Employee Compensation (in the U.S.A.)
Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright 1997-2008.
Adapted from the Field
Guide to Leadership and Supervision.
Compensation includes topics in regard to wage and/or salary programs and structures, for example, salary ranges for job descriptions, merit-based programs, bonus-based programs, commission-based programs, etc. (Also see the Related Info (including Benefits).)
Compensation is payment to an employee in return for their contribution to the organization, that is, for doing their job. The most common forms of compensation are wages, salaries and tips.
Compensation is usually provided as base pay and/or variable pay. Base pay is based on the role in the organization and the market for the expertise required to conduct that role. Variable pay is based on the performance of the person in that role, for example, for how well that person achieved his or her goals for the year. Incentive plans, for example, bonus plans, are a form of variable pay. (Some people might consider bonuses as a benefit, rather than a form of compensation.) Some programs include a base pay and a variable pay.
Organizations usually associate compensation/pay ranges with job descriptions in the organization. The ranges include the minimum and the maximum amount of money that can be earned per year in that role.
Employees have certain monies withheld from their payroll checks, usually including federal income tax, state income tax, FICA (social security) contributions, and employee contributions to the costs of certain benefits (often medical insurance and retirement).
Exempt and Non-Exempt
Jobs in organizations have two classifications, exempt and non-exempt.
Professional, management and other types of skilled jobs are classified as exempt. Exempt jobs get a salary, that is, a fixed amount of money per time interval, usually a fixed amount per month. It's not uncommon for exempt positions to receive higher compensation and benefits than non-exempt jobs, although non-exempt jobs often can make more money than exempt jobs simply by working more hours.
Unskilled or entry-level jobs are usually classified as non-exempt. Non-exempt jobs usually get a wage, or an amount of money per hour. Non-exempt jobs also get paid over-time, that is, extra pay for hours worked over 40 hours a week or on certain days of the week or on holidays.
Each job must have the same pay range for anyone performing that job, that is, one person can't have a higher maximum pay than someone else doing that same job.
Sections of This Topic Include:
Basic Information (the basics)Compensation / Salary Surveys (general and technical)
General Resources (sites with a great deal of information)
Information Focused on Nonprofits
Basic Information
Compensation: Outline and DefinitionsCompensation Planning for your Employees
Compensation / Salary Surveys
General Resources About Salary Surveys
Surfing for Salaries (from monster.com, helps to find salaries in wide range of fields)Compensation Salary Surveys
160 benchmark positions for compensation data
2002-2003 Occupational Outlook Handbook
WAGEWEB :HRPDI Home Page
List of salary survey sites
Economic Research Institute
State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
List of salary survey sites and articles
JobSmart Profession Specific Salary Surveys
List of U.S. and Canadian salary surveys
Many salary-specific surveys
Information Technology Compensation
Information WeekWageweb
J ob resources
technology survey
General Resources
American Compensation AssociationBureau of Labor Statistics
Monster.com (extensive list of salary resources)
Guide To Salary / Compensation And Human Resource / Personnel Sites
Surfing for Salaries (from monster.com)
Yahoo! Salary Comparison
Information Focused on Nonprofits
Various information for nonprofits
For the Category of Human Resources:
Related Library Topics
Recommended Books
For-Profit
Field
Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit and retain the best employees for your business. Research shows that employee turnover is often the result of poor supervision -- this book shows you how to supervise employees so that the needs of both the business and its emplyees are always being met. Includes tips and tools to effectively lead yourself, other individuals, groups and organizations. Also includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem, especially among employees of small businesses.
The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just hover your cursor over the image of the book. A "bubble" of information will be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.
Nonprofit
Field
Guide to Leadership and Supervision With Nonprofit Staff
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit and retain the best staff members for your nonprofit. Includes guidelines to effectively lead yourself (as a Board member or a staff member), other individuals, groups and the nonprofit organizations. Includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem among nonprofit staff. Explains how to cultivate a strong relationship between the Board and Execuive Director. This book is customized to nature and needs of nonprofits having extremely limited resources.
The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just hover your cursor over the image of the book. A "bubble" of information will be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.
Also See
Personal Development -- Recommended Books
Personal Productivity -- Recommended Books
Personal Wellness -- Recommended Books
Supervision -- Recommended Books
Training and Development -- Recommended Books
