company Pay Policy
You've just been named the new Compensation Analyst for Erie Construction. You have been asked to review the salary structure and make any recommendations concerning necessary adjustments. Management has established a compensation policy of paying slightly (5%) below market rates because the company offers better benefits than other construction companies in the area, which results in good employee retention.
Complaints
While gathering data for your evaluation, you receive an email from a manager indicating that he is having difficulty hiring experienced Certified Electricians. You also receive a phone call from another manager stating that her Cement Masons were complaining that their pay is, "worse than that of the Construction Framers," even though, so they believe, their work demands more skill. So, while you are determining whether the company's overall salary structure is in line with compensation policy and market rates, you are also going to check to see if the salaries for Cement Masons and Construction Framers are equitable and you will look for an answer to the Electrician issue.
Instructions
Press the Load Step-by-Step button to follow along with this analysis. You may wish to print out this PDF tutorial, which will open in a new window. (If you are a subscriber and have the SA, you can use it to follow along.)