Salary Increase Planning

Salary Increase Administration

Timing of Salary Increases

When will your organization's salary increases take place?

Not all organizations administer salary increases at the same time. Most organizations use either a focal review date, the most common practice, or an anniversary review date:

• Anniversary review date. An anniversary review date for salary increases varies by employee and is typically based on job start date.
• Focal review date. A focal review date is typically a fixed annual date for all eligible employees' salary increases as determined by the company. A focal review date may also vary by employee type (e.g., executive, hourly, etc.)

Occasionally, new hires and recently promoted/demoted employees may not be eligible for a salary increase if the effective date of the last salary change is within 90 days of a focal review date. Another approach in use is prorating focal reviews for all new hires or mid-year salary changes. Simplifying prorated increases during a focal review is also preferred for ease of communication and administration. For example:

It is always most effective to time salary increases at the start of a payroll cycle and this is a good policy for implementation.