Here's what's lacking in this market: Reliable salary surveys that the average law firm employee can get their hands on. Sure, there are lots of surveys out there but they are either a) an informal survey that isn't entirely accurate; b) available only for top executives; c) done by an association without the psychometrics, analytics and other precision tools that make a survey accurate or d) so pricey that once purchased and read by the Executive Director, it's read once then stashed away in a plain brown envelope and hidden in the firm's vault.
Why would you participate in a salary survey?
Most of the time, administrators fill out the survey. That's fine because they are sure to give accurate information and not have a temptation to inflate the numbers. However, they then base their raises and bonuses on what the market is saying. As a paralegal, it is most likely that you have no idea what factors are going into your raise. Furthermore, you have absolutely no idea whether you are within the market range for comparable positions. You just know that the firm is giving 2-3% increases this year and that's that.
Participating in employee surveys empowers you to get the information you need in order to move your career forward. Why should the numbers be either inaccurate or hidden from you? Word-of-mouth doesn't work either as you know from the game, telephone.
I remember once when I was a paralegal just starting out. It was the end of my first year and I was in my first performance and compensation review. The HR Manager told me that I was getting an 8% increase and I had done a great job. I was stunned. "What?" I said. "I'm only getting an 8% increase?" I don't know what I expected but 8% sounded way too low. Somehow 10% was my magic number. 8% was a fantastic raise but who knew?
If you want to empower yourself, OLP/NUIX and OLP/ZYLAB would like to invite you to participate in two very sophisticated salary and utilization surveys: The OLP/NUIX eDiscovery Salary Survey and the OLP/ZyLab Litigation Support Salary Survey. Go spend the next 9 minutes and find out if you're in or out of the game. It will be the most informative 9 minutes you've spent in a long time.
Take the surveys today and move your career forward!