Where to Find Salary Information and How to Evaluate It?

10/23/2024

Anta Praņēviča, board member and leading consultant at “Figure Baltic Advisory”

There are many sources where salary information is available— in many countries, the largest salary databases are published on the websites of relevant authorities (in Latvia: the State Revenue Service, in Estonia - the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, in Lithuania - the State Tax Inspectorate). Information can also be found in job advertisements, and, of course, the ever-popular source is “a neighbour said.” Often, information in these sources can vary significantly, which can easily confuse job seekers. Why are there such discrepancies, and how should one evaluate the available information? Ten years ago, salary information was considered a trade secret. Employees not only didn’t discuss their wages, but often their employment contracts included clauses prohibiting salary discussions. Wages weren’t published in job advertisements, and online tools to share salary information was not popular. In 2024, however, finding salary information is easier than ever. Employers are increasingly having to explain how salaries are determined and debunk information from various sources. For this reason, I’ve compiled a summary of currently available sources of salary information and how to evaluate them.

Let’s start with official salary information. In Latvia, the largest salary database is on the State Revenue Service’s website, which consolidates salary data reported to the service, updated monthly. However, there are nuances to consider when using this extensive data source. Job classifications are based on the national occupation classifier, and while this list is broad, it doesn’t always accurately reflect the specific responsibilities of a position. For instance, the job title "project manager" can refer to an "IT project manager" with an average hourly rate of €17.46, a "financial product development project manager" at €12.09, a "credit project manager" at €13.59, or a "cultural project manager" at €7.77. The title "project manager" isn’t broken down further, and it doesn’t specify the scale of the projects—whether they involve implementing accounting software for a company with a few hundred thousand euros in revenue or rolling out SAP for a global enterprise. The average hourly rate doesn’t answer how much to pay each project manager. Furthermore, this system isn’t immune to the shadow economy and various schemes.

Next, we have easily accessible and user-friendly tools like Algas.lv, Meetfrank, and Glassdoors. These are free tools for employees to gather information about salary levels in specific positions, simply by filling out a short survey about themselves. For employers, these tools help understand how employees perceive salary levels. What should you pay attention to when using these tools? Make sure the classification is appropriate and ensure that similar positions are being compared. Even if the job title is the same, like “HR specialist,” the duties and workload can vary significantly. In my experience, employees often mix up gross and net salaries, forget about bonuses, and tend to overestimate their role (e.g., specialists might consider themselves senior specialists). Employers should keep this in mind. Additionally, there’s no way to verify if the information entered by the employee is accurate. Despite this, these tools are helpful for gathering information and preparing for salary discussions, but remember that these data points serve as guidelines, not exact figures.

My “favourite” source of information is the “my neighbour said.” This neighbour could be a childhood friend, cousin, uncle, or anyone else—the main idea being that someone heard how much someone else earns at a specific place. Interesting information, but unfortunately, this source should be trusted the least. Why should such information be taken with a grain of salt? In these conversations, gross and net salaries are almost always confused, differences in dependents are overlooked, and job specifics—like workload, duties, responsibility, autonomy, collaboration levels, working hours, and more—aren’t considered. Bonuses and other benefits are rarely reflected accurately. Moreover, it’s unclear whether the salary being discussed is legal or under-the-table. And, of course, people’s natural tendency to embellish, dramatize, and exaggerate plays a big role. These are interesting conversations, but unless someone shows you their paycheck, it’s better to be sceptical of these stories.

A more reliable source is salary surveys, which use a structured job evaluation method and a detailed job catalogue to classify all positions analysed in the study. This ensures that salaries are compared across positions that are essentially identical—like comparing a senior accountant with another senior accountant, or a chief accountant at a large organization with a counterpart at another large organization. Another important factor is that companies submit data for these surveys using a standardized data form—there’s no confusion about whether amounts are gross or net, or whether bonuses are included. All data is submitted as gross, with basic salary or hourly rate separately indicated, along with bonuses, monthly incentives, annual bonuses, and so on. Jobs are classified in collaboration with HR managers, function heads, or company management, ensuring that positions are placed in the correct categories. Data is submitted for all employees, not just vacant positions, providing comprehensive information on salaries across all roles. The data is compiled statistically, so these surveys can be used both to plan salary budgets and review individual compensation.

There’s certainly no shortage of salary information in our market anymore. This means that we’ll increasingly discuss it not only with neighbours but also with our employees. It’s good to know where and what information is available, understand its reliability, and how to use it to your advantage. And the best scenario is when managers and employees can have open and trusting conversations about this topic.