How Does Your Company Compare?

March 19, 2020

Compensation surveys provide important data to businesses looking to set wages and attract and retain top talent. Trying to determine numbers such as salary and benefits can be difficult. Creating and advertising a position that will attract talent is half the equation. Knowing how much you’ll need to pay them to keep them is another factor.

In 2018, ALTA teamed with Benchmarking to develop and conduct an industry benefits and compensation survey. ALTA staff and Research Committee worked to develop all components to create the Title and Settlement Services Industry Compensation Index. So far, nearly 150 locations have completed the survey and nearly 100 more have nearly finished inputting data. Companies that have completed the survey get access to all the results.

As an example, one survey question provides percentages on the types of benefits coverages companies offer:

  • Health care: 81%
  • Dental: 72%
  • Retirement: 72%
  • Vision: 67%
  • Prescription: 67%
  • Short-term disability: 67%
  • Group term life: 67%
  • Accidental death and dismemberent: 63%
  • Flexible spending account: 58%
  • Life insurance: 60%

As more companies complete the survey, we hope to enable filters that will allow participants to segment results based on certain demographic criteria to compare themselves to similarly sized or located companies. This data will be helpful when evaluating your benefits and compensation packages, making personnel decisions and benchmarking your company against the competition. You can take the survey at alta.org/compensation.

It may seem strange to essentially “consult” competitors to help make determinations inside of your own organization, but it can be hugely helpful toward understanding how businesses compensate employees and keeping your own organization on par with others. Because, after all, you’re not just competing with them for business. You’re also competing for employees.

Compensation surveys can help determine how much you’ll pay for certain positions. If title examiners or closers are getting paid a certain amount across town, it probably won’t take long before your employees find out and possibly jump ship.
By taking and using ALTA’s Compensation Index, a business can strategically determine various wage levels based on the market rate for the type of job performed. By doing this, an organization can set its salary structure company-wide, which can help decide how many and what types of employees can be hired.
We hope this edition’s cover article helps you in finding and recruiting talent. We also encourage you take the compensation survey so you can gauge how your operation compares to competitors in your market.


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.