What if my company doesn't know the market value of my job?

Q. I have been trying to contact my human resource department to get a fair market value (pay range) for the position I have held for 6 years. My HR department has told me they do not have the fair market value of my position. The bank I work for does have pay ranges and I have asked for those, but the HR department said the pay ranges do not mean anything because they overlap.

How can I find out what I am worth? How can I get this information from my employer to compare other positions in my area?

A. Pay ranges and pay grades are tools companies use to help them administer their pay programs. Companies are not required to publish their pay ranges; they are not even required to design them.

One way of finding how much your job is worth is to match your job to one of the jobs in the Salary Wizard or purchase a Personal Salary Report. Once you have determined what you are worth, print out the information and set up some time to review it with your manager.

Ask your manager how your company determines the appropriate values for its jobs. Do they market-price jobs? If so, how frequently do they go through the process? If your manager doesn't have the answer to all your questions, mention that you plan to have the same conversation with the HR department.

The company may or may not show you its numbers in response to your showing them yours. Either way, use this opportunity to learn more about your company's pay practices. If the company has no formal pay programs in place, ask what the process is if you want your job to be reevaluated.

Good luck.

- Erisa Ojimba, Certified Compensation Professional