Help for Salary Wizard® Pro

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Get Started (Before purchase)
Specifying ZIP Code, Employees, and Industry
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Immediately Begin Your First Search
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Search for Salaries (After purchase)
Three Steps from Search To Answer

Step 1: Select a job category [or use Advanced Search]
Step 2: Select benchmark job(s) [view tips]
Step 3: Select a scope [view tips]

Understand Your Answers
Interpreting your answers (Base, TCC, #orgs, #incs, and low/mid/high values)
Adjusting your answer (Hourly/annual, effective date and percentiles)
Reporting options (Single- vs multiple-job formats and optional reports)
Creating a Hybrid Job Report (blending two or more jobs to create a unique market price)
Printing, emailing and exporting to Excel

Signup Step 2: Employer Size. Enter the number of full-time equivalent employees, FTEs, at your organization. Count two half-time employees as 1 full-time equivalent. (Your answer will be used to find a range of employers of similar size.)

Signup Step 3: Employer Industry. Select an Industry (what your organization does) based on its constituent sub-industries.

• Do not confuse industry (based on what an employer does) with job category (based on what workers do). If you are interested in salaries for warehousing jobs at a telecom company, be sure to pick the company's industry (telecom) when asked for an industry.
• Your selection of a sub-industry is not critical, but is meant to guide your choice of industry. However, industry selection is necessary for proper benchmarking.
• Subscribers are free to pick any job category and any job. In most cases, any job that is relevant to your industry will produce a salary answer. Only unlikely combinations will produce no answer (e.g., looking for nursing-category jobs at a software-industry employer).
• Simply choose the industry heading that best matches your organization by what your organization, as a whole, does or produces. If you cannot find a satisfactory match within the sub-industries, you may select an industry heading.

Signup Step 4. Click the Continue button on the lower right of the page to advance.

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Registration and Login [back to top]
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• If you have previously begun the registration process (but not finished it by choosing a password), your email may misleadingly appear in the Log In box. In this case you should delete it and enter it in the Register Now box.

Search for Salaries

Step 1: Select a job category [or use Advanced Search]
Step 2: Select benchmark job(s) [view tips]
Step 3: Select a scope [view tips]

Note: The most important step in getting the salary answers you need is selecting the right benchmark job.

Advanced Search Step B: Select a search method
There are three search methods available in the Salary Wizard Pro Advanced Search.

Using "Any" job searches (Also known as "Or" Searches)
"Any" word searches return jobs which match at least one of the keywords without requiring that all be matched. For example, if you search for "Accountant 2-4 years," then you will view a list of jobs that match "Accountant," or "2-4," or "years." "Any" searches return the broadest results. Note that alternate job titles are included in the search results.

Using "All" job searches (Also known as "And" searches)
"All" searches require that the results contain all of the requested keywords but do not require the words to appear in the order requested. For example, if you search for "Accountant 2-4 years," then you will view a list of jobs that match each category: "Accountant," and "2-4," and "years."

Using "Exact Phrase" Searches
"Exact phrase" search results will match all keywords in the order they were requested. These searches are very precise. You may need to broaden your search method if you are unable to locate a position based on an "exact phrase" search.

Advanced Search Step C: Select a search area
Once you enter a search phrase and select a search method, you will need to identify a search area. Salary Wizard Pro provides three search areas to help you receive the most accurate results. You may search across job titles, job descriptions, or both.

·         Benchmark the job, not the person in the job.

·         Benchmark based on job description, rather than job title.

·        Focus on the essentials of the job description, rather than small differences. Benchmark jobs have simplified descriptions designed to be independent of any employer's industry, size and location.

·        Let scope-selection perform its role. Let the scope (see Step 3), rather than the job, reflect differences across industries, company sizes, and locations.

·         Match the essentials closely. A benchmark job description should contain at least 80 percent and no more than 120 percent of the intended job's responsibilities.

·         Don't force a match. Blend jobs instead. [Learn more about the Hybrid Job Report]

·         Blend jobs judiciously. It is possible and legitimate to create hybrid benchmark jobs by combining two or more benchmark jobs. Begin this process by selecting the jobs you would like to combine. Once you have viewed the report for jobs priced separately, you will be offered the option of blending them together. [Go to Hybrid Job Report]

·         Let scope factors work together. Scope dimensions tend to "cure" the shortcomings of each other. If an industry seems too vague, consider how size and location help pinpoint companies like yours.

Example: Small electronics makers in Silicon Valley, California, might ask how many big, mature, "low-tech" companies are included in the Manufacturing -- Durable industry (the closest match for electronics makers). Without complete scoping, the answer might be "too many." But when the scope is limited to just a high-tech center like San Jose, or Oakland in California, and limited only to employers of size 100 - 200 FTEs, the fully-scoped answer is truly focused on companies like a small electronics maker.

·         Designate scopes that constitute the relevant recruiting market for the positions being priced: right job, right industry, right company size, right geographic area.

·         Different positions may be benchmarked against different scopes depending on the relevant recruiting market and specific role the position fills in your organization.

·         Consider the employee group being priced. It is normal to designate different scopes for different employee groups.

Example: Many lower-paid employee groups primarily reflect geography (so metropolitan area scopes are best) with industry and company size being less important. In contrast, executive compensation tends to strongly reflect industry and company size but geography is less important.

·         Purchase additional scopes and generate comparison reports for the positions being priced to become familiar with the effects of alternative scope factors.

·         Select a default scope for the Quick Report option by clicking the associated "Go" button from your "Current Scope Permissions" list.

When selecting an industry as a component of scope, keep in mind these definitions:

Aerospace and Defense: The Aerospace & Defense industry includes companies that manufacture aircraft and aircraft parts, guided missiles and space vehicles, defense electronics, and other related aerospace/defense components and systems, as well as companies that provide services such as aircraft repair and maintenance.

Biotechnology: The Biotechnology industry includes companies involved with drug discovery and production, research, and gene mapping. It also includes organizations who manufacture drug and research products including: vaccines, ointments, and tablets.

Business Services: Business services includes information services (property management, building maintenance, real estate, rental car agencies, etc.), professional and business services (accounting, tax professionals, advertising, consulting, employment, law, etc.), engineering, architectural,; and miscellaneous services (printing, data processing, environmental, office services, and others).

Chemicals: This industry includes makers of basic and intermediate chemicals, specialty chemicals, agricultural chemicals, petrochemicals, plastics and fibers, and paints and coatings.

Construction: In addition to basic construction work, this category also includes electrical services, HVAC, plumbing, and similar work.

Education, Government, and Nonprofit: This category includes education (schools, libraries, etc.), government, and nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations (museums, research organizations, religious institutions, zoos, etc.).

Energy and Utilities: This industry includes energy (oil, gas, exploration, pipelines, refineries, etc.), metals and mining, and utilities (natural gas, electricity, water, etc.).

Financial Services: The Financial Services industry includes banks, investment bankers and brokerage firms, asset management firms, investment and venture capital firms, mortgage bankers, consumer lenders, commercial lenders, and leasing companies.

Healthcare: Healthcare includes medical, dental, healthcare equipment, healthcare services, hospitals, distributors, etc.

Hospitality and Leisure: Hospitality and Leisure includes hotel and motel companies, travel agencies, tour operators, casinos and other gaming establishments, gaming equipment makers, sporting activities companies (golf courses, bowling alleys, etc.), and sports leagues and teams. It also includes restaurants, catering services, and companies that supply food to restaurants.

Insurance: The Insurance industry includes life, health, property, casualty, and title insurance companies; it also includes insurance brokers and reinsurance companies.

Internet Businesses: Internet businesses include business-to-consumer and business-to-business sites, e-solutions and consulting, information resources and portals, and other businesses that use the Internet as the primary distribution medium for their products and services.

Media: The Media industry includes radio and TV broadcasters, motion picture, movie theater, and music companies, newspaper, periodical, and book publishers.

Manufacturing - Durable: Manufacturing - Durable comprises computer and office equipment; electronics and electronics equipment, circuit boards, instruments, photography equipment, semiconductors, and the like. It also includes miscellaneous manufacturing businesses including automobiles, trucks, building products, machinery, furnishings, appliances, wood, stone, and others.

Manufacturing - Nondurable: This industry includes food and beverage, tobacco, paper and allied products, including packaging, and miscellaneous nondurable goods such as apparel, cosmetics, household products, textiles, and the like.

Pharmaceuticals: The Pharmaceuticals Industry includes companies involved with the manufacturing, extracting, processing, and packaging of chemical materials to be used as medications for humans and/or animals.

Retail and Wholesale: This field includes retail businesses such as apparel, auto dealers, department stores, discount stores, food, furniture, and specialty retailers, as well as wholesalers such as distributors of groceries, hardware, equipment, etc.

Software and Networking: Software and Networking includes computer software and services such as applications, e-commerce, ISPs, information technology consulting, systems integration, Web hosting, and the like.

Telecommunications: Telecommunications includes cable, networking, satellite, and wireless services; as well as telephone services including fiber optics, landline, telephony, etc.

Transportation: Transportation includes airlines, marine, railroad, trucking, and similar businesses.

*FTEs is an abbreviation for full-time equivalents (employees).

Company Sizes Reported in Salary Wizard Pro
Salary Wizard Pro lets the user specify a company size based on units of measure typical for that industry (e.g., revenues, number of employees (FTEs), or total assets) and compare data for companies of all sizes. Below is a summary of the three size measurements and the available categories within each.

	Revenue	FTEs	Assets
	< $50M	< 100 100 - 200	< $1B $1B-$2B

Company Sizes NOT Reported in Salary Wizard Pro
Because it is designed for small businesses, Salary Wizard Pro does not currently report data for the following company sizes which are found in other Salary.com premium products, such as the Personal Salary Report, the Job Valuation Report, Compensation Market Studies, and CompAnalyst. Please consider one of these other premium products when your needs extend to recruiting markets with participants of these larger sizes.

	Revenue	FTEs	Assets
	$50M - $200M $200M - $500M $500M - $1B $1B - $3B $3B - $5B > $5B ALL	200 - 500 500 - 1,000 1,000 - 3,000 3,000 - 7,500 > 7,500 ALL	$2B-$5B $5B-$10B $10B-$25B > $25B ALL

Understand Your Answer

Interpreting your answers (Base, TCC, #orgs, #incs, and low/mid/high values)
Adjusting your answer (Saving lists; Modifying hourly/annual rates, effective date, and percentiles)
Reporting options (Single- Vs Multiple-job formats and optional reports)
Printing, emailing and exporting to Excel
Creating hybrid jobs

• Base (Base pay). The fixed portion of compensation paid for an employee's fulfillment of a job's essential functions. Base pay does not include differentials, premiums, overtime, benefits, or any pay element other than the base salary rate. Note: By default, it is expressed as an annual value based on a 2,080 hour year for full-time positions and 1,000 hours for part-time positions, but can be adjusted (see below) to be expressed as an hourly value.
• TCC (Total Cash Compensation). The combined value of base pay plus short term incentives (STI) such as bonuses, incentives, and commissions, as actually paid, regardless of incentive plan eligibility. Note: The TCC figures shown include data from jobs which were not eligible for STI and data from incumbents who earned no STI (even though eligible). In these cases, the value of the STI was $0 and TCC was equal to Base pay.
• #orgs (Number of organizations). The number of best-matched employer organizations whose data were used to produce the composite pay data shown. Data from additional organizations (potentially thousands of organizations) beyond the value shown were used to "cross-check" the values for reasonableness.
• #incs (Number of incumbents). The number of best-matched individual jobholders whose data were used to produce the composite pay data shown. Data from additional incumbents (potentially tens of thousands) beyond the value shown were used to "cross-check" the values for reasonableness.
• 25th% (Twenty-fifth percentile). The lowest quarter of salaries for this job fall below the twenty-fifth percentile. The "middle half" of people in this job have salaries that fall between the 25th and 75th percentile.
• 50th% (Fiftieth percentile or median). The lower half of salaries for this job fall below the fiftieth percentile while the upper half are above it. The 50th percentile is the most widely-used measure of the "middle" of the possible pay values for a job.
• 75th% (Seventy-fifth percentile). The highest quarter of salaries for this job are above the seventy-fifth percentile. The "middle half" of people in this job have salaries that fall between the 25th and 75th percentile.
• Avg. (Average). The sum of all salaries divided by the number of salaries. This value is less widely-used than the 50th percentile (above), because it can be skewed higher or lower by a few unusual values.
  

• Job. The list of jobs shown on the results page can be placed in the List Manager for use in later searches.

Modify Rate and Aging

• Annual Vs Hourly. By default, all pay is expressed in annual values (assuming a 2,080 hour year for full-time positions and a 1,000 hour year for part-time). To divide the annual pay by the annual hours, select "hourly" and click "Modify." To return to annual values for the current period, click "Reset."
• Age data to (target calendar month) by Annual aging factor. By default, all pay is expressed as of the current month. To adjust the annual pay for the passage of time and the expected or historical wage-inflation rate select a target date, an annual aging factor, and click "Modify". To return to annual values for the current period, click "Reset."
• Job match adjustment (single job report only). When an employer's actual job differs in its responsibility by +/- 5% to 20% users may apply a job match adjustment. To evaluate a job whose actual responsibilities are 5% less than those in the benchmark job, enter "-5%" in the adjustment box and click "Modify." To return to the benchmark values, click "Reset."

Modify Report Percentiles

• Employers typically target the center of their compensation ranges at the 50th percentile. However, there are good reasons why some employers would target other percentiles, and Salary Wizard Pro lets users select the low/middle/high values most appropriate to their needs.
• For example, a fast-growing company with a strong stock option plan may choose to target base pay lower and might choose the 20th, 40th, and 60th percentiles. A large utility or nonprofit may choose to target pay higher.
• Salary Wizard Pro permits reports to display any low/middle/high values in percentages ranging (in 5% increments) from 10th percentile to the 90th percentile.
• To change the default values, select new values from the drop-down menus and click "Modify." To return to the default values of 25th/50th/75th percentile, click "Reset."

Reporting Options [back to top]

There are two different summary reports, depending on whether a single job or multiple jobs were selected:

• Summary Report: Single Job. The top third of the report displays the criteria searched and the job description and alternative job titles for single position reports. The main section of the report displays the base pay and total cash compensation (TCC) for that position. The pay ranges are represented according to the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles (unless others are chosen by the user), and the average. The report displays the number of organizations and incumbents surveyed.
• Summary Report: Multiple Job . This report displays the selected scope and a quick overview of the base pay and total cash compensation for the selected positions. The pay ranges are presented according to the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles (unless others are chosen by the user), and the average. The report displays the number of organizations and incumbents surveyed. A single-job report can be displayed by clicking on any job title in a multiple job report.

View Optional Reports

Note: The jobs (or a single job and its description) selected and reported in the summary report, will be carried through to the optional reports described below, along with any modifications made while viewing the summary report (such as selecting hourly values or different report percentiles).

• Full-page summary report. A reformatted summary report where the right-hand menu bar is removed to permit an expanded format for the the main section of the report.
• Industry comparison. This report compares the compensation information from the summary report across any of the industries to which the user subscribes.
• Size comparison. This report compares the compensation information from the summary report across the two FTE size ranges (<100 FTEs and 100-200 FTEs), but only where the user has subscribed to both.
• Geographic comparison. This report compares the compensation information for the selected job within different geographic areas and locations. The pay ranges are presented according to the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, and the average. The report displays the number of organizations and incumbents surveyed.
• Job description report. This straightforward report displays the benchmark job description for all of the positions appearing in the summary report.

Creating a Hybrid Job Report (available only from Summary Report: Multiple Job)
The hybrid job report allows users to blend compensation data from two or more benchmark jobs in order to create an unique market price for a hybrid job. To create a hybrid job, begin by selecting the jobs that are related to the job that you need to hybridize--including jobs which supervise or are supervised by the potential hybrid.

Once the related jobs have been selected and a summary report has been produced, click on "Hybrid job report" from the list titled "View Optional Reports." The hybrid job report has the following elements:

• Hybrid job title. While not required to create a preview report, each final hybrid job report requires that users create a title for their hybrid job
• Comments. Each final hybrid job report requires comments. Suggested topics for comments include a user's process for creating and using a given hybrid job.
• Include Checkbox. Basic salary information for any checked job will be included in the final hybrid job report, even if its weighting in the hybrid is zero. Salary.com recommends that users err on the side of including the jobs they considered in their final hybrid job report. Even "rejected" jobs not included in the final hybrid can often help put the final hybrid into context
• Benchmark Jobs are standardized jobs prepared by Salary.com and selected by the user for their relevance to an actual job. It is sometimes helpful to look not only at a hybrid's components, but also at the jobs which will be immediately above or below the hybrid job in an organization's reporting structure or job-worth hierarchy. In this way, a complete picture of the hybrid and its relative value to an employer can be formed.
• Prem/discount adjustment (Job match discount or premium). This is a job-match adjustment. Even within a hybrid, it is possible that the component jobs are somewhat over- or under-matched to their corresponding part in the actual job. Salary.com recommends that adjustments, if any, be limited to +/- 5% to 20%. If a job's match needs to be adjusted more than 20%, then it cannot really be said to be a "match" and should not be used directly (but may be used to provide context).
• Weight. The weight applied to a particular when averaging its salary together with the other components of the composite. Jobs selected for reference should be given no weight. The weight may be thought of as a percentage "50-50" or as a ratio "1 to 1."
• Preview summary. This selection creates a mathematically-complete composite in a popup window, without requiring that the hybrid job title or comments be completed.
• Get report. After selecting jobs for inclusion, adjusting for their job match and assigning a weight (if any), and after entering a hybrid job title and comments, the hybrid job report is ready for generation.

Note: While a hybrid job report cannot be saved within the Salary Wizard Pro, the list of selected jobs can be saved. This is done as described under "Save this List."

Opening the file will display the spreadsheet in your browser window. You will need to select "File" and then "Save as" from the menu options to save the report. When you are saving, Salary.com recommends that you choose "MS Excel Worksheet" from the "Save as type" option. Saving the file will save a copy of the report directly to your computer. Enter a report name and ensure that the MS Excel Worksheet option is selected when saving.

Some companies utilize a firewall that prevents employees from downloading files from the Internet. When you export a report in Salary Wizard Pro, you are downloading a file from Salary.com or secure.salary.com. If you are unable to export a report, please contact a Salary Wizard Pro representative. You may do so by using the "Feedback" link found at the top or bottom of most pages.

List Manager