What's one resource that you use for evaluating pay scales for new hires?
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.
A. The Employee's Value
You should obviously have competitive compensation in order to attract good talent, but I don't think looking at an industry average can really tell you what you should pay your employees. We consistently evaluate compensation based on how much value they are adding and what we can afford. To us, rewarding based on the value added instead of time with the company is the best approach.
- Kelsey Meyer, Influence & Co.
A. Glassdoor
While we certainly don't rely on Glassdoor as the only source for compensation evaluation, it can be extremely helpful in ball-parking a new area position for which we have not hired before. As crowdsourcing salary feedback becomes more and more popular, it's very important that we pay attention to these services because it's likely that the candidate has seen the same information we have.
- Michael Costigan, Youth Leadership Specialist
A. Salary.com or PayScale
Either site can provide an estimate of a fair wage for new hires, and you can even target your search based on years of experience and other factors. You want to be fair in what you offer your new hires, but you also want to keep your offers in line with industry averages.
- Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
A. Quora
Quora has become our go-to resource for pretty much any startup question. Whether you're curious about the equity layout or even raw salary numbers, Quora provides a great way to get a true answer. The best part is that if you cannot find the detailed answer to your unique situation, you can post a question and get great answers from experts.
- Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches
A. Advisors
Employees are always doing their own research on pay scales online. I do not trust that information, as it's never unique to my industry or even my geography. I trust my advisory board members to give me the pulse of salary ranges and help me know when we're on target or way off in our compensation models for old and new employees.
- Robby Hill, HillSouth
A. Craigslist and Other Job Boards
I look very closely at who else might be trying to hire the types of people I need. Those competing job listings offer a lot of data, and you can usually use them to put together a pay scale. I don't stick like glue to my research -- I'll go higher for the right person, but the data gives me a starting point.
- Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting
A. Wealthfront
Wealthfront has a fantastic data set around salaries for different job positions in different regions. At the end of the day, you should remove money from the equation. Someone great is worth twice as much as someone average; trying to recruit amazing talent on a budget is a false economy. The most successful companies all pay a huge premium for talent (e.g., Costco, Amazon and Google).
- Matt Mickiewicz, Flippa and 99designs
A. The New Hire
Ask hires what they currently make, what they expect and what they think is fair for the role and the industry. Websites and salary surveys are helpful, but simple questions like these can give you insight into what their expectations are and even what their friends or former colleagues might be making. Ask carefully -- tone is important. You want to come across as inquisitive, not threatening.
- Susan Strayer LaMotte, exaqueo
A. Indeed
Indeed has salary information for different roles in different markets.
- Brett Farmiloe, Markitors