Salary data analysis is the process of collecting, interpreting, and evaluating compensation data to understand salary trends, market competitiveness, and internal pay structures. It involves examining base pay, bonuses, benefits, job levels, skill requirements, and geographic differences to support informed compensation decisions.
For organisations operating across multiple countries, salary data analysis is crucial for ensuring fair, competitive, and compliant pay practices that align with local labour markets and global workforce strategies.
Salary data analysis uses quantitative and qualitative data to examine compensation from multiple angles. The process typically involves:
- Data collection: gathering salary data from benchmarking tools, industry surveys, job postings, HRIS systems, and government labour statistics.
- Data cleaning & validation: removing inaccurate or outdated data to ensure reliable analysis.
- Role mapping: matching internal job roles with external market benchmarks for accurate comparisons.
- Statistical analysis: using averages, medians, percentiles, and regression models to assess pay trends.
- Geographical comparison: evaluating cost-of-living, currency fluctuations, and regional skill shortages.
- Internal vs. external comparison: assessing how current salaries align with market rates.
- Equity & gap analysis: identifying pay disparities based on gender, location, or job level.
- Reporting & insights: presenting findings through dashboards or reports to guide compensation decisions.
By turning raw salary data into actionable insights, organisations can strengthen their reward strategies and support long-term workforce planning.
- Competitive pay structures: ensures salaries align with market expectations, helping attract high-quality candidates.
- Improved retention: competitive and fair compensation reduces voluntary turnover.
- Data-driven decisions: supports HR teams and leadership with objective insights.
- Pay equity compliance: helps organisations meet equal pay laws and ethical compensation standards.
- Global consistency: guides multi-country compensation frameworks with real market data.
- Budget accuracy: enables smarter forecasting and workforce planning.
- Enhanced transparency: builds trust by aligning pay decisions with evidence-based frameworks.
While closely related, the concepts differ:
- Salary benchmarking: compares internal salaries to external market rates.
- Salary data analysis: provides deeper insight into broader compensation trends, internal pay patterns, and total rewards structures.
Salary benchmarking is typically one output of a broader salary data analysis process.
At Mauve Group, we support organisations in understanding market compensation trends through our salary benchmarking services, global HR consulting, and international payroll expertise.
We help employers analyse compensation across multiple countries, ensuring their salary structures remain competitive, compliant, and aligned with global expansion goals.
With access to reliable data across 150+ jurisdictions, Mauve Group enables businesses to make confident decisions about compensation planning, hiring strategies, and global workforce costs.
- Salary benchmarking: comparing pay levels with market rates to stay competitive.
- Salary benchmarking tool: software that gathers and analyses global salary data.
- Pay benchmarking: assessing total compensation, including bonuses and benefits.
- Compensation analysis: evaluating internal pay structures and reward strategies.
- Global payroll services: managing compensation and compliance across multiple countries.
- Pay equity analysis: reviewing compensation fairness across demographic and role groups.