Where pay sits against the band
Compa-ratio says how pay compares to the market anchor. Range penetration says how far through the band a worker has moved. The May sample rolls both up for all 351 workers, and the signal worth reading is the spread, never the average.
◆ Two metrics, one bandeach answers a different question.
| Metric | How it is computed | What it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Compa-ratio | Pay divided by the range midpoint. 1.00 sits at the market anchor; 0.80 to 1.20 is the common guideline band. | How pay compares to the market anchor. The merit planning number. |
| Range penetration | Pay minus range minimum, over maximum minus minimum. Zero percent at the bottom of the band, one hundred at the top. | How far through the band a worker has progressed. The headroom number. |
Midpoints are market-set rather than centered, so the two metrics can rank the same workers differently. Report both, on the basis rules the grade and range object fixes: the range currency, the range frequency, and one full-time-equivalent convention.
◆ May 2026, by departmentthe whole population, bills not averages.
| Department | Workers | Annual base bill | Midpoint bill | Compa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 143 | 21,879,000.00 | 21,450,000.00 | 1.020 |
| Technology Delivery | 112 | 15,444,800.00 | 15,680,000.00 | 0.985 |
| Support | 96 | 9,211,200.00 | 9,120,000.00 | 1.010 |
| All departments | 351 | 46,535,000.00 | 46,250,000.00 | 1.006 |
The rollup divides money by money: each department’s base bill over its midpoint bill. Technology Delivery sits under its anchor at 0.985, which is the retention question this report exists to surface. The population is the same 351 the headcount report counts. Sample values are illustrative, never client data.
◆ Reading the numbersfour signals worth more than the average.
| Signal | What it means |
|---|---|
| The distribution | Report buckets and the below-guideline count next to every average; the average alone hides the tails. |
| Pay compression | Cut ratios by tenure band. Recent hires at or above long-tenured peers in the same grade means the market outran the merit budget. |
| Range refresh drops | A refresh raises midpoints, so every ratio falls overnight with no pay change. Annotate refreshes on any trend. |
| Grade mix shifts | A group’s average moves when its grade mix moves, not only when pay does. Compare within grade before reading generosity or drift. |
◆ The owned answerper-worker ratios from the snapshot, rolled up in one query.
The report reads the daily pay snapshot joined as-of to the grade dimension, both drawn on the compensation star. Per-worker ratios first, then the rollup, so the same query serves the department view, the grade view, and the tenure cut.
The tables this page reads are drawn on the compensation star, with their grain and join keys; what runs here is a plain read of that model.
- compa-ratio
- Pay over the range midpoint. 1.00 is at the market anchor.
- range penetration
- Pay minus minimum, over maximum minus minimum. Progress through the band.
- guideline band
- The accepted ratio window, commonly 0.80 to 1.20. A convention, not a law.
- pay compression
- New hires at or above long-tenured peers in the same grade.
- range refresh
- A new range version. Ratios drop overnight with no pay change.
- grade mix
- The share of workers per grade in a group; moves averages on its own.
- midpoint bill
- Headcount times midpoint, summed. The denominator of an honest rollup.
- basis rules
- The currency, frequency, and full-time-equivalent choices behind every ratio.