← HR Metrics·Compensation & Benefits
Range Spread
Width of a pay range as a percentage of its minimum. Benchmarks by level: ~20-25% production, 30-40% clerical/technical, 40-50% professional/mid-mgmt, 50%+ managerial/exec; broadbands >80%.
How it’s computed
(max - min) / min
What the evidence shows
Evidence (effect sizes, priors, validity) is syncing from Principia.
What this metric can show you
Range Spread can tell roughly 22 pre-built stories — each a designed scene the data either confirms or it doesn’t. Bring your numbers and the Story Finder runs every one of these shapes against them.
specific to compensation & benefits
A real gradient — now ask if it's pointed at value
compensation · T1
Below the market, across the board
compensation · T1
One group sits apart on a decision that should be neutral
fairness-equity · T1
Pay is drifting from plan
compensation · T1
universal shapes — any single metric can take these
A few large values are doing the talking
any focus · T1
A one-time event, not a trend
any focus · T1
It doesn't track — the premise is false
any focus · T1
It's concentrated — one group stands apart
any focus · T1
Scenes are pre-built; your data is the toggle. Browse the full deck or watch one play end-to-end in The Quiet Exodus.
Run it on your data
This metric is computed in the People Analytics Toolbox on your own numbers. See pricing — posted, no quotes.
sources: toolbox:metrics-catalog
What the literature says
The measurement literature behind this signal — sourced, so you can defend it.
“PAY RANGES AND RANGE SPREADSA “pay range” has a minimum pay value, a maximum pay value, and a midpoint or central value. The difference between the maximum and the minimum is the “range spread,” or the “width” of the range. Range width usually is expressed as a percentage of the…”
— Worldatwork Handbook Compensationmatch 76%
“You manage your offers to new candidates, promotions, and everything in between by using that midpoint as your guiding light. Therefore, because each level of an individual job will be paid less than the next level, if you draw a line between your midpoints for a job from level…”
— Pay Mattersmatch 64%
“In this example we will choose a 50% range spread. We first create a midpoint that is equal to the aged survey median. Then we create the minimum and maximum using the formulas below. [image "equation" file=Image00375.gif] TABLE 15.2 EMPLOYEE SALARIES AND MARKET-BASED SALARY…”
— Statistics for Compensationmatch 63%
Resources: Worldatwork Handbook Compensation · Pay Matters · Statistics for Compensation