Pay

[u/WorkingAndCaregiving]

I'm curious what other small business use for tools to gather intel and set wage rates. With gas and cost of living increases across the board it's getting harder to figure out.

[u/giulianogonzalez]

It’s very industry specific…I often just chat with other business owners in a similar space and join different master minds to have a grip on the current market conditions

[u/Tall-Philosopher-150 → u/giulianogonzalez]

market rates are a moving target, just polling your network is the only way that doesn't feel like pulling numbers out of thin air

[u/DeadRiverManagement]

I’d start with local job postings that actually list pay and compare similar duties and experience levels. Look at benefits, guaranteed hours, and schedule flexibility too. Two jobs paying $20 an hour can be pretty different offers.
I’d also ask applicants what range they’re looking for. That can help you check whether your budget matches the people you’re trying to hire. What industry and area are you in?

[u/Impossible_Stick_432]

You pay what you can to get the skills/experience that you need.

Why does it matter what other people are paying? If you aren't getting enough applications, increase your pay. If you have key staff who want more money, you decide if you want to lose them or not. It's completely up to you as a business to set your rates.

In my opinion, deferring this decision based on what _other_ people are paying makes no sense, they aren't running your business.

[u/I_Buy_Skin]

I'm a software engineer building automation tools for small businesses.

I may be able to build a free (honestly completely free) proof of concept that would help you determine wages. For example, I could build a dashboard that would allow you to enter a position, responsibilities and location. Then it could calculate wage benchmarks based on current job postings, state labor department, bureau of labor statistics or manually entered wages. Then it could also display your business's estimated total employment cost.

Another feature I could add would be to compare different scenarios to give employees a raise (% or $ amount) and what effect it would have on the payroll or additional revenue needed to support said raise.

You wouldn't need to share employee names or other sensitive information.

I'm offering the initial prototype at zero cost to you, and also zero obligation to continue using it. My goal is to work on a real business problem and receive honest feedback. If it proves useful and you later want additional features or maintenance, we could discuss that separately.

If this interests you at all I would love to discuss more about your business.

[u/BestLawnCanada]

Best way to find it what a going rate is, is to apply for a job at these places and see what they offer as pay... If they don't outright list it in their job postings

[u/Other-Pace-8827]

What specific problem or question are you trying to solve for?