Part 11: High-Level Benchmarking

by | Jun 7, 2021

By: KHA Consulting Team

The following is part 11 of a multi-part series on The KHA Way, KHA Management Consulting’s Integrated Service Offering. This blog series includes the benefits of using KHA Management Consulting Services and the components included.

After you have internal roles and job descriptions spelled out and titles have been aligned commensurately, it can be helpful to know what market pay is for each of those roles in an organization, in your context. This can include:

  • Geographical
  • Industry-focused
  • Size-related

In this process, what other industry insights might be helpful to inform your business model and how you go to market? We will help you identify good benchmarking resources for both your business and employees. We also will begin to probe into what makes your business unique and what you think sets you apart from your competitors, both those currently in the market and those to follow.

Our compensation benchmarking analysis is typically performed using no less than three sources of information. Some of these sources are less flexible and less specific, but generally we identify two very strong resources that are specific to your industry to give the user of the analysis (you) clarity on what market is. Before the benchmarking process begins, we will meet with you and possibly another leader or two from your team that will help set the criteria. KHA will then research, as needed, and recommend potential options as well as find the proposed resources to use and purchase that information on your behalf.

The benchmarking performance is involved and requires some in depth analysis to be performed. Some sources require querying while others have what-if tools built in. Market adjustments are either explicit or implicit; and we evaluate both ultimately making a recommendation for each scoped in role. Finally, a deliverable is prepared and presented to you and your management team. Any assumptions we used are reviewed and may need tweaking depending on management preference for the context weights we have used in our analysis.

Your management team is now armed with market benchmarking information that will help them feel confident in what their employees are making and can make. Later in this series, we will focus a discussion on incentive compensation planning. In our Personnel Positioning phase, we have:

  • Redesigned your organizational chart
  • Determined high-level organization-wide metrics to consider
  • Developed success criteria for each role
  • Defined job descriptions with roles and responsibilities
  • Performed high level compensation benchmarking.

All these tools are helpful; however, they do not abdicate the responsibility for management to lead. Next up is our series on Corporate Strategy where we will walk through vision casting, strategic planning, and setting targets for your teams to achieve, effectively driving your organization forward.

At KHA Management Consultants, we work with mid-market industry leaders to identify what makes the organization, its stakeholders, and its’ employees tick. We facilitate the Personnel Positioning process with your organization’s key constituents to ensure buy-in, ownership, and a new way of thinking about the organization and its stakeholders amongst all levels. From a resource perspective, we primarily use our unmatched experience but also tap into the top-level resources such as those made available by Harvard Business Review, Relevant Strategic Management Authors, and MentorPlus. Some of those materials, frameworks, and lessons have been used in authoring this series.

KHA Management Consultants, the consulting department of KHA Accountants, PLLC, based in Flower Mound, Texas, is always looking for opportunities to work with key clients ready to take their organization to the next level. If you have a desire to improve, take the first step toward success with the strategic management experts, and contact us at 972-221-2500.

The IRS and Your Partnership: What a Landmark Court Ruling Means for Your Tax Bill

A federal appeals court just rewrote the self-employment tax rules for limited partnerships — and if your business operates in Texas, Louisiana, or Mississippi, the change applies to you now. The Fifth Circuit’s landmark decision in K Alain, L.L.L.P. v. Commissioner replaced two competing legal standards with a brand-new test: does the partner play a significant role in managing or running the business? The answer could mean tens of thousands of dollars in SE tax savings — or an unexpected IRS bill.

The Great Wealth Transfer: How Real Estate Owners Can Protect and Pass On Their Legacy

Trillions of dollars in real estate assets are set to change hands as baby boomers pass wealth to the next generation, and how that transition is handled will determine whether families thrive or struggle. Whether you own a single investment property or a complex real estate portfolio, understanding your options for ownership structure, tax planning, and succession is not just smart, it’s essential. This article breaks down the strategies every real estate owner should have on their radar.

Your Corporate Tax Rate Is Only Half the Story

A lower tax rate feels like a win — but it may only be telling half the story. New research reveals that cost recovery provisions, system complexity, and investment incentives often drive more value than the rate alone. Is your tax strategy built around the full picture?

Is Your Dental Practice Growing or Just Getting Busier? The Financial Blind Spots Costing You More Than You Think

Dental practice owners are working harder than ever, yet many are finding it increasingly difficult to predict where their finances will land at the end of the month. The culprit is not a lack of patients or revenue — it is the gap between what the numbers show and what they actually mean. From escalating overhead to operational inefficiencies hiding in plain sight, the forces quietly undermining profitability deserve a closer look. This article breaks down what is really happening inside dental practices today and what it takes to build a financial foundation that can keep pace with growth.