As an HR or compensation professional, you likely rely on a wide variety of data and insights to help make informed decisions when managing pay, setting policies, and selecting elements of the total rewards package.
This article discusses the different types of data insights available, differentiates general industry data from industry-specific data and discusses how each can enhance your decision-making, and summarizes best practices and common challenges in formulating rewards strategies.
What is general industry data?
Surveys that are categorized as a general industry salary survey, like the Mercer Benchmark Database, include data collected from companies in various industries. You will find that healthcare organizations, retailers, not-for-profits, and professional services firms have all submitted data to the survey, along with many other types of organizations. You can review the results of the data—whether it be pay data or policies and practices information—as one big conglomerate, meaning you’re including all participants, regardless of industry. Or, you can filter the data by industry, as well as other criteria, to include only a particular industry, such as retail.
As with most types of surveys and reports, the data set is aggregated based on a set of pre-established criteria. Since levels of pay as well as policies can, and do, vary based on industry as well as company size and ownership structure, data tends to be organized and scalable by industry, particularly in salary surveys.
You will find that general industry surveys tend to provide data that is common across all industries. That means if you are looking for pay data, the jobs covered in a general industry survey are going to be less specific. For example, you may find several levels of a Software Engineer in a general industry survey because, typically, regardless of the industry, a company will have a Software Engineer as part of their internal IT department. In contrast, in an industry-specific survey focused on, for example, the technology industry, like Mercer’s Comptryx or AI and Emerging Technology surveys, you would find jobs that are more specific to that industry and could include specializations such as Software Engineer– User Interface, Software Engineer – Applications, and Software Engineer – Mobile.
Data from a general industry policy and practices survey is going to give you information that reflects the most common practices, regardless of industry. For example, overtime practices and leave may be covered because that’s common across all industries, but a healthcare-specific practice, such as offering per diem pay, might not be included.
In most cases, the size of the data set, as well as the number of participants, will be larger in the general industry surveys. As mentioned, you can refine the data set to include only participants representing a specific industry (e.g., Healthcare, Manufacturing, Retail), but keep in mind, this will reduce the amount of data obtained, which sometimes causes data anomalies or masked/missing data points.
What Is industry-specific data?
Conversely, industry-specific surveys and reports include data from just one industry, or a few industries that are related (e.g., Manufacturing and Warehouse/Transportation). In these surveys you will likely find a core set of jobs that will be common in most companies (e.g., Accountant, Human Resources Generalist, Payroll Coordinator), but with fewer levels than you would find in a general industry survey.
For example, if you are seeking pay data for an Accounting Assistant, Accountant, or Manager, a general industry survey may provide pay data on multiple levels of Accountants, Supervisors, Managers, and Directors of Accounting. However, industry-specific surveys will give you much more data honed in on jobs specific to that particular industry. For example, in a salary survey specific to the Energy industry, such as the Mercer Total Compensation Survey for the Energy Sector, you will find data on multiple levels of Energy Systems Storage Engineers and Wind/Solar Energy Analysis Professionals. You will certainly not find those specific jobs listed in a general industry survey.
When to use each type of data
Whether you use industry-specific data or general industry data all depends on who you compete with for talent and how you hire. Whether it’s a matter of setting pay ranges or establishing policies, you need to consider your competition for talent in order to determine whether to rely on the general industry insights, industry-specific insights, or a mixture of both.
When it comes to salary surveys, many companies document how they apply each type of data to different segments of the employee population in their benchmark methodology. In some cases, they use only general industry data, whereas for some jobs, they use only industry-specific data, and for others they blend the data. What really matters is that there is a well thought out strategy behind it and that it’s documented. With employees demanding pay transparency, you don’t want to be caught unaware when it comes time to explaining how pay decisions are made.
Industry-specific surveys and examples
Pay practices vary widely by industry, driven by differences in skills requirements, regulatory environments, workforce models, and labor market dynamics. Mercer’s industry-specific surveys, whether policies and practices or salary surveys, capture these industry-specific nuances, such as unique pay components, skill premiums, and incentive practices, enabling organizations to benchmark roles with greater precision and confidence. Some industry-specific examples are:
Healthcare: A Registered Nurse working night shifts in an acute-care hospital may earn a base rate plus a night shift differential and a specialty premium for critical care certification. These elements are typically only visible in surveys specific to Healthcare jobs, like Mercer’s Healthcare Compensation Survey Suite and Clinical Pay Practices Survey.
Retail & Hospitality: A Store Manager may have a lower base salary but higher short-term incentive opportunity tied to store sales and customer experience metrics, while frontline associates may receive weekend or holiday shift premiums during peak seasons. This type of information would be optimally captured in a survey like Mercer’s US Retail Compensation and Benefits Survey or the US Hotel Industry Compensation Survey.
Manufacturing: While many positions in a manufacturing plant may be filled by an hourly population with a transferable skill set, positions that require specific skills or experience from Manufacturing jobs will only be found in industry-specific surveys. For example, general industry surveys will likely give you information on Quality Assurance jobs, but for job families like Tool & Gauge Inspectors, you will need industry-specific data from a survey like Mercer’s US Manufacturing & Operations survey.
Energy/Mining: Sure, you can find Engineers and Surveyors in general industry salary surveys, but when it comes time to figure out the right pay for Marine Surveyors or Gas Procurers, that’s where you’ll need a survey like the Mercer Total Compensation Survey for the Energy Industry. You’ll also be able to find answers to policy questions like uniform prep time and on-call in the Policy module of the same survey.
High-Tech: You’ve likely heard from your CIO, or the CIO’s team, that you need to compete with Microsoft and Google for your High-Tech talent. While that may be true, outside of the High-Tech industry, you’re typically going to rely on a general industry survey that includes technology jobs, like the Mercer/Gartner Information Technology salary survey. If you really do need to compete with High-Tech companies, then you are going to want to take a look at Mercer |Comptryx, which will let you know just what you have to pay to compete with those companies, as well as provide quarterly policy and practice surveys and workforce analytics.
Financial Services: The Financial Services industry covers a wide-range of organizations—from wealth management, to retail banking, to insurance. There’s certainly a variety of specialty jobs that would be covered in only industry-specific surveys, even in specific modules related to Retail Banking or Insurance, for example. Luckily, Mercer has you covered, with the Financial Services Suite of salary surveys.
How Mercer can help
Mercer’s vast catalogue of salary surveys and policy and practice reports can help you meet both your industry-specific and general industry salary survey data needs. This depth and breadth allows you to benchmark your full workforce using data that reflects how jobs are actually priced in the market, and will help you set policies that keep you aligned with the market and compliant with regulatory requirements.
All Mercer compensation and policy survey data is employer reported, not employee self reported. Data is typically submitted by compensation or HR professionals and goes through a rigorous validation process. This helps ensure accurate job matching and reliable market data you can trust when making pay decisions.
Unlike a tech platform that happens to include salary survey data, Mercer also can provide the expertise to establish a compensation philosophy, your benchmark methodology, or even market price your jobs for you! Our Consulting Services team is ready and waiting to help you solve any of your compensation or total rewards challenges.
If you are considering who to trust for your survey data, take a look at Tips for Selecting Salary Surveys.
Taking the next step
Developing your compensation philosophy and benchmark methodology is fundamental to helping you stay consistent. Where do you look if you haven’t done that yet?
Have a compensation philosophy and benchmark methodology but need to understand if it’s working?
Mercer has a vast catalogue of both general and industry-specific salary and policy surveys. Reach out to our associates who are experienced in guiding you to pick the surveys that will meet your needs. Contact us at 866-605-1031 or via email.
About the author
Rebecca Hall, Principal
Rebecca spent much of her career working in compensation in various corporate roles then transitioning to consulting with Mercer. Her current role, as the Content Leader for imercer.com, allows her to leverage her knowledge of human resources and talent strategy to create materials supporting Mercer’s Products & Services in North America.