NIBA's comprehensive survey of 167 companies located in a four-county region of Illinois (Cook, Lake, DuPage and McHenry Counties), represents more than 22,000 incumbents from a variety of industries. Of those positions surveyed, 48% were salaried employees, 43% were hourly workers, 6% were sales personnel and 3% were executives.

The majority of companies surveyed were small to mid-sized with sales volumes ranging from $5 million to $100 million. Industries represented in the survey include manufacturing (56%), distribution (16%), service industries (14%), other organizations such as associations, medical and research firms (11%), and financial services (4%).

"The information in this survey is graded according to the National Position Evaluation Plan -- a point factor assessment method," explained Diane Lustenader, SPHR, President of Lake Associates, Inc. and an NIBA member who served on the Wage and Salary Survey Committee. "This provides users with a big advantage because the survey is comparable to other national data. They can compare their own positions to determine differences and then make appropriate adjustments."

CHART 2 Companies surveyed by NIBA are grouped into four size ranges: 1-49, 50-199, 200-499 and 500+ employees. The majority were small to mid-sized.NIBA's survey, which includes hourly, salaried and sales positions, is one of the few reports that also covers executive positions, as well as non-exempt office and plant positions.

Small privately held companies without Human Resources departments will find NIBA's survey especially useful as a tool for understanding how to recruit and maintain employees, as well as a guide for creating their own salary systems. "Many companies rely on this survey to calibrate their own rates inside," said Liz Ryan, a Northern Illinois Business Association member and former vice president of Human Resources at U.S. Robotics.

In terms of salary ranges, NIBA's survey revealed that the maximum range had jumped in many areas. "Apart from the need to stay competitive with pay raises, another reason for this jump may be that companies have installed broadbanding policies, which reduces the number of salary ranges," said Ryan, a management consultant who works for NIBA on the survey. "For instance, a few years ago there were plenty of LAN administrators around, now it's very difficult to find them so companies are forced to reevaluate their salary structure."

CHART 3 Approximately 79% of companies surveyed by NIBA have annual sales volumes of less than $100 million.

NIBA's survey contains more than 200 positions grouped into three categories for easy reference. Exempt, non-exempt, sales and executive positions are covered in the survey. Coding and job descriptions are provided to help readers accurately match their position to the titles listed. The descriptions include job duties, education and minimum experience typically required.

The Northern Illinois Business Association is a member-driven, not-for-profit organization that offers a wide range of training, information, networking and consulting opportunities to its members. NIBA membership consists of approximately 450 manufacturers, distributors and service organizations throughout Illinois.

CHART 4 A variety of industries are represented in the survey including manufacturing, distribution, service industries, financial services and "other" which includes associations, medical and research firms.

For more information on specifics of the survey, or to purchase a copy of NIBA's 47th Annual Wage and Salary Survey, contact: Brenda Larson, Northern Illinois Business Association, 625 North Court, Suite 300, Palatine, IL 60067. Phone: 847-963-9860.