One of the biggest, most common struggles business owners have when hiring for an open position is deciding on a salary.
While salary doesn’t mean everything, it is an important consideration candidates take into account. Whether they want to continue the lifestyle they are accustomed to or they want to improve it, salary matters, and certainly weighs into the decision of whether to apply for your open position or accept your offer.
Employers need to find that delicate balance between what’s competitive, what the industry standards are, the candidate qualifications, and what they can afford.
Here are a few guidelines to consider when determining a salary range that’s fair for all.
Create a Solid Position Profile
A Position Profile is a more than just a job description. It’s a detailed document that describes the position responsibilities, qualifications, company, company values, and company culture. We recommend that you include the salary range in the Position Profile as well.
A Position Profile has the power to draw qualified Superstars to apply and repels the candidates who are not a good fit.
Think critically about the value this position brings to your company, and what it would free you up to do if you didn’t have to perform these tasks yourself. Think about the possible revenue this position could bring to your company. Would they pay for themselves? By determining the value the position will bring, you can get a better idea of compensation best practices.
Do Your Research
Determine the salary range of this position in other comparable companies. This will help you understand how the candidate’s experience and qualifications impact the salary expectation. Websites such as Glass Door, Indeed and LinkedIn can offer valuable information about what other companies are paying for a similar position. You could also ask industry peers.
Consider Your Location
Your location matters. A company based in a large city will be able to offer a higher salary for a position than a company based in a rural city. The higher cost of living in a big city merits the higher salary expectation, but you could use a cost of living calculator to determine what would be equivalent in your region.
Consider Your Company Size
A larger company with more resources to pull from would be able to offer a higher salary than that of a small company. The larger company’s position may encompass broader responsibilities, too, which would merit higher compensation.
Other Benefits
There’s certainly more value to a job offer than just the salary. Most employees are interested in health benefits, dental, retirement, vacation, and continuing education.
Identifying with the company culture and believing in its core values is important, too, and you can’t put a price tag on that. A study conducted by a Glassdoor survey reported by CNBC revealed that 56% of workers ranked a strong workplace culture higher than salary, and 73% said they would not apply to a company unless they believed in the company’s core values.
Build the range before you post the job
A salary range is three numbers, not one: the floor you would pay someone who meets the bar, the midpoint you expect to pay a solid hire, and the ceiling you would stretch to for someone clearly above the bar. Decide all three before the first conversation. A range invented mid-negotiation is a range you will lose.
Keep the spread sensible. For most roles the ceiling sits fifteen to twenty-five percent above the floor. Much wider and the number stops guiding anything. Much narrower and you have no room to reward a genuinely stronger candidate.
Check the range against the people you already employ
Market data tells you what the outside world pays. It does not tell you what happens inside your business when the new hire starts. Before you commit, look at what the people already doing comparable work earn. If the new number lands well above them, you have two decisions to make, not one, and the second will find you whether you plan for it or not.
This is the part most founders skip, and it is the most common reason a good hire creates a bad quarter.
What to do when the right person is above your range
It happens, usually with the seat that matters most. Three honest options:
- Pay it, and adjust the seat. If they are worth more, give them more to own so the number matches the scope.
- Close the gap with something other than base. A performance bonus tied to outcomes you both agree on, or equity where that fits, moves the total without breaking your internal bands.
- Walk away. Stretching well past your ceiling for a role you cannot afford to repeat creates a problem twelve months out, when the next hire asks the same question.
What does not work is hiring them at your ceiling and hoping they do not find out where everyone else sits.
Paying for a second in command
The hardest range to set is the one for the person who runs the business day to day, because the title varies and the market data is thin. We publish current benchmarks by region and role level, including bonus and equity norms, in our Integrator and COO salary guide.
If you would rather have a number for your specific seat, tell us about the role below and our team will come back with a range for your market and company size.
Deciding on an appropriate salary range for your candidate is about doing some research and finding a balance. How do you determine a salary range for the positions in your company?
