There’s arguably never been a better time to be in Human Resources (HR). Our contribution and role in the organization has been recognized and elevated to a level of strategic importance unlike never before.

Then again, with the current economy and the new shape of work, it’s never been a more challenging time to be in HR.

When it comes to attracting and motivating the employees you need, establishing and managing total rewards is your foundation. How do you do that? A critical step is to create the right total rewards package to enhance your employee value proposition. To do that, you need the best salary surveys and the best HR advisor.

With one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive databases of salary and benefits data, backed by world-class consultants, Mercer is the trusted advisor and data provider you can count on.

Providing quality advice and data

At Mercer, we take pride in our commitment to providing a vast array of total rewards data enabled by our proprietary data submission and job-matching processes. We are also committed to continuous improvement — listening to the needs of our customers, anticipating the changes in the market, and striving to innovate for the better.

Starting from scratch

No longer can you simply apply an aging factor and age last year’s salary data. Different jobs and functions are experiencing disparate levels of demand and wage growth. Starting with the current year’s salary survey data will help get you to the closest approximation of the current market rates for the jobs that are important to your organization.

Likewise, as the leading survey vendor, Mercer doesn’t simply repeat the survey administration steps each year. We start by examining findings from the prior year, identifying potential data deviations and shifts in the job market and jobs/areas with new growth. Using those insights helps us ensure that each year we are offering the best survey data that aligns with your HR and business needs.

Verify and validate

By clearly detailing what is expected of survey participants, Mercer aims to make the participation process as simple as possible, a quality that is important when selecting salary surveys for your company. In addition, this ease of submission increases the likelihood that survey participants submit the correct data the first time. But, to ensure the data being submitted is accurate, Mercer then takes several steps to establish correct job matching and data validity.

Mercer’s survey team relies on both artificial intelligence/automation and some keenly observant team members to keep an eye out for any abnormalities or discrepancies that might compromise the accuracy of the survey. With an experienced staff, we are able to spot and work through data complexities that will maximize both the validity and quality of the data. If significant discrepancies are noted, we bring back in the organization who submitted the data and work collaboratively to ensure the best data is included in our survey.

Prioritizing anonymity without sacrificing quantity

Another important criterion to consider when evaluating surveys and vendors is the ability to attract and engage enough participants. Without a certain number of participants submitting data for each position, the amount and variety of data that a survey vendor can provide is limited. This is because survey vendors need to be cognizant of masking data to ensure that employers are not able to collude by sharing data and fix wages, even inadvertently.

With the US Department of Justice announcing that they are removing safe harbor from information sharing in early 2023, the task of ensuring anonymity is even more critical. When selecting a data provider, it is critical that the survey vendor understands what they can and cannot do to ensure that they can continue to provide the reliable data that clients need.

Mercer strikes a balance between providing valuable insight into labor market conditions and protecting and mitigating antitrust risk. We are a neutral third party that can conduct these surveys. Our commitment to our clients means that we have a legal team proactively advising us on how to keep our surveys on the right side of antitrust regulations so as not to incur any delays or disruptions to our data publication schedule.

You can rely on Mercer to publish the best salary surveys and compensation planning information that you need on a predictable schedule. Knowing when you will have access to data will help you establish your annual activity/project calendar as well as set and meet deadlines.

Keeping an eye on the future

As part of producing a quality product that encompasses the changing needs of our clients, Mercer continuously strives to improve the product and data delivered to you, the participant, and the purchaser. Just as in the planning phase, the various members of Mercer’s survey teams are in contact regularly to identify any opportunities for improvement going forward, whether it be to the participation process, quality review, or survey production process itself.

Breadth, longevity, and stability

Mercer has a long history of providing insight, data, and consulting services with excellence and integrity. Any business activities we have gone through, such as acquiring a company, have been handled with extreme care to minimize both the impact to our clients and the employees involved. With our global reach, deep industry experience, and multifaceted solution portfolio, Mercer is the best choice for providing consistent, reliable data and insights to help you make decisions today that will let your organization thrive in the future.

Are Mercer’s surveys right for you?

Whether you are new to the world of compensation and salary surveys or just need another set of eyes to work through your survey purchasing decisions, we’re here to help. Regardless of your industry, business maturity, or location, Mercer has quality data and advisory services to support your organization’s talent strategy.

Contact us at 866-605-1031 or email surveys@mercer.com.

We’ve got what you need.