Knowledge is power. That’s true in everything from politics to gambling; it’s also true in compensation issues.
But few managers know their market value, despite a wealth of available salary information.
“People have been shocked in the last five years by downsizing, and they’re still really reluctant to push on salaries,” says Ron Krannich, author of “Dynamite Salary Negotiations.”
Employers have an interest in keeping their workers in the dark, especially with the job market heating up.
“If you’re getting annual salary increases of 4 percent to 5 percent and you’re in any reasonably warm field, you’re probably doing OK … but not keeping pace with the new people” at your company, says Liz Ryan, who was vice president of human resources at U.S. Robotics until its acquisition by 3Com. “That’s one reason companies are having a turkey shoot” in raiding talent from rivals, she adds.
So where to start? Major business publications publish annual pay surveys, as do most major professional groups. Check how the survey was conducted, cautions Roger McArt, a senior consultant at Coopers & Lybrand.
Ryan scans a range of general-interest publications, from Money to Glamour, that profile successful executives. The articles often include compensation information.
Cyberspace also contains considerable data. A good place to start, experts say, is Job Smart (//jobsmart.org), which offers dozens of on-line salary surveys.
Job-search networks such as Exec-U-Net in Norwalk, Conn., NetShare in San Francisco, and Search Bulletin in Great Falls, Va., provide salary guidance to their subscribers. These networks list hundreds of managerial job openings, most of which include salary information.
But the surveys are just a starting point. You must also factor in industry, company size, skills, geography and, of course, demand. Most of the sky-high salaries reported for M.B.A. holders, for instance, come from consulting and investment-banking firms.
“If you’re not looking at those industries, you’re not going to be paid as much,” says Abigail Quackenbush, who recently left a large consulting firm in Atlanta and started a smaller one of her own in northern Virginia.
Quackenbush’s own pay dilemma: Could she earn more by jumping to another consulting firm or by starting her own firm?
She scoured Search Bulletin for available jobs and salaries. She contacted her alma mater, Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, to see what recruiters were offering on campus.
Some people stonewalled her, but most would at least talk about their benefits package, if not their pay. Revealing pay is “still a taboo,” Krannich says, but most people will at least discuss salary ranges.
If you’re thinking of moving from a large company to a smaller one, Beacon Group President Nancy Schretter suggests contacting people in venture-capital associations who might know about salaries at companies they’ve backed. She also recommends the Association for Corporate Growth, a group for individuals working at small-growth companies.
Don’t just look at job titles, McArt cautions.
“Titles can mean different things in different places,” he says, particularly right now. In recent years, many workers have added extra responsibilities without changing job titles.
Of course, if you find you’re undervalued, you shouldn’t expect your employer to right all compensation wrongs. If you have leverage (translation: skills that can’t easily be replaced and a sterling track record), management will likely make adjustments to keep you. But most companies can only help so much. People who are 25 percent to 30 percent below market rates may have to jump ship, Krannich contends. Unfortunately, he says, “most people are replaceable.”
