The Ultimate Salary Benchmark Tool: Revolutionizing Compensation Reviews for HR Leaders

September 23, 2024
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Here at Figures, we love compensation reviews. That’s because these reviews are one of the best ways to ensure your salaries do your employees justice, while also maximising your budget.

But we also know that, for some HR teams, these reviews can be stressful. From where to get the kind of accurate data required for equitable reviews, to moving away from relying on manager discretion towards a more standardised review process, there’s a lot of pressure to get things right.  

We’re on a mission to make things easier — which is why we’ve developed a our salary benchmarking and our compensation review modules.

The Evolution of Compensation Reviews

Compensation review season used to be a pretty challenging time. Flurries of paperwork, multiple spreadsheets, and unreliable data meant that your HR team might spend hours and hours collecting data which is essentially worthless. 

When working on compensation reviews, HR teams traditionally relied on manual salary surveys and industry reports. Unfortunately, the data on salary review sites like Glassdoor is often inaccurate, and industry reports are already out of date by the time they’re published. 

It’s also incredibly tricky to find data that exactly aligns with your organisation’s industry, location, and size. 

Basically – relying on outdated, inaccurate, and non-customisable data can make for unpleasant compensation review conversations. What’s more, getting these reviews wrong can mean that employees are more likely to leave the company for a new role — with your competitors. 

Luckily, there’s a better way. 

Introducing Figures' Salary Benchmark Tool

Benchmarking tools are designed to take the headache out of compensation reviews. And even though we say so ourselves — Figures’ Salary Benchmarking Tool is one of the best out there. 

We know what goes into getting compensation reviews right, which is why we’ve designed this tool as the ultimate solution for the next generation of compensation reviews. 

Key features of Figures’ Salary Benchmarking Tool include:

Ready to know what makes our salary benchmarking tool so special? Here’s a brief rundown of the features you need to know about.

#1 Access to a Comprehensive Dataset 

The more relevant data you have — the more accurate your compensation reviews are likely to be. We’ve got access to a vast database of salary information across all the industries, job roles, and geographic locations you can imagine, all across Europe. The result? Highly specific, relevant data, at your fingertips. 

#2 Customisation Options 

From industry and location to company size and job level, customisation is essential for accurate benchmarking. Our benchmarking tool gives you the ability to tailor data to match your organization’s specific requirements. 

#3 Real-Time Updates 

Relying on out-of-date industry reports means your salary benchmarks are outdated from the minute they’re created. Instead, using real-time updates gives you access to the latest trends and market insights — which means your benchmarks will always be best in class. 

#4 Comparative Analysis 

As the saying goes, you’ve got to compare apples to apples. This means for your salary benchmarks to be accurate, you’ve got to use side-by-side comparisons with your industry peers and competitors. Luckily, Figures’ Salary Benchmarking Tool allows you to do just that.  

#5 Data Accuracy 

The data within Figures’ Salary Benchmarking Tool is sourced from reputable organisations, just like yours. We guarantee access to reliable and accurate salary data, so you no longer need to worry if you’re paying way below market rates, or spending too much of your budget on artificially inflated salaries. 

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How Figures’ Product Revolutionises Compensation Reviews 

Wave goodbye to long hours poring over salary review sites, trawling through competitor job adverts, and flicking through page after page of industry reports. 

We’re HR experts, so we know what’s most important. That’s why we designed our Salary Benchmarking and Compensation Review modules with these benefits front of mind: 

  • Time savings: By streamlining the benchmarking process and eliminating manual data collection, HR teams can free up to eight hours per week. That time can be much better spent on tasks that require a human touch, like onboarding new employees or holding an all-hands meeting to explain your new compensation review process.  
  • Cost efficiency: Conducting a salary survey is expensive. So are industry reports. And if you need to hire a consultant to help? Even more expensive! Instead, investing in a single platform that does all of the hard work for you is probably the best budgeting decision you’ll ever make. 
  • Data-driven decisions: With Figures, HR leaders are empowered to make informed decisions, backed up by reliable benchmarking data. Sharing how this process works can boost employee trust — because they know that salary decisions are backed up by accurate data, not manager discretion or inconsistent criteria. 
  • Competitive advantage: in an employee-led market, the right salary can make the difference between securing top talent, and losing them to your competitors. The right benchmarking tool gives you insights into the latest industry trends and competitor salary practices — which allows you to gain an edge over the competition.   
  • Enhanced transparency: Employees want to know they’re being paid fairly and equitably. And if you’re not doing everything you can to make that happen — it only breeds resentment and distrust. By promoting fairness and equity in your compensation practices, plus openly sharing how salaries are determined, you can boost trust, engagement, and performance. 

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Take Inspiration From Some of Figures Existing Clients 

Want to know more about what to expect from Figures? We’re already working with over 800 companies across the UK and Europe. Here’s how we’re making a difference. 

How Kitt uses Figures to create a future-proof compensation structure 

When office leasing company Kitt launched in 2018, the founders were held back by their lack of up-to-date, reliable salary data. But they knew this was key for securing top talent. 

They originally relied on review sites like Glassdoor but decided they couldn’t trust the accuracy of the data. They then switched to a benchmarking platform but found because the data was geared towards established, enterprise organisations, the data wasn’t relevant to their size and industry. 

After a free trial of Figures — co-founder Lucy Minton knew they’d found the answer to all their salary issues. The team at Kitt now uses Figures to benchmark the salaries of both existing and new employees.  

Here’s what they’ve achieved, thanks to Figures:

  • Streamlining the hiring process and improving the candidate experience by having access to high-quality, relevant salary benchmarking data that can be used to frame salary negotiations
  • Identifying and closing potential pay gaps for the salaries of existing staff, boosting trust, and creating an equitable organization.
  • Future-proofing the compensation structure to prepare for salary reporting obligations as the company grows over the next few years. 

Read the full case study.

How Treatwell uses Figures to accurately benchmark salaries across multiple countries

When Treatwell, a booking system and management software for the beauty industry, launched in 2008, the HR team found it almost impossible to obtain benchmarking data for their salaries. 

One challenge was that they needed comprehensive data across 13 European countries. Their initial approach was to manually collect salary data for over 750 roles, using salary review sites, job adverts, and candidate expectations. 

But this approach wasn’t yielding accurate results, even though it was massively time-consuming. 

After hearing about Figures from an associate, Treatwell signed up — and never looked back. The team at Treatwell now use Figures to access the reliable, international salary data they need to create salary benchmarks that fit their expansion plans. 

Here’s more about the results they’ve achieved, with Figures:

  • Leaders are now empowered to make informed budgeting decisions for new roles and performance reviews, based on accurate, up-to-date salary data.
  • With access to reliable salary data across all the international markets that Treatwell operates across, the HR team knows where they stand compared to the competition.
  • Figures allows for accurate budget forecasting, essential for an expanding company that needs to take into account changes to the market and economy when planning ahead.

Read the full case study

Best Practices for Effective Salary Benchmarking 

If you’re ready for a better way to manage compensation, here’s our best practice recommendations for effective salary benchmarking: 

  • Make the most of analytics: Figures’ Salary Benchmark Tool includes intuitive, real-time analytics that helps ensure every decision is fair and equitable. 
  • Encourage collaborative validation: Shared views mean it’s easy for all stakeholders to stay informed throughout the entire review process. It’s easy to set permissions, giving each stakeholder access to a secure space where they can see what they need to, at a glance.  
  • Easily monitor your budget: Real-time data makes it easier to achieve clarity over your budget. Figures makes it easy to see spending, fairness, and review times, helping drive pay equity at the same time as meeting company goals. 
  • Customise, customise, customise: Salary review decisions are only as good as the data you put in. That’s why we’ve designed our Salary Benchmark Tool with deep customisation options that help create the kind of tailored results you need to move forward.  
  • Work towards proactive compliance: Preparing for the EU Pay Transparency Directive doesn’t have to be hard, because Figures makes it easy to review and record every pay decision, meaning you’ll be compliant before you even need to be. 

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Start Looking Forward to Review Season

Ready to transform your chaotic, stressful compensation review process into something easy and efficient? You need Figures. Sign up for a free demo to explore our platform and see the benefits for yourself. 

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