Salary Benchmarking Tools

Our latest State of Global Compensation Report - featuring equity insight from our partners Carta - just dropped, and this one is led by Jessica, Deel’s own Head of Global Compensation. Jess shapes Deel’s comp strategy and has been foundational to how we think about fairness and competitiveness across 150+ countries. This new edition gives HR and comp leaders real, actionable insights on how to navigate a fast-changing pay landscape. Highlights: - Equity is going global. With Carta’s data, we’re seeing ownership become a powerful way to build wealth and alignment across borders, especially in Brazil and India. - AI and tech roles are redefining pay norms. Specialized talent is commanding 20–25% premiums, pushing teams to rethink comp structures. - Gender pay gaps persist, but are progressing in countries like Brazil and Colombia shows what’s possible with transparency and intentional hiring. - Contractor markets are maturing. Countries like Argentina and Mexico are thriving hubs for flexible, high-skill talent. If you’re building or scaling a global team, Jessica’s insights offer a practical roadmap for fair, data-driven compensation design. Read on 👉 https://lnkd.in/dtmXytds

When Rajiv was offered a CEO role at a mid-sized tech company, the headline number looked impressive — nearly 40% higher than his current pay. But when he unpacked it, he realized: The fixed pay was modest. A big chunk came as ESOPs vesting over 4 years. The bonus was tied to aggressive targets that depended on a market expansion not yet tested. On paper, it was a dream. In reality, it was the board’s way of testing his skin in the game. This is the politics of executive compensation. It’s not just salary — it’s strategy. Companies use pay structures to align incentives, retain leaders, or quietly signal risk. Don’t just look at the CTC headline. Break it down. Ask: Is this pay designed to retain me, motivate me, or test me? Negotiate not just for today’s number, but for tomorrow’s value.

🚀 Have entry-level salaries in India really improved over the past 25 years? Here’s what the data shows across sectors — including high-end research. Over the past few weeks, I dug into salary trends for fresh graduates — not just in tech or business, but in core engineering, manufacturing, healthcare, finance, government, and academic research. The results are a lesson in economics and policy. Let’s keep it simple: If you earned ₹2 lakh per year in 2000, you’d need at least ₹6.4 lakh in 2025 just to keep pace with inflation (using a 3.2× multiplier for 220% cumulative inflation). So, how have starting salaries trended in real terms? 💻 IT & Engineering: 2000s: ₹2–3L 2025: ₹3.5–4L Result: ❌ Below inflation. Despite growth in tech, oversupply of engineers kept fresher pay almost flat in real terms. 🏗️ Core Engineering/Manufacturing: 2000s: ₹1.8L 2025: ₹4.0L Result: ❌ Still below inflation. 🏦 Finance (Analyst/CA/Bank PO): 2000s: ₹3–4L 2025: ₹6–10L Result: ❌ Most roles are below inflation. Only a few private sector jobs approach parity. 🏥 Healthcare (MBBS Doctors): 2000s: ₹1.8L 2025: ₹7.0L Result: ✅ Slightly ahead of inflation in urban/private setups. Rural/government pay still trails workload. 🏛️ Government / PSU: 2000s: ₹1.8L 2025: ₹6.5L Result: ✅ Above inflation. 6th and 7th Pay Commissions significantly improved real incomes. 🎓 MBA (Top B-Schools): 2005: ₹7.5L 2025: ₹31L Result: ✅ Above inflation. Tier-1 MBAs remain scarce and in high demand. 🔬 High-End Research & Academia: PhD Fellowship: 2000s: ₹0.8L 2025: ₹4.5L Result: ✅ 460% growth, above inflation (driven by major fellowship hikes). Entry Govt Scientist/Engineer (ISRO, DRDO, CSIR): 2000s: ₹1.8L 2025: ₹9.0L Result: ✅ 400% growth, well above inflation (Pay Commissions, R&D focus). Assistant Professor (IITs, IISc): 2000s: ₹2L 2025: ₹13L Result: ✅ 550% growth, among the best in India (reflecting talent attraction in higher education). Private R&D (Pharma/Biotech/Tech Labs): 2000s: ₹4L 2025: ₹12L Result: ⚠️ Matches inflation, but outliers in AI/data science do better. What does all this mean? 1️⃣ Where graduate supply far exceeds demand (IT, engineering), real salaries have actually dropped. 2️⃣ Where talent is scarce or policy stepped in (elite MBA, government, research), salaries have risen well above inflation. 3️⃣ In research and academia, major policy changes and advocacy made a real difference in recent years. This is a reminder that salary isn’t just about “skills” — it’s about supply, demand, and the value the market (or government) puts on your work. If India wants to create real income growth, we need more quality jobs, relevant upskilling, and continued investment in research and innovation. I write about #artificialintelligence | #technology | #startups | #mentoring | #leadership | #financialindependence   PS: All views are personal Vignesh Kumar

So much data out today. Hit the bell in my profile and select "all", if you want to be notified about the PMI and US jobs data later. But let's start with the UK labour market report, which shows further declines in employment and slowing private sector pay, which still overstates the outlook for private sector pay growth. Slide 1 shows employment falling in every region. Slide 2 shows all the key age groups are now experiencing declines in employment with young and older workers most at risk. Slide 3, shows a sharp decline in retail employment, on a seasonally adjusted basis. This likely overstates how bad things are as there has been a pattern recently of the prior month's numbers being revised up next month (which happened again this month, improving October's numbers). But nevertheless, the point that retail employment has been consistently weak for months now is indisputable. Given various other data (such as BRC and Barclaycard) point to weak retail sales in November, this could get worse in the new year unless everyone left their Christmas shopping until December this year because of the budget. When it comes to wage growth, private sector wage growth is slowing. But even the lower private sector wage growth numbers overstate the outlook for private sector pay growth. Retail is the largest private sector employer by far, it employs 4.25 million people. The next biggest private sector category for employment is professional workers, way behind at 2.5 million. And retail is the sector currently showing the strongest wage growth year on year at 6.2% yoy. But look at slide 4. Retail pay generally experiences only one increase each year, in April, driven by the increase in the minimum wage. Last April the minimum wage rose by 6.7%, hence the 6.2% rise in the retail sector's overall wage bill. But we already know that next April the minimum wage will rise by 4.1%. So retail pay growth from April next year will fall meaningfully, bringing down the private sector pay numbers even more. It's pointless continuing to focus on the year on year retail pay numbers each month, as they only change meaningfully once a year. Focus instead on the minimum wage announcement. When retail pay growth falls to around 4% from April it will be back in line with pay growth seen in 2017-2019, when nobody was worried about inflation. But what about public sector pay growth? The largest employer in the UK is the health sector at 4.5 million. Slide 5 shows why you shouldn't read much into the year on year numbers for this sector. Pay settlements are agreed at different times of the year in the health sector and then backdated, which creates the jumps you can see in the chart. So I would ignore the year on year numbers and focus instead on this chart and how the government respond to this week's strike.

3 things every company wants to know about their pay practices + How to measure them. Pay practices can make or break your ability to attract, retain, and motivate your people. But are they healthy? Here's three critical areas every company should assess — and practical ways to measure them: 1. Pay Equity and Internal Alignment Are employees in similar roles paid equitably based on their skills, experience, and performance? How to measure: • Percentage of roles with pay disparities exceeding 5% by gender or demographic group. • Ratio of internal promotions to external hires at comparable pay levels. • Employee perception of pay fairness (e.g., survey scores). 2. Market Competitiveness How do your salaries and total rewards compare to market benchmarks? How to measure: • Percentage of roles within 10% of market median pay. • Turnover rates for high performers compared to internal average. • Offer rejection rate (bonus points if you class. critical roles) and was salary a limiting factor 3. Pay Transparency and Communication Do employees understand how their pay is determined and trust the process? How to measure: • Manager confidence in discussing pay (e.g., training completion rates or self-assessments). • Employee understanding of pay policies (e.g., survey scores or FAQs accessed). • Percentage of pay-related disputes or questions resolved within a set timeframe. Its' easier than ever to have competitive pay practices, and the lowest bar to exceed expectations on with trust, fairness, and alignment with your companies goals. What other things tell you a companies pay practices are healthy?

How are our wages changing? 👉 Wages rose 3.4% in the year to March 2025   The Wage Price Index (WPI) rose 0.9 per cent in the March quarter 2025, and 3.4 per cent annually, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Annual wage growth ticked up for the first time since the June quarter 2024. The 3.4 per cent increase in wages for the year to the March quarter 2025 was higher than the 3.2 per cent to the December quarter 2024, but lower than the 4.0 per cent at the same time last year.   👉 Private sector wage growth lower than public sector   Seasonally adjusted private sector annual wage growth was unchanged from the December quarter at 3.3 per cent. Annual public sector wage growth was higher than the private sector at 3.6 per cent in the March quarter 2025, up from 2.9 per cent in the December quarter 2024. In the March quarter 2025, seasonally adjusted private sector wages rose 0.9 per cent, while public sector wages rose 1.0 per cent. Private sector wage growth was influenced by administrative wage adjustments due to the Stage 3 Aged Care Work Value Case, and the Early Childhood Education and Care Worker Retention Payment. It was also impacted by regular March quarter wage and salary reviews. Wages growth in the public sector was impacted by new state-based enterprise agreements, and to a lesser degree, increases paid to aged care workers. 👉 Enterprise agreements were the main contributor to wage growth Jobs covered by enterprise agreements contributed to over half of all quarterly growth, for the first time since September 2020. The larger than usual March quarter contribution from enterprise agreement-covered jobs was mainly driven by the new state-based enterprise agreements in the public sector.

After 20+ years of recruiting in the #brake industry — and thousands of conversations with engineers, formulators, sales leaders, and executives — I've noticed something that keeps coming up: Most people in this industry have no idea what the person sitting across the table from them actually makes. That's not a knock. It's just reality. The brake world is niche enough that general salary surveys don't capture it, and most people aren't exactly comparing notes at the SAE Brake Colloquium. So we built something to fix that. The 2026 Brake Industry Compensation & Talent Report covers real-world salary ranges for the roles I recruit for every day — friction material formulators, NVH engineers, quality managers, brake sales directors, plant managers, and more. It's free. No strings attached. Just good data for an industry that deserves better benchmarks. Download it here: https://lnkd.in/giHMH-kr If you're a hiring manager building an offer or a candidate weighing your options, this was built for you.

Global Compensation Is Evolving Fast — Here’s What HR Leaders Need to Know Deel’s new State of Global Compensation Report offers one of the most comprehensive looks at how pay is changing across 150+ countries and 300,000+ worker contracts. 🌎 Key findings: Global leaders remain consistent: Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. continue to offer the highest compensation across roles. Sweden and Norway now rival the U.K. in pay competitiveness. ▪️ AI is redefining pay structures: Just as data science did a decade ago, AI roles are fragmenting into specialized functions — from finance to HR to product. These niche roles now command 20–25% salary premiums above market averages due to scarce benchmarks. ▪️ Inflation is reshaping pay strategies: In regions like Turkey and Argentina, frequent economic changes have led companies to favor one-time cash payments over base pay increases. ▪️ Equity is rising globally: Technical roles, especially in emerging markets like Brazil and India, are seeing a sharp rise in equity-heavy packages. The U.S. still leads in total equity value, but Canada and France are catching up fast. ▪️ AI & ML engineers’ pay is surging: At the 90th percentile, salaries are growing even faster than the median, showing just how intense the talent war has become. 💡 Takeaway for HR leaders: To stay competitive, rethink compensation as a  strategic differentiator—not just a cost. Build flexible, localized pay structures, benchmark globally, and explore equity and one-time incentives to balance financial sustainability with talent attraction. 📊 Read the full report to see how your pay strategy stacks up: https://lnkd.in/e8jhX9K6 #GlobalCompensation #HRLeadership #FutureOfWork #AI #PayEquity #Deel #Carta

Navigating Pay Trends with Mercer’s Total Remuneration Survey — Insights from Cairo 2025 💼📊 The Mercer Total Remuneration Survey (TRS) session in Cairo provided an in-depth look into how organizations are recalibrating compensation strategies amid ongoing inflation and currency volatility. 🔹 Robust Benchmarking: Mercer’s TRS now spans 438 companies and 200,000 employees in Egypt, part of a 25-million-record global database — a reliable benchmark for both multinationals and local firms. 🔹 Pay Trends 2025: The projected salary movement for 2025 is 20%, exceeding the referenced inflation rate (19.7%) for the first time in years — a signal of renewed confidence and retention focus. 🔹 Functional Pay Insights: “Same incumbent” analysis shows an average 25% increase across roles, with professionals recording the highest median growth (43%). 🔹 Industry Differentiation: Life Sciences and Chemicals continue to outperform the General Market on Total Cash Compensation, while FMCG & Retail remain below median. 🔹 Benefits & Allowances: Car and transport allowances saw steady rises, aligning with cost-of-living pressures and vehicle price inflation. 🔹 Performance Pay Gap: Actual payouts remain below targets since 2022, underlining ongoing performance pressure across sectors. A key takeaway was Mercer’s call for companies to build their own internal inflation indices reflecting their employee demographics — ensuring global alignment without losing local relevance. The TRS remains a vital tool — a compass for compensation navigation — helping organizations maintain competitive pay positioning in turbulent economic waters. #Mercer #Compensation #PayTrends #HRAnalytics #EgyptMarket #AhmedFarahat

💡 Don’t let “Fixed Pay” fool you — it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Many professionals, especially while switching jobs, compare offers based purely on the base salary. But the truth? Your total compensation = Base Salary + Stocks + Bonuses + Perks + Long-term benefits. Let’s break it down with an example 👇 --- 📍 Person A Fixed Pay: ₹70L ESOPs: Worth ₹20L on paper Looks fantastic at first glance. But here’s the reality: ➡️ ESOPs only turn into money when the company buys them back or goes public (IPO). ➡️ Until then, they remain “paper wealth” — not cash in hand. --- 📍 Person B Fixed Pay: ₹50L RSUs: ₹15L per year (vested annually) ESPP: 15% discount on company shares RSU refreshers every year Here’s what changes the game: ✅ RSUs are from a listed company, meaning they’re already liquid and have market value. ✅ ESPP gives a guaranteed 15% gain the moment you purchase shares. ✅ Annual refreshers mean your stock grant grows over time. Over 4–5 years, Person B could end up earning more than Person A — despite having a smaller fixed pay on paper. --- 💭 The Takeaway When evaluating job offers: Look beyond the fixed pay Understand the type of stock benefit (ESOP vs RSU) Check the company’s stage, liquidity, and refresh policies Factor in perks like ESPP, bonuses, health cover, etc. Because a high fixed salary today may not beat a smart total rewards package that compounds your wealth tomorrow. 📌 Don’t just chase the highest number. Chase the smartest structure. #CareerGrowth #TotalCompensation #SalaryNegotiation #JobOfferTips #WealthBuilding