March 4, 2016
Total Rewards Initiative update
Submitted by Human Capital Services
As Human Capital Services, HCS, shared in our last update, we have and continue to work with leadership to review the results of the compensation analysis. Today, we share more about the methods used in the analysis, and how salaries are compared.
Many of us have heard of salary comparison websites that claim to show salary information for a job. While this seems tempting to use, the information is self-reported, meaning that a user can input any salary they would like and the information is not reviewed for accuracy. This can result in inaccurate information being reported.
To avoid this issue, compensation professionals use salary surveys. Salary surveys are tools used to determine the median or average compensation paid to employees. Compensation data is collected directly from employers, so the data and corresponding job descriptions reflect true salaries. For this initiative, HCS has over 1,900 surveys to use, but most jobs are analyzed using the following surveys:
| CompData Surveys (Suite of Surveys) | IBM Kenexa (Suite of Surveys) |
| Economic Research Institute (Suite of Surveys) | Mercer (Suite of Surveys) |
| Foote Partners (IT Surveys) | National Association of Colleges and Employers (Higher Education) |
| Foushee (Environmental Health and Safety) | TowersWatson (Suite of Surveys) |
| Gartner (IT Surveys) | US DOL (Suite of Surveys) |
| Hay Group (Suite of Surveys) | College and University Professional Association (CUPA) |
In addition, HCS is analyzing positions based on K-State's peer 10 institutions:
| Auburn University | North Carolina State University |
| Clemson University | Oklahoma State University |
| Colorado State University | Oregon State University |
| Iowa State University | University of Massachusetts-Amherst |
| Louisiana State University | Washington State University |
Using these surveys helps to ensure we are paying positions in the most appropriate range based on what other universities or employers are paying for a job.
HCS will send regular articles to explain more about the methods used. For more information on the Total Rewards Initiative, including a timeline of the project, please visit the Total Rewards Initiative website.