"HR pays well" they said... but what constitutes "well"?

Hi Maria,

Look at GlassDoor, you can find out whatever you want regarding salaries. Really useful resource.

Thanks Teresa - I use Glassdoor like a bible ;)

To be honest (and its only my personal view) I treat Glassdoor the same way I treat the bible - the source of interesting stories but not necessarily a work of fact to be relied upon

Given Keith's remark, that is probably wise.......

Jobs have popped up on our Glassdoor page that we don't have (Research scientist was one. We really don't have any of those) and salaries that are considerably higher than we actually pay. I contacted Glassdoor about this as I thought it would cause upset amongst current employees and they refused to amend it. They said the information came from a reliable source.

Hah, I agree, Keith. I read all that's there when I am researching a company, but I do find people are prone to exaggerating their pay sometimes, and HR people in particular aren't that keen on sharing their info, so often you'll see everyone else's pay data but HR's. Another thing is that whoever left the company and left a review may have been there 25 years and benefitted from long service pay awards, so what the company offers to new recruits could be drastically different (but you wouldn't know because most job ads don't publish salaries).

From my workplace's Glassdoor things look pretty accurate from those people who reviewed us.

So to answer the exam question rather than the wider philosophical debate around intrinsic and extrinsic reward....

I would say your best bet is to see if you can get one of the detailed salary surveys that look in depth at HR salaries. this will give you your best analysis of real salaries.

My starter for ten (based on my gut instinct and no science) and perhaps slightly influenced by my South East centric views is that

A good salary for an

Entry level £18-22K. Higher in Central London. Higher end/higher if well qualified or part of some program/scheme.

Mid level - harder as covers all manner of ills. A BP likely to be 45-65K. A smaller HRD (really BP) 50-70K. Specialist roles varied very widely

Senior level  - Senior BP 55-80K, Small to Mid HRD 75-100K, Bigger HRD 100K+ Biggest HRDs 150K++

Not claiming these are right just my gut instinct of where much of the market is.

Certain sectors will traditionally pay at higher ends (Banking always used to) and certain towards lower end (public sector)

At very senior end of market parts of the public sector are artificially capped at something like 120K where as comparable jobs in the private sector would be 20-30K more. 

Thank you, Keith, I much appreciate you sharing your views (I also have a London bias if I'm honest when I think about salaries).

Fair point, Keith.

From here in the West Midlands, I'd agree with the entry point and senior values, but mid-level is much more variable. Similarly-skilled managers in either standalone or small-team leader roles can command anything from £21k to £50k.

Keith,

Exactly! I wouldn't use it on an individual company basis because it's open to, shall we say 'bias' by current and ex employees. But as a general guide to salaries for a particular role in a particular area - such as H&S managers in Dorset - I've found it really useful. It's also good for comparing jobs, for example when planning a pay scale.

Keith,

Exactly! I wouldn't use it on an individual company basis because it's open to, shall we say 'bias' by current and ex employees. But as a general guide to salaries for a particular role in a particular area - such as H&S managers in Dorset - I've found it really useful. It's also good for comparing jobs, for example when planning a pay scale.