Periodically, we ask three HR managers how they’d handle a difficult situation at work. Today’s problem: Employees are surfing the Web and finding their salaries are too far below the Web “estimates” for their jobs.

The scene 
“This is enough to make me want to shut down our Internet connection,” VP Paul Barker announced as he stepped into the office of HR manager Lynne Argos.   

“Someone downloading something they shouldn’t?” Lynne  asked.   

“Not exactly,” Paul continued. “But this is the third time this month someone’s walked into a performance review with ‘average’ salary figures taken off some Web site.”

“Let me guess,” Lynne  said. “Those figures always show the person should get a big raise, right?”

 Unrealistic figures?   
” You got it,” Paul answered. “Then, the supervisor has to defend pay scales here, and it gets ugly from there.”  

Lynne turned toward her computer and punched in a URL as she spoke: “I’ve looked at some of those salary sites. Most of them seem off-base to me, from what I know of pay rates for various jobs. Here, this one, for instance, shows customer service people making about 30% more than what we pay - that’s unrealistic. They obviously do that to get people to start job-hunting at those sites.”   

“Sure, but no one wants to believe that,” Paul groaned. “They’d rather think that we’re low-balling them on pay.”   

“It’s bad for business if everyone walks around thinking that way,” Lynne  said.   ”I’m concerned about that,” Paul agreed. “We pay people fairly. But I don’t know how to change their perception.”   

If you were Lynne, what would you recommend to Paul?   

Teresa Prenger, personnel manager, New Bremen, OH 
What Teresa would do: In this situation,  you have to provide employees and  managers with some information on how  you arrive at salaries. In our case, we use data from regional industry associations.  That’s a lot more accurate than what you’ll get off a Web site. 
Reason: Even your managers may not know how salaries are set at your company,  so it doesn’t hurt to make sure everyone’s  aware of the process for determining pay.  That can overcome the false impression they’re getting. 

Allison Donley, HR manager, West Grove, PA 
What Allison would do: That can  be difficult, especially if you’re a small  company, like us. We try to explain that we offer other benefits besides salary - such as  flexible hours and a family-friendly  atmosphere - that make up for what  the big companies might be paying. 
Reason: You need to highlight the  positives of working for your company  and explain that every company, even the  higher-paying ones, have their negatives.    

Linda Russo, HR manager, Holden, MA 
What Linda would do: I can tell you how  we handle it.  Once a year, we provide employees with  a statement that totals the dollar value of  their benefits and salary. That’s our way of showing them what they’re really making -  salary plus vacation, sick time, retirement  contributions, etc.
Reason: I’m skeptical about those salary  figures on the Web, but I suspect in some  instances they’re including the costs of  benefits, too. When employees see how our figures match up, they get a better  picture of what we offer. 

Tags: Pay, performance review, salaries, Web