Use Data When Setting Raises, But Don't Stop There  How the
PayScale Index Fits Into Raise Planning  Some high level
strategic thinking and data gathering must happen before raises
can be given out. From following inflation and local market rate
shifts, to considering business goals and budget constraints, HR
professionals must be extra hard working and efficient with
their time to pull off smart merit increases. How can all of the
information gathering be simplified? When do you have enough
input to make a smart decision?  Katie Bardaro, lead analyst at,
works with compensation data all day every day and she reminds
us that basic information about market rates for labor and
inflation is critical, but it is not enough. "You need to
understand employees' performance and the knowledge they've
gained," she says.   Bardaro suggests that those deciding raises
check out The PayScale Index to ease their information
collection burden. The PayScale Index is a quarterly report that
follows trends in pay for full-time p