One of the touchiest subjects in today’s workforce is the topic of salaries; this includes banker salaries. While human resource departments are charged with hiring prospective employees and ensuring the happiness of retained workers, it can often be difficult to appropriately determine banking salaries. Individual candidates can have so many small, yet significant, differences between them. Some of the factors that can go into banking salary information decisions may include the education of the applicant or employee, their experience, their individual work ethic and their desirability from competitors.

Determining banker salaries can be a huge strain on human resource departments. There are many benefits to using available online resources for determining banking salary ranges, including:

1. Save time with computer technology that can handle salary research.

2. Enjoy the reassurance of acquiring a fair, competitive salary for your employees despite the subjectivity of the field.

3. Help ensure the retention of prosperous, fulfilled employees.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn banking salary tools basics by accessing salary calculators on the Internet

One of the most important places from which individuals can receive bank salary information is through online banking calculators. These calculators can be used as a banking salary guide, without taking much time or energy out of the human resource manager performing the search. By inserting the city and state where the position is available, the calculator will return with the average salary for the area. Additional details such as the degree of the applicant and his or her experience can produce a more fine-tuned salary estimate; however, these more advanced salary calculators may require a fee.

I recommend: CBSalary.com offers free banking salary calculators, which offer ranges specific to the industry. JobBank USA has a similar calculator, but the individual needs to fill in the position for the applicant.

Salary reports can assist in determining salaries in banking by looking at what competitors offer

In addition to determining a banker's salary, it is important to know when to give bankers a raise. It will be important to review present employees from time to time in order to reward them for their hard work and effort to help deter them from investigating other employers. Salary reports can help with learning what to say to employees, when to say it, and how to keep competitors from taking your employees.

I recommend: Gaebler.com can help determine when an employee deserves a raise. It is important to remember that all companies, including banks, have a bottom line. Meanwhile, Vault.com discusses the recent salaries and bonuses of 50 of the most popular banking positions. PayScale creates more compensation reports for specific careers, for a fee.

Banking salaries are affected by the economy, which is used as a tool in negotiating salaries

The state of the economy will drastically affect what your company can and cannot offer when it comes to business banking pay. When the economy is slow, there is less that can be offered in banking wages due to the decreased available funds. When it costs more just to keep the bank running, money has to be taken from different areas to cover the gap. If the economy is in a positive or beneficial state, more can be offered when it comes to banker salary packages and options. It is important not to promise employees or candidates something you cannot deliver, as this can lead to disgruntled employees and, potentially, decreased productivity. At the same time, you want your offer to be practical and competitive.

I recommend: Money Morning is an impressive newsletter to sign up for in order to get daily perspectives and updates on the economy. BreakTheMatrix.com is a forum for individuals who want to discuss the banking industry and the economy.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Pay attention to banking compensation being offered by competitors. In order to remain competitive and attractive to employees and candidates, it is important to learn about the banker salary options being offered by other banks in the area. Banking salary calculators are very useful and helpful, but it can be advantageous to also look at what local competitors are offering. Just as most intelligent consumers will compare prices prior to making a purchase, employees will want to be appreciated to their full extent as well.

Banker salaries must be competitive and aggressive to ensure quality workers. Employees hold the key to business profitability and growth. But as a bank branch manager, you must also watch your bottom line.

Along with training and development, salary helps you not only recruit but also retain productive employees. Several resources exist online to help you set fair yet favorable banking salaries to offer potential job candidates or retain current employees.

Banks and other financial institutions have become essential to the world's economy. Not only do banks transfer risk, they also facilitate transactions from large to small, among other things. Running a bank involves many facets with human resources just being one. When using banking salary tools, be sure to include your own analysis of:

1. The candidate's individual experience in the banking field and any banker salary requirements.

2. The candidate's special training or other qualifications which would raise the potential banking compensation.

3. Banking salary ranges should also take into account the candidate's ability to work well with others.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Study banking salary information available online

From a vice president to a bank teller, you can locate bank salary information quickly and easily online. Research points to the latest pay scales and other wage information that can be useful in determining a salary pay range.

I recommend: Browse available banking salary charts at Vault.com. Sign up for a gold membership to access full details. Receive a detailed report based on the industry, location and company size at Business & Legal Reports, Inc. For a subscription fee, take advantage of the American Bankers Association salary survey on senior bank jobs.

Check out compensation software to help manage banking salaries

Finding a way to apply your research is the key to determining salaries. Why not let the computer do it for you? A number of providers offer compensation software that can be purchased and downloaded.

I recommend: Economic Research Institute offers different compensation software packages. Try a demo first to see if the software fits your needs. Halogen Software also offers a variety of compensation and other business software. Free demo and trial versions can be requested.

Learn how to negotiate banker salary effectively

You'll be hard pressed to find a more touchy subject than salary. That's why it's so important to master the art of negotiation.

I recommend: Read this article from Salary.com detailing specific goals and benchmarks to keep in mind when setting salaries in banking. Read tips at PayScale on how to manage pay negotiations without ruining your chances to bank an extraordinary employee.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Employment in the banking industry is expected to grow at an average pace--projected at 13% between 2006 and 2016--due to replacing workers who retire or leave the field. Replacing older workers with younger workers can benefit your bottom line with less expected in banker salaries. However, you'll also be dealing with inexperience.

When it comes to the business of banking, there are things like banker salaries that are closely watched by people in the industry. From the clerk behind the counter to the head of the board, all salaries of publicly held companies are reported by department.

To find information about a specific banker salary or multiple banker salaries, there are several associations, publications and reports you can familiarize yourself with along with the standard news outlets and newspapers that give it a cursory coverage.

1. Visit websites that cover salaries in banking for the latest news and trends.

2. Get in touch with bankers' associations to learn more about banking salary tools news and trends.

3. Subscribe to online or print magazines that cover stories about salaries in banking.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Check out websites that focus on banking salaries

There are many websites that are dedicated to giving an overview of what a job might entail. The banking industry is no different. Look for the websites that also offer an introspective look on banking salary information as well as news articles associated with the latest trends in regard to banking salaries.

I recommend: Check out the website PayScale for more information on the latest banking salary tools. This offers up-to-date charts and news and trends reports on the website. Career Finance also offers news and information on banking salary tools, inclusive of "Salary Surveys," which are published frequently.

Contact bankers' associations to find out more about banking salaries

There are several prominent banker's associations that publish reports and release news on the industry inclusive of banking pay. Contact the associations via their websites and request published reports or read the various articles they release on salary tools news and trends. There are national, state and even regional associations throughout the United States.

I recommend: Check out the website for the Georgia Banker's Association, which provides published reports on the latest salary trends within the banking industry inside of Georgia. The American Bankers Association also provides reports and releases news articles on banking salaries throughout the country.

Read bank magazines for the latest information on banking salaries

There are several bank magazine publications that cover the business of banking. These magazines are produced monthly, quarterly and yearly. They report on the business of banking, including things like salary tools. Visit their websites or subscribe to the hard copies of their publications.

I recommend: Check out the website for BAI magazine. After clicking on the provided link, there is a plethora of articles to choose from relating to banking salary ranges. Bank Director is another magazine with many articles related to salaries. Search the endless archives for articles that pique your interest.

Knowing banking salary tools basics is beneficial not only to the employer but also to a potential employee. When one understands what salary tools offer, he or she can effectively use them for maximum information output.

You might use the tools for information on salaries in banking in a variety of areas. Whether it's determining what salaries are in a specified location, using the banking salary tools to determine the salary based on experience or figuring out a national average, understanding banking seller tools basics keeps a user informed. Some areas you might want to consider include the following options:

1. Using banker salary tools to determine salaries in a specified locale.

2. Determining banking salary tools basics by using industry specific guides.

3. Using banking salaries tools to determine pay ranges for various employee positions.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use banking salary tools to determine the best banking wages for a particular position or location

Salary tools offer a banking salary guide dependent on a worker's position whether you are a teller or a banking supervisor. Salary tools help an employee or employer determine a fair salary.

I recommend: CalculatorsLive.com offers a compensation calculator that helps you determine salaries for different fields in banking such as the expected salary an investment banker might expect. CBSalary.com allows you to plug in a job title and a specific locale to see what fair payment is in a certain area. It also allows you to see national salaries.

Keep banking compensation appropriate with changing markets using salary tools

Ensure banker salaries fairness using a variety of salary tools that meet the criteria of a particular position. As markets change, benefits and compensation packages adjust. Use salary tools directed to your field to find out whether a wage is fair.

I recommend: Salary.com offers a tool where employees and employers determine whether or not they are giving or receiving fair pay. Since this is an online tool, it readily keeps up with the current market rates. The CareerOneStop offers an online salary tool highlighting over 800 occupations, including banking. It offers wage information updated to match the current market trends.

Study banking salary ranges and payment disbursement using specified salary tools

Look at banking salary information with programming specific to your company needs. Find out the overall costs in hiring employees according to their various positions and determine whether or not these wages are fair according to experience and location.

I recommend: PayScale has a tool that offers information on hourly rates for those in the banking industry. It offers information on various banking jobs, as well as pay rate based on experience and location. The American Bankers Association website offers a tool bankers use to determine salaries and expenditures for employees in the banking business. The Excel file allows you to input data specific to your own company.