BLR’s exclusive survey says that once again, the byword will be “no more than four.” And if you want more detail, we’ve got that, too.
Fall is traditionally when organizations plan next year’s budget. A key component—in many cases, the key component—is how small or large a wage increase to plan for your people.
One form of guidance is BLR’s Annual Pay Budget survey. Each year, we poll companies, large and small, on their future payroll plans. This year, we received responses from more than 1,600 firms.
What do the results show? That once again, the slogan for the year will be “No More than Four!” Planned increases for 2008, as they did in 2007, will not exceed 4 percent.
Here are some of details from the survey:
Merit and General Increases:
Merit increases are rewards for work well done, but even if it’s done a lot better next year, companies won’t reward it with much more. The average planned merit increase is 3.48 percent, a composite of merit increase plans for four types of workers (exempt and nonexempt office, and union and nonunion plant) up at most a couple of tenths from last year. However, more workers will be eligible for merit pay. This year, 47 percent paid for merit. Some 53 percent plan merit pay in 2008.
What will you pay employees in 2008? See what companies like yours are paying, for hundreds of job titles, with your state’s edition of BLR’s unique Employee Compensation in [Your State] program. Try it at no cost or risk. Click for details.
General increases go to all workers, without scaling for performance. The projected general increase is 3.38 percent, again drawn from a composite of workers. The bad news for these workers is that this is a considerable slide from previous levels. Last year’s general increases ranged from 3.7 percent all the way to 5.3 percent, depending on the type of worker.
Geographic/Company Size
The cost of living varies by region, and so does increase level. So if you want to come out best on this basis, “go west, young employee.” You might especially want to make the move if you’re in the northeast, which receives the smallest increases.
As to company size, increase varies inversely with number of workers. The smallest companies, those with fewer than 100 employees, plan the largest increase, while the largest, those with more than 500 workers, plan the smallest. But the difference is small … 3.9 percent vs. 3.7 percent.
What to Pay Your Workers
Of course, as valuable as this general information is, it doesn’t really tell you what to pay your workers … each of whom has an individual job title, lives in your specific state, and works in your specific industry— all factors influencing pay.
However, that information is also available, through a classic BLR program used by thousands of companies for more than 20 years. The program is called Employee Compensation in [Your State]. The [Your State] refers to the fact that a separate edition is published for 43 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia. So if you live in Illinois, Employee Compensation in Illinois is the reference you receive.
Each edition of the Employee Compensation in [Your State] service contains these key elements:
–Recommended Rate Ranges for Hundreds of Jobs, Localized for Your State and Region. Based on the annual surveys like the one above by BLR and official data, the Employee Compensation program provides minimum, midpoint, and maximum for both exempt and nonexempt positions. These rates are local for your state, region, even city. You shouldn’t pay the same in Manhattan, Kansas, as you do in Manhattan, New York. This program makes sure that you don’t.
–A to Z State and Federal Law Comparisons. Comp and benefits are regulated by a tangle of laws. Employee Compensation offers an alphabetically arranged set of analyses on how these laws apply to common topics Look up “ERISA” or “overtime pay” or “workers’ compensation” and you instantly have a plain-English explanation of how the controlling laws apply to you.
–A Full Job Descriptions Program. Employee Compensation offers a complete tutorial for setting up a job descriptions program. Many ADA-compliant sample descriptions are provided, ready to copy and use.
Thousands depend on BLR’s Employee Compensation in [Your State] to not overpay for hundreds of job titles. See why with a no cost, no risk trial. Click for full information.
–Updating at No Extra Cost. The program price includes 6 updates a year (which others charge extra for), plus annual survey reports of exempt and nonexempt compensation and benefits, including the detailed results of the pay budget survey. A monthly newsletter offers even more updating.
Click the links below, and you can see samples of the program and newsletter, as well as a full table of contents of what’s included.
The program is priced affordably for small companies as well as large, for about $1.50 a working day. That’s coffee money (and not the fashion café kind), for just about every form of information most managers need to run a competitive and efficient comp/benefits program.
You can check out the entire program in your own office for up to 30 days, with no need to buy. (We even pay return postage if you don’t keep it.) Just click the link below, and we’ll be happy to set things up.
Download product sample
Download sample newsletter
Download Table of Contents
What Raises Should YOU Pay in 2008?
Get valuable guidance from BLR’s famous Employee Compensation in [Your State] program. It tells what other companies like yours pay for hundreds of jobs, right in your area. Try it at no cost or risk for 30 days. Click to learn more.
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