Conducting external market comparisons, which look at both competitive positioning in the labor market and competitive cost structures, can be a key decision-making tool for financial service sector business when developing market-based compensation schemes. The multitude and sheer complexity of new regulatory compensation requirements, and the way they relate to each other, have made conducting such comparisons much more challenging both in terms of content and methodology.

The industry-specific hkp/// Top Banks Survey is responsive to the changing needs of decision-makers in compensation management. It is particularly geared towards medium-sized and larger institutions. A steering committee of compensation professionals from participating organizations ensures the needs-based orientation of the survey.

These compensation professionals not only have quantitative data and reports at their disposal but also exciting insights into the latest market practices as the compensation survey focuses markedly on qualitative observations (compensation design and developments as well as regulatory-driven market insights, e.g. requirements resulting from CRD / InstitutsVergV) as well as classic quantitative analyses. In addition, the survey is rooted in a network of compensation experts (interest group) and provides up-to-date information and ad hoc analyses, i.e. market barometers, via a password-protected web portal. Virtual information sessions on the latest regulatory developments also complement the offering for the interest group.

The survey, developed by hkp/// group industry and compensation experts, follows a consistent methodological logic. This supports analysis and evaluation of pay in a holistic context, ranging from the management board to employee level. The transmission, storage and processing of participant data is carried out in compliance with all relevant data security and data protection requirements.

hkp/// group consultants are also on hand to help develop individual and function-specific benchmarks, such as those required when recruiting for specific management and specialist roles in the financial services sector, based on the survey’s results as well as those from our other cross-industry studies.

In addition, the hkp/// group is able to offer valuable insights into personnel costs via larger-scale compensation structure analyses and to indicate how these relate to the relevant organizational structure. Company-specific characteristics and strategies as well as the latest compensation levels of an individually-compiled comparison group are also considered. The results of such structural analyses form an important basis for top management decision-making, especially during restructuring phases but also during phases of growth and development.

With particular regard to upcoming reporting obligations concerning gender neutral compensation, the hkp/// group also offers support in the form of an evidence-based gender pay gap analysis. Our analysis method calculates an unadjusted gender pay gap as well as an adjusted pay gap considering other influence factors and provides useful insights into potential ways forward towards an integral fair pay approach. The results of such an analysis can be used for both internal and external communication purposes and enable a transparent approach to this highly relevant issue.

* Photo by Isaac Smith on Unsplash
Author Isabel Jahn

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