How Much Do Your Employees Really Make?

Your employees make a lot more than they think they do.

Your employees make a lot more than they think they do.  The next time they complain about not taking home enough, you might want to remind them how much you are actually paying to keep them gainfully employed.

We have created a simple spreadsheet that will help you determine how much each of your employee really “earns.”  You can download this spreadsheet at Compensation Calculator.  Some are in the form of benefit programs like health insurance, and others are through statutory benefit programs like social security and medicare.  With some help from your accounting staff and/or payroll company, you should be able to complete most of the gray boxes on the spreadsheet.  Then it will figure out the rest.

Did you know that almost 30% of the average total employee costs are for the extra stuff in excess of salaries, wages, and bonuses.  Click here for a free Total Compensation Calculator.  This calculator, which is in Excel 2007 format, will show you how much of your total employee costs are going toward all of the extras.

Do you know how much you are spending, in addition to annual salaries and bonuses, you are spending on your employees?  Are you using this information to accurately forecast your expenses and cash flow in the future.  I often see this part of a company’s projections overlooked even though it is often one of the company’s largest expenses next to wages themselves.

So, the take-away is two-fold.  First, download this spreadsheet and figure out how much your employees really cost you and then use that in your planning and forecasting.  Second, use the spreadsheet to educate your employees about the total compensation package they receive because of their employment with you.  Even if they do not believe in or buy-into all of the programs and initiatives, the cost is still real – and you need to get credit for it.