Compensation Analysis and Benchmarking

Teacher job satisfaction is among the chief concerns facing school administrators today. Teachers say they feel burdened by the increasing workload, especially as the academic and social-emotional needs of students continue to grow. They do not feel their compensation is commensurate with the amount of the work they do inside and outside of the classroom.

Adding to this complexity is pay transparency laws in some states including California, Colorado and New York, requiring schools to disclose wage ranges in job postings and publish the median and mean hourly rates by number of people in position, race, ethnicity, and sex. This is creating pressure for schools to evaluate their pay scales and ensure parity among their faculty and non-faculty positions.

Creative Independents is often approached by clients to assist with a strategy in order to address today’s foremost challenges. Our customized Compensation Analysis and Benchmarking Study helps a school see the full picture on compensation and understand independent school trends.

More specifically, we work with schools to evaluate their overall program and strategic goals for compensation for faculty and non-faculty positions. Utilizing a school’s existing salary scales and step system, we develop a dynamic financial model that can be updated annually in accordance with the school’s available resources and best practices for compensation increases. If a model already exists, we provide necessary updates and enhancements, and develop cost estimates to bring salaries to target over time.

Further, we benchmark with other published sources and analyze overall salary and total compensation packages for a custom grouping of cohort or aspirational schools. We also review existing handbooks, labor agreements, and other employment related policies and procedures, and offer recommendations on modifications.