You’re filling out a job application and just as you’re about to hit “submit”, you see the dreaded “Please provide the salary for your current position” question. Plus, it has a little red asterisk next to it, so you know you are going to have to answer it to even be considered. Well in recent years a combination of case law and statewide and local statutes are beginning to change that practice, or at least removing that pesky red asterisk.

We all do it with our counterparts in the industry…we share stories about that uncomfortable discussion that we had to have with an employee, ask our friends how they have handled sensitive situations, and grumble about our never-ending to-do list. However, are you also talking  to people at other organizations about employee salaries? Are hiring or compensation conversations coming up during networking events?  Remember that these discussions could land you in hot water!

By now you’ve probably seen more than your fair share of articles predicting another year of 3% pay increases nationally and plenty of opinions from expert economists weighing in on why wage growth hasn’t taken off like it’s “supposed to” when unemployment is low and demand for workers is high.

ERC held an FLSA Update overview and Q&A event with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in 2016. Joann Moriarty, from the DOL’s Wage & Hour Division, gave a very thorough and detailed presentation addressing some of the questions HR professionals have about the upcoming FLSA change. Here is a quick recap of what was presented and discussed:

Whether your organization is looking to market price a brand new position for a job posting, make an offer to a potential new employee, overhaul your entire salary range structure, check to see if your wages are keeping pace in your industry, or simply trying to stay true to your compensation philosophy, there is one tool that is indispensible—the compensation survey.

While everyone else is in back-to-school mode these days, in the world of HR, August means one thing—time to start thinking about pay adjustment projections for next year.

Salaries are a business investment, and setting compensation levels requires a fact based, structured methodology centered on external marketplace and internal organizational factors. 

With much discussion in 2014 over what city will be the next Silicon Valley, it seems as if every job market is trying to get its share of high tech industry investment, and along with the companies, a share of the tech talent needed to make these companies successful.

A key aspect of any healthy compensation plan is transparency. Due to the potentially charged nature of pay, very few organizations share the individual rates of pay for each employee, but there are certainly other ways to help your employees understand how and why their paychecks are what they are even if you aren’t quite ready to email your payroll out to the whole office.

Salaries are a business investment, and in order to make sure that you set fair and competitive compensation for jobs it’s important to use a structured method for setting compensation as opposed to choosing a random salary or simply using one salary survey or compensation source.