hcm

Compensation bands

PROFESSIONALEstimated read: 7 min· Updated 2026-08-30

Compensation bands

ProfessionalAdmin

/hcm/pay-bands is where you define the compensation bands for your workforce — the published min / midpoint / max ranges per combination of family × level × geography. Bands anchor your hiring ranges, your annual comp-review proposals, and your equity-and-comp equity dashboards. Market data overlays drive periodic refreshes.

TL;DR — Open HCM → Pay bands. Create a band per family × level × geography. Set min, midpoint, max + market reference. Save. Bands feed offer ranges in Recruiting and the comp-review cycle in Compensation review.

Before you start

  • Decide your band structure: by family (IC / Manager / Specialist) × level × geography? Add discipline (Engineering / Design / Sales / etc.) if your workspace differentiates.
  • Pick a geography model: single global ranges, per-region multipliers, or distinct bands per major city.
  • Have your market reference ready — published survey data, internal benchmarking, or a market-data provider feed.

Create a band

  1. Click "+ New band"

    Opens the band-creation form.

  2. Pick family × level × geography

    Combinations make the band unique. Example: IC × L4 × San Francisco.

  3. Enter min / midpoint / max

    Base salary range. Workspace policy decides whether to publish or keep internal.

  4. Enter bonus + equity targets (optional)

    Target annual bonus % of base + target equity grant at hire + refresher grant cadence.

  5. Reference market data

    Pick the source (survey name + percentile + as-of date) used to set the midpoint. Recorded for audit.

  6. Save

    Audit log records HCM_COMP_BAND_CREATED.

Geographic differentiation

FieldWhat it doesAccepted values / default
Global single rateOne band serves the whole workforce.Simplest; common for small workspaces or single-location operations.
Per-region multipliersA base band + multipliers per region (Bay Area 1.20, NYC 1.15, Austin 1.05, Remote 0.95).Most common pattern. Easy to maintain; reasonable defense.
Distinct bands per major cityIndependent bands per geo.Most expressive but highest maintenance burden.

Refresh bands against market data

  1. Click "Refresh against market"

    Pick the data source + percentile + the geos to update.

  2. Review the diff

    Per-band shows current vs market-suggested. Adjustments often raise the lowest bands more than the highest.

  3. Pick which to accept

    Per-band; you don't have to accept every suggestion.

  4. Apply

    Audit log records HCM_COMP_MARKET_DATA_REFRESHED for the refresh + HCM_COMP_BAND_UPDATED per accepted change.

Refresh notice

Refreshes that raise midpoint by more than the workspace's sensitivity threshold trigger a notice to active comp-review admins. The threshold is policy-set, not hardcoded.

Comp equity dashboard

The bands feed a workspace-level equity dashboard:

FieldWhat it doesAccepted values / default
% of employees within bandDistribution by band of employees at vs above vs below.Out-of-band employees are review items for the next comp-review cycle.
Inter-quartile distributionHow tight your team clusters around midpoint per band.Useful for spotting over-/under-compensation patterns.
Pay-equity check by groupAggregate comparison across demographic groups.K-anon-locked; thin groups show redacted cards instead of individual data.

Every field, explained

FieldWhat it doesAccepted values / default
FamilyIC / Manager / Specialist track.Workspace-defined.
LevelL1 / L2 / L3 / etc.Aligns with [Career framework](/hcm/career-path).
GeographyRegion or city the band applies to.Per the geographic differentiation model.
Min / midpoint / maxBase-salary range.Annual amount; per-period derivations are automatic.
Target bonus %Target annual bonus as % of base.Per-employee actual still varies.
Target equity grant (hire)New-hire grant size.Typical share count or dollar value at most recent FMV.
Refresher grant cadenceHow often refresher grants are issued.Workspace-policy; tracked here for transparency.
Market referenceSource + percentile + as-of date.Recorded for audit defense.

Audit codes

For SIEM ingestion + compliance review, this surface emits:

HCM_COMP_BAND_CREATEDHCM_COMP_BAND_UPDATEDHCM_COMP_MARKET_DATA_REFRESHED

See Reference → Audit codes for the canonical description of each.

Common gotchas

  • "My recruiter is offering outside the band." Out-of-band offers are permitted but flagged for HR review; the requisition shows the deviation.
  • "My band midpoint suggests a raise I can't afford." Market refreshes are suggestions; you decide which to accept. Workspace policy can also smooth the increase over multiple cycles.
  • "Two bands overlap for the same family × level." Geography differentiates; if the geo model overlaps, narrow the definitions.
  • "My pay-equity check refused to render." K-anon threshold not met for the group(s). Aggregate larger groups or wait until workforce growth supports the analysis.

Troubleshooting

Error codeWhat it meansFix
BAND_DUPLICATEFamily × level × geography already exists.Edit the existing band.
BAND_RANGE_INVERTEDMax ≤ min.Adjust.
BAND_MARKET_SOURCE_MISSINGNo market source provided.Add the reference + as-of date.

Related

Compensation review

Annual cycle that uses these bands.

Employee lifecycle

Where new-hire comp lands in a band.