How can you ensure your benchmarking data is relevant to your location and industry?

2 Adjust for location

The cost of living and the demand for talent can vary significantly across different regions, cities, and even neighborhoods. Therefore, it is important to adjust your benchmarking data for the location of your client and their target market. You can use tools such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) or the Economic Research Institute (ERI) to find the appropriate geographic differentials and apply them to your data. Alternatively, you can use sources that already provide location-specific data, such as PayScale or Glassdoor.

4 Consider size and structure

The size and structure of your client's organization can also influence the relevance of your benchmarking data. Larger organizations may have more resources, economies of scale, and bargaining power than smaller ones, which can affect their compensation and benefits strategies and levels. Similarly, organizations with different structures, such as hierarchical, flat, or matrix, may have different ways of defining and rewarding roles and responsibilities. To ensure your data matches the size and structure of your client, compare them with organizations that have similar characteristics, such as revenue, headcount, or organizational design. You can use sources that filter data by size and structure, such as the BLS or the Radford Global Technology Survey.

5 Customize for roles and skills

Finally, the relevance of your benchmarking data depends on the roles and skills of your client's employees and potential hires. Different roles and skills may have different market values, demand and supply, and performance indicators. For example, a software engineer may have a higher salary than a graphic designer, but a graphic designer with a rare skill or certification may have a higher salary than a software engineer with a common skill or certification. To ensure your data reflects the roles and skills of your client, compare them with the most relevant and comparable job titles, descriptions, and qualifications. You can use sources that provide data by roles and skills, such as the BLS or the Robert Half Salary Guide.