Setting salaries for roles is not always straight forward. If you set the salary too low, potential employees may not even apply, set it too high and you may find an internal rebellion from existing employees.
Between LinkedIn and other professional social networks and the various websites that provide salary data, today’s job seeker is more informed than ever before so everyone goes into a job interview with a salary range in mind. The bottom end is the minimum they’ll be prepared to accept and the top end is often an optimistic number they hope to get but aren’t counting on. When asked about a desired salary, candidates will usually respond with a number that falls somewhere in the middle of their range.
That range can be influenced by a number of factors. Most people will use their current (or previous salary) as the bottom number. They’re hoping to move onto a job that will pay slightly more or may be willing to accept the same salary but with a different company and better working life and benefits. They also undoubtedly research what similar positions pay in their industry and area.
So, as an employer, how do you set an individual salary?
Every job role is different. It’s important to consider all of the internal and external factors that could inform the salary decision like what is the fair market rate for your geographic area for the skillset that you’re looking for? For instance, a higher salary may need to be offered if your business is located in London and the skills you’re after are in high demand. If an employee needs to commute to get to their place of work, that needs to be taken into consideration.
Internal business factors play a large part as well. For example, if you’ve struggled to find someone for over six months and there’s an urgency to fill the position, you may have to increase your salary offers.
Other things to take into consideration:
- Consider implementing salary bands
- Think about bonus and/or commission schemes
- Think about the whole package – it’s not just about the money – what other benefits does working for your organisation bring?
- Be prepared to negotiate – if you’re presented with the perfect candidate but don’t want to or can’t meet their salary expectations, be prepared to be creative
- Finally, be prepared to walk away if a solution can’t be reached.
We at Better Prospects have the knowledge and expertise to help you set salary expectations and find the right candidates for your roles. We have extensive experience of placing successful candidates in many sectors in organisations throughout Bucks, Berks and beyond and can advise about setting the right values to appeal to the perfect employees.
Thank you to Business Advice for the help with this post – read their full article here.
