Why a salary scale matters
Without a scale, pay is decided offer by offer. Two employees doing the same work end up on different salaries, increases become negotiations, and no one can explain the logic to leadership.
A scale turns pay into a system: each job sits in a grade, each grade has a range, and every decision is measured against that range.
Step 1 — Evaluate the jobs
Start from the work, not the person. Score each role on scope, decision impact, required expertise, and people responsibility, then group roles with similar scores together.
- Write a one-line purpose for every job before scoring it
- Group jobs into families: technical, commercial, support, leadership
- Keep the evaluation criteria identical across departments
Step 2 — Set the grades and ranges
Assign a midpoint to each grade based on the market rate you target, then build the minimum and maximum around it. The table below shows an illustrative structure for a mid-sized Saudi company.
| Grade | Minimum | Midpoint | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| G01 — Entry | 5,000 | 6,500 | 8,000 |
| G02 — Junior | 7,000 | 9,500 | 12,000 |
| G03 — Professional | 11,000 | 15,000 | 19,000 |
| G04 — Manager | 18,000 | 25,000 | 32,000 |
| G05 — Director | 30,000 | 42,000 | 54,000 |
Step 3 — Place employees and read compa-ratio
Compa-ratio is the employee's salary divided by the midpoint of their grade. A ratio near 1.00 means the employee is paid at the intended market position; below 0.80 or above 1.20 signals a case that needs a decision.
- Below range: plan a correction over one or two cycles
- Above range: freeze the base and use a one-off bonus instead
- Review outliers by department before publishing the scale
Step 4 — Govern the scale
A scale only holds if exceptions are visible. Route every out-of-range offer or increase through a documented approval, and keep the record so next year's review starts from facts.