Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Workforce Development

Beyond Work is our line of resources for people and community leaders looking for something new and innovative outside of the day-to-day job. Read this category specifically for Workforce Development.

  • Benefits Benchmarks: North Central Alabama

    Benefits Benchmarks: North Central Alabama

    A few weeks ago, I asked the question “Are Employees Utilizing Those New Perks?” and highlighted benchmarking as a critical activity for evaluating workplace benefits. Now, we have the published results from the 2022 North Central Alabama Wage & Benefit Survey!

    First up, Average Benefit-Cost Per Employee (Annual) increased 25% over 2021. Employers reported an average of $16,608 spent annually per employee in benefits, compared to $12,459 one year ago. Some hot categories for increased benefits spending are Child Care Support, Adoption Support, Pet Insurance, and Elder Care Support. These types of benefits are increasingly attractive, and the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber Foundation is now providing the Best Place for Working Parents® program in recognition of companies that are focusing on family care.  

    Next up, 72% of companies are now offering a PTO (Paid Time Off) structure in place of set hours/days for Sick Leave, Vacation, etc. Last year, only 58% were using a PTO structure. This shift aligns with increases in Flex Time and Remote/Telework benefits as options to give some autonomy back to employees. If you’re thinking about shifting your Leave and/or PTO policies, look for a blog post coming soon from Mary Ila Ward on Flexibility and Unlimited PTO. 

    Paid Family/Parental Leave is more available, with a 17% increase in the number of employers offering any amount of leave designated specifically for family/parental leave. The median leave times in weeks jumped from 2 weeks to 4 weeks.  

    If you are in the North Central Alabama Region, how do your benefit offerings stack up against these benchmarks? 

    If you are outside of this region, where can you find local data? Check with your local Economic Development Agency and/or Chamber of Commerce to find out if local data is available. 

    Benchmark, benchmark, benchmark! 

    This wage survey covers Cullman, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, and Morgan Counties in Alabama and represents 132 company respondents in 2022. Learn more here. 

     

  • SAC Preview: Workforce Challenges and Solutions

    SAC Preview: Workforce Challenges and Solutions

    This morning I read about 3 economists who’ve been awarded the Nobel Prize for their research and impact on critical workforce issues including minimum wage, immigration, and education. Their research on minimum wage in the 1990s found that raising the minimum wage had no effect on the number of employees, showing that companies could effectively raise the minimum wage, retain top talent, and increase the number of applicants in the labor pool. That was 30 years ago. 

    We’ve come a long way, but as we find ourselves in 2021, employers struggle to find and retain talent – particularly in retail and hospitality. So, we’re changing things up. Hourly wages are increasing in our local area and throughout the US. Read these highlights from writer Gene Marks in The Guardian this week: 

    “According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly earnings of all employees in the US working for private companies rose to $30.85 in September, following large increases in the prior five months…The National Association of Manufacturers says that its members plan to increase wages 3.5% over the next year…Those businesses that accept this reality will adapt and continue to profit. They will hire good people and succeed. Those business owners that refuse to understand this simple concept simply won’t.”

    Bank of America, Walmart, Amazon, Costco, and more are raising wages for the lowest-paid workers. By raising wages, big business and small business alike are seeing benefits such as higher employee engagement, improved customer satisfaction, and better public perception. 

    As one restaurant owner said, “We put the focus on ‘staff comes first and everything else comes second’…I can’t succeed without a staff.” 

    We can make a shift together. As employers, as community leaders, we can move the needle forward and create workplaces that put People First. 

    My team’s wonderful leader, Mary Ila Ward, is speaking in-depth about Workforce Challenges and Solutions at the Southern Automotive Conference this week. I hope you’ll join us to hear her insight on the future of work.

    Learn more about SAC2021 and other upcoming events at linktr.ee/horizonpointconsulting. 

  • Your Local Wage Survey is a Gold Mine

    Your Local Wage Survey is a Gold Mine

    Does your area have a local wage and/or benefit survey? Do you participate? You should! Here’s why and how. 

    National wage reports are helpful to study the big picture of economic growth, but these reports might not (probably don’t) reflect the small picture of your business in your community. Further, a 2021 study found that U.S. workers may get 19% less than federal estimates:

    Some tools, like CompAnalyst and SHRM, offer comprehensive data (for a hefty fee) that can be helpful in determining pay ranges and comparing company wage data to industry benchmarks. We use resources like these for some larger compensation analysis projects. Even still, we use data from the local wage survey to further validate and strengthen our recommendations. 

    Community-based benchmarks are critical for organizations to attract and retain talent. Our area is heavy in aerospace and defense contractors, and the competition for talent is fierce. Many of these organizations rely almost entirely on the local wage and benefits survey to drive compensation decisions year-to-year. This year especially, organizations are looking for real-time information about how the wage and benefits landscape has changed in the last 6-12 months. 

    Now, I’ll drop a note here to acknowledge that companies with multiple locations throughout the U.S. and/or multinational operations might have more limited local decision-making power. We work with many multinational organizations in our community, and the local wage and benefits survey is the most impactful resource for local leaders to demonstrate the need for changes to their top leadership. It might take longer to move the needle, but starting with meaningful, local data goes a long way. 

    In support of my argument that local wage and benefit data is invaluable, we regularly receive questions from businesses, chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, local governments, etc., about wage trends in our area. This data is not just for wage decisions in individual companies; this data is used in city and county economic and workforce development decisions. 

    Below is a snapshot from a report we recently provided for the local chamber. They wanted to know if there had been an increase in median hourly wages, particularly in manufacturing.

    The wage and benefits survey we administer annually collects aggregate data for Production, Maintenance, and Warehouse positions. Comparing the local wage data as of 01/01/2020 with local wage data as of 01/01/2021, we were able to discern if and how much hourly wages grew for these job categories. This information helps business and community leaders make informed decisions to attract and retain people and their families. 

    So here’s my point: local wage surveys benefit you personally

    …as an employee who wants to be paid fairly 

    …as an employer who wants to attract and retain talent 

    …as a citizen who wants to live in a thriving community 

    If you hold a role at your organization with influence over internal compensation decisions, or even if you don’t, I encourage you to participate in local wage surveys on behalf of your organization. When more businesses participate, the data is more robust and meaningful for individuals, organizations, and communities. 

    If you aren’t sure if your local community offers a wage/benefit survey, a good place to start is your local economic development agency (EDA) or chamber of commerce. For our readers in North Alabama, you can learn about our work with local wage and benefit surveys here.

     

  • Inflation and Competitive Wages – What do these mean to You?

    Inflation and Competitive Wages – What do these mean to You?

    Are your company’s wages in line with the market? Inflation is often the topic of conversation in the news and in everyday conversation. I recently read an article about Social Security increases, the largest in more than a decade, is on the horizon; you can check the article out here: Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment Could be the Highest in 13 Years.

    What does that mean for individuals? It means you should know your worth, or rather, know what the going rate is for your role. I’m currently working on a wage compensation study and researched the Consumer Price Index to ensure rates were on track. It is currently 5.4%; that’s considerable. Here are a few free sources you can use to dig into wage data:

    O*Net – (enter job title, scroll down to Wage & Employment Trends, enter zip code)

    Salary.com – (look for “Individuals” What am I worth? Enter job title & location)

    What does this information mean for companies? Just this week, I’ve received more than one request for a proposal from companies wanting a compensation study. I’ve also had more than one conversation about how hard it is for companies to find employees. One way to combat that issue is to ensure you are paying at least the going rate for the positions you are seeking to fill. If you’d like to learn more about how Horizon Point can help with this, let us know! In the meantime, check out this case study from our website: Regional Wage Survey Case Study.