How to Run a Salary Review Meeting

When it comes to salary review meetings, it's important to be prepared. This type of meeting can go really great (if prepared for in advance) or really poorly (if not). Here's how to ensure your salary review meeting is successful:

Why Run a Salary Review Meeting?

A salary review meeting is a great way to ensure that your employees are being paid fairly. It's also a good opportunity to review your company's compensation philosophy with your employees.

How Long, How Often, and Who's Invited?

This type of meeting should last about 45 minutes. It should be held annually, or as needed. Everyone who is involved in the salary review process should be invited to the meeting.

What to talk about in a Salary Review Meeting?

1. Recap of company compensation philosophy (5 min)

It's important to start the meeting by reviewing your company's compensation philosophy. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the meeting is productive.

2. The update (5 min)

The next item on the agenda should be an update on the proposed plan for how you plan on adjusting the compensation for the employee. For example, "We will be increasing your compensation by 2% effective next year."

3. The details (10 min)

The next item on the agenda should be a review of the details of the compensation data. This will help you ensure that your employees are being paid fairly and that they understand the data. For example, "Your total cash compensation is $150,000. This consists of a base salary of $125,000 and bonus of $25,000."

4. How does that update feel to you? (10 min)

The next item on the agenda should be a discussion of how the update feels to your employees. This is a great opportunity to get feedback from your employees and make sure that they are happy with their compensation. For example, "We're happy to hear that you're excited about the increase!"

5. Questions? (15 min)

The last item on the agenda should be a Q&A session. This is a great opportunity for your employees to ask questions and get clarification on the compensation data. You should expect questions like:

• "What would I need to do in order to hit the next level?"
• "Is there a title change?"
• "How do the responsibilities change?"

Salary review conversations can go really great, or really poorly – it all has to do with what’s on the agenda. Here's a template to get you started.