Employee Salaries and intraoffice variances

What was B making at last job? Would A's pay rate be an increase for him from last job? If so, I would probably offer him a little less than what A makes, but a little more than what he last made. I'd have a hard time paying him more than A since A is a known commodity. But it depends on the job market as well. If good help is hard to find for that position, it may sway me to offer him more.

We have a number of levels in our firm. Each level has a band of pay. Generally, no one is in a level for more than three to four years. If you are not promoted in this time, you probably are not hacking it.

Within the band we look at the experience level, education, and how well you have worked. For new hires, that last part isn't really a factor, because we have no history with you.

In your example, Man A has a GED and three years experience, and Man B has a BS with four years experience. I would think we would bring in Man B at a higher salary than Man A is making. Man B has more experience and more education. In addition, if the field is competitive and if Man B was being paid close to market where he worked before, I would imagine it would take more salary to get him to move jobs.

pretty much my feelings on the issue.

We have essentially 7 different positions for employees. We maintain multiple employees in each of the 7 positions.

Managers, billing personnel, phlebotomists, receptionists, scribes, clinical assistants, and phone operators.


Within a given position, individual duties and responsibilities are equal. There is obvious advantages for one employee over another based on work ethic, efficiency of work, punctuality, and demeanor. However within a position, as long as they can complete the tasks assigned, there seems to be little to no realized advantage for over educated or over qualified employees.


For hiring reasons, it is clear that to entice overqualified applicants we may have to raise salaries. This is especially important when appropriately qualified applicants are low.

However, once hired and working I see no reason that a particular employee should be restricted on salary based on their previous resume while an overqualified employee performing the same job with equal proficiency continues to see salary increases.

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We have a number of levels in our firm. Each level has a band of pay. Generally, no one is in a level for more than three to four years. If you are not promoted in this time, you probably are not hacking it.

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We are very similar to this.

Your level is dependent upon 3 things:

1. Certification-you have to be certified to perform the work, so this is big in determining what band you are in. If you aren't certified you aren't coming in at level 3, because the organiza

2. Education-many people in my field have a masters degree. If you do, that's another point toward a higher level.

3. Experience-relevant experience in combination of the other two criteria will determine where you fall.

A BS plus 4 years of experience would be worth more than a GED and 3 years of experience in my field/organization.

In my opinion, you should pay the job, not the person. Over qualification for a position does not mean a higher salary.

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In my opinion, you should pay the job, not the person. Over qualification for a position does not mean a higher salary.

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For entry level, or non-professional positions you are probably right.

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Totally off topic, and sorry for the hijack, but do you find them to be cost effective? Or more a luxury for you (the physician)?

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As a family medicine physician who practices "full scope womb to tomb medicine" in a rural setting averaging 16 days of work per month and 34 patients per day, I find my scribe invaluable.

With the increase in requirements for extremely specific, redundant and often non clinically relevant EHR driven documentation solely for reimbursement purposes we are truly handcuffed in our care. You can literally have smoking status documented in the body of the note, in the PMHX, and even in the A/P but if you don't click a specific click box then it does not count.

Add in ICD9 to 10 conversion, variance in coding for different payers, for the exact same service, test, or diagnosis and the ever looming risk of litigation and charting becomes a dominant time consumer in the office.


My scribe acts as my shadow and in her limited free time between patients helps with referrals, outside imaging ordering, and other paperwork. I would have to pay a billing person to amend and correct charts or be extremely detailed in my charting efforts if I did not have a scribe.

Doing the notes myself was requiring 2-4 hours per night at home in addition to lowering my patient numbers. Without a scribe I was only able to see 20 patients per day and get my notes done in office with review and correction of notes at night. With a scribe I don't look at my notes at night and I am able to see upwards of 45 a day. Currently my patient census puts me at approx. 34 a day and that 14 pt increase more than pays for the scribes salary.


In a more limited field or specialty with a narrower ranging list of chief complaints and required preventative documentation, it may be more of a luxury.

Man A and Man B are at the mercy of my annual budget and what I'm convinced through interviews and references they will achieve versus that budget, with the goal of exceeding KPIs and budgeted goals. I fill vacancies with the best possible candidate in accordance with budgeted salaries. Naturally, the BS and further credentials will garner more interest, and therefore salary in a competitive market, but promoting internal growth for the GED candidate with a documented history of progressive responsibility shouldn't be overlooked - the longevity presented by rewarding strong employees while encouraging both professional and educational growth pays dividends. In terms of engagement, internal promotion (appropriately awarded) posits more "owner" versus "renter" mentality. Internal candidates are always my first consideration. I would expect Man B to have the higher salary of the two vying for the same position, but there's opportunity to offer Man A at a bargain, a diamond in the rough so to speak, and allocate those dollars elsewhere.

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I pay people the amount I believe is needed to replace them if a competitor were to poach them

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Well I completely understand your reasoning that does bring up a secondary question.

How do you adjust the compensation for existing employees when the recruitment of a new employee for the same position requires a substantially higher salary due to low number of qualified applicants and an increasingly competitive job market?



Ex. You have 10 employees all equally qualified and doing the same job for at least the past 5 years. Due to subtle variances in performance, seniority, and initial starting salary those 10 employees range in salary between $10 and $11.25 an hour.


The company has decided to expand and you will need to hire two more employees for the same position. The number of applicants for the position is low. You finally get two applicants who are both qualified however 1 is overqualified for the position. Both have less than five years of experience in similar positions. They request $13.50 and $14 per hour respectively.


What do you hire the 2 new applicants at? What do you do with the salaries of the 10 valuable employees you already have?

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They request $13.50 and $14 per hour respectively.

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If it's a lateral move, they are going to request more than they are making, unless they are totally unhappy with their current situation.

IF someone is asking considerably more than I am paying for the same position, including considerations for experience, certifications, etc, I will ask for a documented salary history. It may be that they are currently making the same or close to what I am currently paying, and may be willing to accept a position here for something less than they are asking, but more than they are making.

And if that's really market, and I like my current employees, I will do everything I can to try to raise their salaries up, knowing that if I don't, they may well be poached.