The Value of Benchmarking Payroll Salaries and Conducting Salary Reviews

The hidden cost of neglecting your payroll team’s compensation goes far beyond what appears on your P&L statement.

In today’s competitive Canadian job market, where skilled payroll professionals are increasingly hard to find and even harder to keep, your approach to compensation for this critical function can make or break your business operations.

The Portfolio Payroll Canada Salary Guide 2025-26 reveals compelling data about how compensation discussions directly influence job satisfaction and retention.

The evidence is clear: organizations that prioritize transparent, regular salary reviews for their payroll teams see measurably better outcomes across multiple business metrics.

The Business Case for Payroll Salary Benchmarking

Attracting Top Talent in a Competitive Market

When you’re competing for skilled payroll professionals, your compensation package becomes your first impression. 

Research consistently shows that salary benchmarking helps organizations attract better candidates by ensuring offers are competitive and realistic.

Having access to current benchmarking data allows you to make compelling offers quickly. In a market where top candidates often receive multiple offers, speed and confidence in your compensation decisions can be the difference between securing the talent you need and watching them accept a position elsewhere.

Retaining Your Valuable Payroll Team

The true cost of payroll staff turnover extends far beyond recruitment expenses.

When an experienced payroll professional leaves, they take with them institutional knowledge about your systems and processes that can take months for a replacement to learn.

Payroll professionals handle confidential salary information for the entire organization, often working under tight deadlines and high-pressure situations. When they know their own compensation isn’t competitive, it creates a fundamental disconnect that affects both morale and performance.

Optimizing Team Performance and Structure

Comprehensive salary reviews, supported by solid benchmarking data, provide an opportunity to evaluate not just compensation but overall team effectiveness. When you understand market rates for different skill levels, you can identify whether performance issues stem from misaligned compensation, unclear role expectations, or skills gaps.

This process often reveals opportunities for team restructuring that improve both efficiency and job satisfaction. Strategic workforce planning becomes much more precise when you have reliable compensation data for future hiring decisions.

Going Beyond the Paycheck

When budget constraints limit your ability to increase salaries immediately, benchmarking data helps you understand exactly where you stand and plan strategic improvements over time.

The goal isn’t always to match the highest market rates immediately, but to create a clear path toward competitive compensation while maximizing other elements of your employee value proposition.

Supporting team members in obtaining certifications, designations or memberships with professional organizations like the National Payroll Institute demonstrates investment in their long-term success while improving their skills and your organization’s capabilities.

How to Conduct Effective Payroll Salary Benchmarking

Using industry data effectively requires more than just looking up average salaries for job titles. Comprehensive salary benchmarking guides provide detailed information about how compensation varies based on factors like experience level, geographic location, industry sector, and specific skill sets.

When reviewing data, consider not just base salaries but total compensation packages. Regular salary review conversations should follow a structured approach that includes objective evaluation criteria and transparent discussion about future opportunities.

Best practice suggests conducting formal salary reviews annually, with informal check-ins every six months. This frequency allows you to stay current with market changes while providing employees with regular feedback and development guidance.

Taking Action on Salary Benchmarking

Regular salary benchmarking isn’t about agreeing to give pay raises whenever employees request them. It’s about making informed, strategic decisions that balance employee satisfaction with business sustainability. When you have reliable data about market rates, you can make compensation decisions with confidence and communicate those decisions clearly to your team.

The Portfolio Payroll Canada Salary Guide 2025-26 provides the comprehensive data you need to benchmark your payroll team’s compensation against current market rates. Beyond standard salary information, the guide includes analysis of benefits packages, regional variations, and emerging trends that affect payroll compensation across Canada.

Ready to benchmark your payroll team’s salaries?

Download the Portfolio Payroll Canada Salary Guide 2025-26 here to access comprehensive compensation data and start making informed decisions about your team’s future.

For organizations requiring specialized benchmarking analysis, our team provides custom research services tailored to your unique business requirements. Contact us to learn more about how we can support your compensation strategy.