'New, improved' salary survey comingcontinued from page 1 Are you hurting your bottom line by overpaying your employees?
Or are you losing good workers because you’re paying less than your
competition? You’ll be able to find out how your store’s
compensation practices compare to those of other retailers in your area
and around the state when you participate in the Michigan Retailers Association’s
upcoming salary, wage and benefits survey. “The survey is designed to provide members with the
critical information they need when making decisions about staff salaries,
wages and benefits,” said Bruce Johnson, of Gazelle Sports in Kalamazoo.
Johnson chairs the committee of MRA directors helping design the questionnaire. MRA plans to mail the survey questionnaire to all members
during the first week of June. Members who return their completed survey
by the end of June will receive a copy of the results at no cost. Members who don’t participate can purchase the report
for $75; the price will be $125 for non-members. This is the second MRA salary, wage and benefits survey.
Nearly 800 members participated in the successful first survey, conducted
in summer 2000. The new survey will provide even more practical information than the first one, Johnson explained. “The previous survey was a first for our industry
and provided a wealth of information for running your business effectively,”
said Johnson. “The new survey will provide important updates in
all compensation and benefits categories, plus add new data to make the
results even more valuable.” For the first time, the survey will: “The Board of Directors encourages every member to
fill out the survey,” said Johnson. “A high level of participation
will provide the most accurate and useful data for all retailers.” The survey project is being conducted by Lansing economist
Patrick Anderson and his firm, BBK, Ltd., together with Mitchell Research
and Communications in East Lansing. Anderson and Mitchell Research also
conducted the first survey. The questionnaires will be mailed out by MRA and returned
to Mitchell to ensure confidentiality of members’ answers. Respondents
are not asked to put their names on the questionnaires, but will fill
out a separate card so that Mitchell can inform MRA which retailers are
to receive a free copy of the report. Anderson emphasized the importance to retailers of having
the most up-to-date information for making employee compensation decisions.
“For retail operations, the cost of training, paying
and retaining their workforce is typically the number two item on their
annual profit and loss statement,” Anderson said. “In many ways,
it is the most important item, since without trained and motivated employees,
businesses simply cannot run. “Wage and salary decisions affect retailers’ costs by thousand of dollars. For example, merely adjusting the pay of a single worker by $1 an hour increases annual payroll costs by $2,600….But not paying that additional $1 an hour and losing the employee because of it can cost many times that amount.” |