A precise salary benchmarking tool accelerates growth

The challenge

Finding a salary benchmarking tool for complex projects

Clare Conaghan joined Dearden HR two years ago as the company’s director of HR, bringing a wealth of experience in developing HR and total reward systems that would help Dearden HR’s growth.

When working with a client on salary benchmarking, Clare initially used a salary benchmarking tool the firm already had access to. Although she could complete the project with the tool, Clare realised it didn’t have the capabilities needed to manage more complex projects.

One startup firm needed a brand-new pay framework, Clare recalls. “The data we were getting through this tool wasn’t sufficient. We spent weeks and weeks sourcing satisfactory benchmarking data for my niche client.”

One of the major challenges with the tool was filtering salary data to ensure accuracy for benchmarking for pay ranges, she says. “The way the roles were constructed, and the job levels included, hadn’t been updated to reflect modern employment practices.”

Additionally, not having an apples-to-apples comparison of jobs made it difficult for clients to trust the data, she adds. “The feedback we consistently got from clients was that the salaries seemed low compared to what was advertised in the market. We needed different tools with robust information, depth and broader capabilities to do this work.”

The results

1. Robust data aligned with the modern workplace

The results were immediate, Clare says. “We’re now using Compensation Planning for benchmarking, and it’s providing much richer data than we had before. The categorisation, job levels and rules are much more aligned to the modern workplace.”

2. Seamless user experience

Clare says that in addition to providing more accurate data, Compensation Planning is faster and easier to use. Benchmarking is simpler, as job titles are set up so they can be quickly filtered for comparison. A process that otherwise could take “weeks” to find alternative data sources with the previous tool became nearly instantaneous. “You can upload your data and it’s a push of your button to get the results.”

3. Reliable salary transparency

Beyond the speed, accuracy and ease of use of the platform, the detailed results offer salary transparency to Dearden HR’s clients. “They can see row by row, person by person, where there’s a variance. Our reports are very clear about where the data comes from,” Clare says.

With enhanced accuracy and depth of information provided by Compensation Planning, Dearden HR provides their clients with the salary data needed to make critical decisions. Additionally, with the time savings Compensation Planning offers, the firm can continue to grow the business while operating efficiently.