Compensation and salary survey questions employees answer about pay, raises and benefits
Questions employees answer about their own pay: whether it fits the job, how raises are decided, what the benefits are worth to them and whether pay rules hold for everyone. A member of staff can answer the twelve pay questions in about four minutes, and a banded salary set covers pay by role and experience.
- 36questions
- 12in the core check-up
- 4 minto answer the core
- 7salary facts for pay by role
By Michael Hodge, BSc Psychology Updated September 2026
All 36 compensation and salary survey questions
The twelve check-up questions come pre-checked. Tick extra rows, or pull in a whole set from its header. Each row gives the answer options plus what that result says about pay, raises or benefits.
The core 12: pay check-up12 questions
Nine statements across the four sides of pay (level, raises, benefits and the rules behind them), then what matters most, whether pay is pulling people away, and one open question.
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My base pay is in line with what my job is worth.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreePay level. It asks about the job, so a low score points at the pay range rather than at one person's review.
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My take-home pay comfortably covers my regular living costs.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeMoney strain in plain words. If this falls while the first statement holds, living costs are rising faster than pay.
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For my kind of job, this employer pays at least as well as others nearby.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeThe market comparison as staff see it. If market data says you pay well and staff disagree, the gap is information, not money.
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My last raise reflected the work I did that year.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeThe raise amount, judged against effort. In a study of 217 employees, views on raise amounts went with pay satisfaction more closely than views on the process.2
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I understand how raises are decided here.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeThe process behind the raise. In the same study, views on the process went with trust in the supervisor and commitment to the organization.2
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Our benefits cover the things I actually need.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeFit rather than generosity. A costly package that misses what people need still scores low here.
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I could put a rough dollar value on my benefits.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeBenefits are 30% of what private employers spend on compensation per hour worked. If staff cannot value them, that spend earns little credit.3
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Pay here follows the same rules for everyone in similar roles.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeConsistency. People compare their pay with colleagues, and those who find themselves below the middle of their group react most strongly.4
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I know the pay range for my current job.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeA known range turns "am I paid fairly?" into "where do I sit, and why?", which a manager can answer.
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Which part of your pay package matters most to you?
Base payBonus or incentivesHealth coverPaid time offRetirement planImportance, asked as one choice. The tally sheet counts it, and the priority table sets it beside how satisfied people are with each part.
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In the last six months, have you looked at other jobs mainly for better pay?
NoYes, I browsed job adsYes, I applied or interviewedBehaviour rather than mood. Split the pay level and market statements by this answer to see whether pay is what pulls people away.
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If you could change one thing about how you are paid or rewarded here, what would it be?
Open answerGives the scores a reason. Sort the answers under pay level, raises, benefits and pay rules before the budget meeting.
Score each part of the package6 questions
Six parts of pay on one satisfaction scale. The first five match the answers to the what-matters-most question, so importance and satisfaction can sit side by side. Delete any line for something you do not offer.
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How satisfied are you with your base pay?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedThe pay level statement again, on the same scale as the benefits below so the six parts compare directly.
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How satisfied are you with your bonus or incentive pay?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedLeave it out where nobody earns a bonus. Where only some do, split the answers by who is eligible.
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How satisfied are you with your health insurance?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedInsurance is the largest benefit cost for private employers, 7.9% of compensation. Read the open answers to see whether the gap is price, choice or cover.3
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How satisfied are you with your paid time off?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedPaid leave costs private employers nearly as much as insurance, 7.5% of compensation, so it earns its own line.3
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How satisfied are you with your retirement plan?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedSplit it by tenure before acting, since new starters and long-serving staff may weigh it very differently.
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How satisfied are you with the size of your last raise?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedThe raise on the same scale as everything else. Read it next to the core statement on whether the raise reflected the work.
Raises, bonuses and promotion5 questions
Send these in the weeks after pay reviews, while the last decision is fresh in people's minds.
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How was your last pay decision shared with you?
In a talk, with reasonsIn a talk, no reasonsIn writing onlyOnly on my payslipHow the news arrived. Compare the process statement across these groups to see whether a conversation with reasons makes a difference here.
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I know what I would need to achieve to earn a bonus.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeLine of sight. Drop it where there is no bonus scheme.
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The targets behind my bonus are mostly within my control.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeA bonus tied to results nobody can move feels like a lottery, however large it is.
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Strong performance here earns a clearly bigger raise.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreePay for performance as staff live it. A flat score means raises look the same whatever people do.
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A promotion here comes with a meaningful pay increase.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeLinks pay to the career path. A low score says promotions add work faster than they add money.
Benefits and time off3 questions
For planning next year's benefits: what to add, what people would trade for it, and where they go to find out what they have.
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Which of these would you most like added or improved?
Health coverDental or visionRetirement matchPaid leaveParental leaveFlexible hoursLearning budgetTick all that applyA wish list you can count. Cost the three most ticked before you promise anything.
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Would you give up part of a future raise for a better benefit?
YesDepends on the benefitNoTests what a benefit is worth to people. Plenty of yeses mean the same money may land better as a benefit than as pay.
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Where do you usually find out what your benefits cover?
HR or benefits teamMy managerPortal or handbookColleaguesI do not knowShows which channel to fix first when the benefits value statement scores low.
Your pay in numbers (for a salary survey)7 questions
For a salary survey of your staff, members or profession, where each person reports their own pay. Money questions use bands with a way out; change them to your currency and pay levels before you send.
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How are you paid?
Annual salaryHourly wageCommission or piece rateOtherSalaried and hourly pay need separate tables. Mixing them drags every average around.
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What is your annual base pay before tax?
Under 30k30k to 49k50k to 74k75k to 99k100k to 149k150k or morePrefer not to sayBands, not an exact figure. Income questions are left blank far more often than other survey questions.5
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Did you receive a bonus or incentive payment in the last 12 months?
NoYes, under 5% of baseYes, 5% to 10%Yes, over 10%Separates variable pay from base pay, the split every salary report needs.
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What was your most recent pay increase?
None in 2 yearsUnder 3%3% to 5%Over 5%Not sureSet it against published wage growth: US private industry wages and salaries rose 3.1% in the 12 months to June 2026.9
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How many hours do you usually work in a week?
Under 3030 to 3940 to 4445 to 4950 or moreThe same salary over 40 hours and over 50 hours is a different rate of pay.
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How many years have you worked in this field?
Under 22 to 45 to 910 to 1920 or moreExperience is the fairest first cut inside a single job title.
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What is your job title, and what does the job mostly involve?
Open answerTitles vary from one employer to the next, so group the answers into job families by duties before you report pay by role.
About your job (optional)3 questions
Add these when pay views need comparing across tenure, level or contract type. Drop any breakdown that would shrink a group to a size where one person stands out.
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How many years have you been with this employer?
Under 11 to 34 to 67 to 10Over 10New starters were hired at recent market rates, so their pay views can differ from those of long-serving staff.
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Which best describes your level?
Staff memberTeam leadManagerSenior leaderPrefer not to sayIf leaders rate pay rules far higher than staff do, the rules are not reaching people.
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Do you work full time or part time?
Full timePart timeTemporary or contractPart-time and contract staff may get a different package, so their benefit scores need their own column.
Three things people call a salary survey
The phrase covers three jobs, answered by different people. Pick yours before you write a single question.
| Survey | Who answers | What to use here |
|---|---|---|
| Employee pay survey | Your own staff, anonymously, about how pay, raises and benefits feel | The core 12, plus the package scores, benefits and raises sets |
| Salary survey of a profession | Members of an association, network or community, each about their own job | Your pay in numbers, plus About your job |
| Market compensation survey | HR or payroll teams at many employers, reporting pay for benchmark jobs | Not a staff survey: see how market surveys work, further down |
The US government runs the third kind. For the National Compensation Survey, BLS field economists collect wages, typical hours and the employer cost of benefits from employers, not from the people who are paid.7 Surveys on workload, managers and harassment sit alongside this one in the employee survey questions collection.
Which part of pay is losing people
Enter the count of answers at each point for the nine core statements. Every one is phrased so a 5 is the answer you hope for; short bars mark where pay, raises, benefits or pay rules are losing people.
- 1A bar is the share of people who picked 4 or 5 on that statement, out of all who answered it; the panel recalculates with every number you enter.
- 2Group the bars into four areas: pay level (the first three), raises (the next two), benefits (the two after that) and pay rules (the last two). Start the conversation with the weakest area.
- 3Hold the market statement up against your market check. If the data says you pay well and staff disagree, publish ranges before you spend anything.
- 4Sort the open answers under the same four areas, then bring two named changes, each with someone responsible and a deadline, to the pay review.
Pay and benefits results
Where to spend next year's pay budget
Put the what-matters-most tally beside the package scores. The part many people rank first and few are happy with is where extra money changes minds.
A worked example with illustrative figures from 80 staff. "Ranked first" is the share choosing that part in the what-matters-most question; "satisfied" is the share choosing 4 or 5 for it in the package scores.
| Part of the package | Ranked first / satisfied | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Base pay | 45% / 40% | Fix first: the top priority, and rated low |
| Health cover | 25% / 70% | Protect it: valued and working |
| Paid time off | 15% / 45% | Next in line if the budget stretches |
| Bonus or incentives | 10% / 30% | Rated low, but few rank it first |
| Retirement plan | 5% / 60% | Fine as it is; explain its value |
Reading your own table
Sort the rows by the first number. Anything near the top with a low second number goes to the head of the budget list. Something rated low that almost nobody ranks first can wait, even though its score looks bad. Where most people agree with the benefits value statement but rate a benefit low, the problem is the benefit itself, not how it is explained.
Four choices that decide whether pay answers are candid
Pay is one of the most guarded subjects on a staff survey. Four choices decide whether people answer candidly and whether the results lead anywhere.
Share of private employers' compensation costs, June 2026
Ask about the whole package, not only salary
Wages and salaries are 70.0% of what private employers spend on compensation per hour worked. The other 30.0% goes on benefits: insurance 7.9%, paid leave 7.5%, legally required benefits 7.2%, supplemental pay such as bonuses 4.0% and retirement 3.3%.3 Ask about salary alone and you skip almost a third of the bill, which is why two core statements and the package scores cover benefits.
Collect pay in bands and report in groups
Exact salaries identify people and get skipped. Surveys typically lose 20 to 40% of answers to income questions, compared with 1 to 4% for most other questions,5 so every money question here offers bands and a way out. Report the same way. The US federal employee survey suppresses any demographic result that rests on fewer than four responses;6 set a floor at least that high before you split results by team or level.
Send it before the budget is set
Run the full survey six to eight weeks ahead of pay decisions, while the answers can still shape the budget. Then send the five-question pulse a few weeks after raises are announced, to check whether the explanation landed. Reuse the exact wording each round so the trend means something.
Explain how pay is decided, not only the number
People judge the process as well as the amount. In a study of 217 employees, the fairness of raise amounts tracked pay satisfaction, while the fairness of how raises were decided tracked trust in the supervisor and commitment to the organization.2 Comparison matters too. When University of California staff were told about a website listing colleagues' pay, those below the median for their unit and job reported lower pay and job satisfaction and were more likely to look for a new job; those above it were unaffected.4 Publish ranges and the rules behind raises, then watch the pay rule statements in the next round to see if it made a difference.
Holding a benefits briefing or a town hall? Show the what-matters-most question on the projector as a live audience poll and let the room vote by phone before you present the benefits plan. Our guide to creating a poll explains joining by code or QR.
How market pay surveys work, and a free first check
A staff survey tells you how pay feels. A market survey tells you what other employers pay for the same work. This is how the second kind is built, and how to run a first check with free government data.
How a market survey is put together
- Jobs are matched by duties, not titles. For each sampled job in the National Compensation Survey, the field economist records its tasks, the knowledge it needs, its controls and complexity, its contacts and its working conditions to set a work level.7
- Pay is fixed to a reference date: the NCS collects pay for the pay period that includes the 12th of the reference month.7
- Results are published as a spread, not one average. The BLS occupational wage program reports the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentile for each job.8
- Older figures are brought forward by the wage growth since they were collected, which the BLS Employment Cost Index tracks.9
Worked example: one payroll clerk
| Step | Figure | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| National median, payroll and timekeeping clerks, May 2025 | $58,260 | BLS occupational wages8 |
| Middle half of the market (25th to 75th percentile) | $47,990 to $69,600 | BLS occupational wages8 |
| Median brought forward by 3.1% wage growth | About $60,070 | Employment Cost Index to June 20269 |
| What your clerk earns | $52,000 | Your payroll |
| Salary as a share of the updated median | 87% | 52,000 divided by 60,066 |
At 87% of the updated median, this clerk sits in the lower half of the national range.8 Look up the state or metro figure before deciding anything, then check how the clerk's team scored the market statement in the core. If both say pay is low, it probably is.
Where the free data comes from
The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program publishes wages for about 830 occupations every year, for the nation, each state, and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.8 Starting from these public figures means you never have to trade your own pay data with other employers, which the FTC and DOJ's January 2025 guidelines say may be illegal between competitors, even through a third party.10
Sealed envelopes for staff who never log in
Some staff never sit at a computer. Give them a paper copy and an envelope they can seal, and count the forms on the tally sheet.
Pay and benefits questionnaire
Sheet one holds the twelve check-up questions with pencil boxes. The package scores, raises, benefits, salary bands and job questions follow on later sheets.
Download PDF
Pay survey tally sheet
Mark each returned form on one grid, turn the nine pay statements into agree percentages, count the what-matters-most votes, and list two fixes for the pay review.
Download PDFAfter raises land: a short pay pulse
A short pulse for the weeks after pay decisions go out: pay level, the raise, how it was decided, the range, and whether anyone has started looking elsewhere.
- 01My base pay is in line with what my job is worth.
- 02My last raise reflected the work I did that year.
- 03I understand how raises are decided here.
- 04I know the pay range for my current job.
- 05In the last six months, have you looked at other jobs mainly for better pay?
Using the questionnaire in a thesis on pay
Students researching compensation and employee performance, motivation or retention can use the core as their instrument. Three decisions to write up in the methods chapter.
Name the four areas you measure
Research has treated pay satisfaction as several attitudes since Heneman and Schwab's Pay Satisfaction Questionnaire, which settled on four: pay level, benefits, raises, and structure and administration.1 The core 12 covers the same four in new wording: statements 1 to 3 for pay level, 4 and 5 for raises, 6 and 7 for benefits, 8 and 9 for pay rules. Code Strongly disagree as 1 and Strongly agree as 5, then average each group into an area score.
Match each research question to a set
| Research question | Questions to use | How to analyse |
|---|---|---|
| Is pay satisfaction linked to intention to leave? | Core 1 to 9 and question 11 | Compare area scores for people who did and did not look for other jobs |
| Which rewards matter most to staff? | Question 10 and the package scores | The priority table above |
| Do views differ by level or experience? | Core plus About your job | Area scores by group, leaving out any group too small to protect |
When the published scale fits better
If your results must line up with earlier pay satisfaction studies, use the published 18-item PSQ and cite it; its items belong to its authors and are not reprinted here. A study that builds its own instrument can use this set as it stands and report the reliability of each area.
Underpaid compared with what? Pay questions reworded
Small wording changes decide whether a pay question gets an honest answer. The same habits apply to any topic; our library of survey questions shows them at work.
Are you happy with your salary and benefits?
My base pay is in line with what my job is worth.
Our benefits cover the things I actually need.
Salary and benefits are separate budgets. Someone content with one and not the other has no honest way to answer the combined question.
What is your exact annual salary?
What is your annual base pay before tax? (in bands, with Prefer not to say)
An exact figure can identify a person and is the item people most often leave blank. Bands keep the answer useful and the person safe.
Do you feel underpaid?
For my kind of job, this employer pays at least as well as others nearby.
Underpaid compared with what? The better version names the comparison, so a low score tells you where to look.
Before you run a compensation survey
Short answers on definitions, salary figures, anonymity and timing.
What is a compensation survey?
Two different things share the name. Inside a company, it asks employees how they see their pay, raises and benefits, which is what the core 12 does. In the market sense, it collects what employers pay for benchmark jobs, like the government's National Compensation Survey.7 Most employers need both: market data to set pay ranges, and an employee survey to learn whether people understand and trust them.
What questions should a salary survey include?
For your own staff: pay level, raises, benefits and how pay rules are applied, plus one open question. For a salary survey of a profession: how people are paid, base pay in bands, bonus, last increase, hours, experience and job title, which is the pay in numbers set above.
Should employees give their exact salary?
No. In an internal survey, payroll already has the figure, so ask how people see their pay and add banded pay only when a pay-group comparison is part of the plan. In a salary survey of a profession, bands with a Prefer not to say option get more answers than a blank box.5
Can a pay survey stay anonymous if it asks for level and tenure?
Yes, if the reporting is careful. Collect no names or email addresses, keep the About your job set short, and publish a breakdown only if every group in it holds enough people that no single salary view can be traced.
How often should we run a compensation survey?
Every year, about two months ahead of the pay review, send the full core; then add the five-question pulse a few weeks after raises are announced. Keep the wording fixed so each round lines up with the one before.
Send the pay check-up before your next review
Load the pay check-up into the survey builder, bolt on any extra sets and share a single anonymous link, or hand paper copies to warehouse, retail and field staff.
