Topics to Be Included in a Wage Survey
A wage survey can be used by employers, marketing firms, headhunters and hiring agencies to assess and compare current wage trends in various professions at comparable businesses. The survey helps employers understand salary expectations for current and incoming employees. A wage survey can also be used to evaluate employees in the same field who have varying degrees of responsibility.
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Geographic Location
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To get an accurate wage survey that compares and evaluates wages on a national basis, the survey must include questions about the employee's geographic location. Cost of living factors, community unemployment rates, weather considerations, urban versus rural work environments and commuting issues all influence wages, benefits and employee work satisfaction. Geographic location also affects potential job growth and the availability of employment opportunities.
Experience and Educational Background
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An employee's experience in his field and his educational background must be included on a wage survey. Without that information, an employer or a hiring agency can't effectively compare salaries based on education, skills and expertise in the industry. Generally, an employee with more experience and education receives higher compensation for his work compared with others in his field.
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Source of Hire
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An important topic to include on a wage survey is the source of hire. Source of hire questions ask whether an employee was hired from within the company or from an external solicitation like a public job posting or an online employment application. Hirings within a company generally result from promotions and often reflect an employee's satisfaction and ability to grow with a company. External hirings explain how and where an employee first heard about the job opening. That information can be useful when an employer needs to solicit future employees.
Wages and Incentives
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If an employer or a hiring agency wants a wage survey that reflects current and future payroll expenditures, it is necessary to include detailed questions related to an employee's income. According to HR Survey, the survey can contain questions about an employee's base salary or beginning hourly wage, wage increases based on merit, the number of hours an employee works in a given week, promotions and incentives, benefit packages, commissions and bonuses. These answers help an employer budget for both current and future payroll expenses.
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References
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