Shawnee Love   •  
September 13, 2010

Recently, a company contacted me to sell access to their salary information data. Clients often need salary information, so a salary source could be valuable to Love HR. I accepted their offer of a sample run and picked a job that I know the salary data for. Instead of a reply, they came back to me with questions:

• How many years of experience will the individual holding the position have?
• How many years of education?
• What certifications/ qualifications, etc.?

If you read Love HR’s September newsletter, you know that I believe strongly in fair, consistent and transparent compensation. What I didn’t articulate is my philosophy on compensation which is as follows:

1. Set the range around the value of the position in the market,
2. Set the individual at the level s/he contributes within that range.

To illustrate point 1: No matter what position you held prior to retirement, if you decide to keep busy by getting a job as a Greeter at Walmart, you are going to get the wage of a Greeter.

To illustrate point 2: Sidney Crosby made $850,000 for his first 3 years in the NHL and in the 4th year (2008-2009) he made 9,000,000- the same year he led his team to a Stanley Cup victory.

As you may guess, I didn’t purchase the salary survey source. Our philosophy’s are too far apart, AND I can’t imagine answering that many questions each time I need some data.

More on compensation and compensation philosophy later.