Top Salary Benchmarking Companies: Choosing Your Salary Survey Partner

Key takeaways

• Talentnet-Mercer offers data from 600+ companies, ideal for large corporations requiring detailed analysis
• Navigos Group excels in recruitment market insights from 4,000+ candidates, helping understand employee expectations
• KMC and Salary.vn are strong choices for small businesses needing quick surveys at affordable costs
• CEOs must ask about hidden fees to avoid budget overruns
• Salary surveys are strategic investments, not just costs, that determine talent retention success

Salary surveys are reports that collect market data on pay, bonuses, and benefits. Picking the right compensation consulting source helps companies reach five key goals:

1. Competitive pay to attract and keep top talent
2. Cost control for efficient human resources
3. Data-driven pay policies based on market facts
4. Legal risk reduction and labor law compliance
5. Market trend awareness across industries and sectors

1. Talentnet-Mercer: international standards and deep analytics

Talentnet’s partnership with Mercer creates Vietnam’s most complete salary benchmarking company, using international methods to provide reliable data for strategic HR decisions. Talentnet-Mercer has the market’s largest dataset with over 600 domestic and foreign companies, representing more than 483,000 employees across 20+ industries. This salary comparison report looks at:

• Detailed pay, bonuses, and benefits by level from staff to CEO
• Key metrics like salary increase rates, turnover rates, and productivity by department
• Company salary comparisons against competitors and market standards

Additional products include complete benefits surveys that help build competitive benefit packages and industry-specific reports for manufacturing and high-tech sectors that provide deep pay structure analysis for specialized industries.

Talentnet-Mercer works best for large corporations, multinational companies, and firms needing detailed international-standard data to build smart compensation structures. While costs are higher, it delivers long-term value through better pay frameworks and talent retention strategies.

2. Navigos Group

While other reports focus on current data, Navigos Group shows what employees actually want and where workforce trends are heading. Navigos Group focuses on real-world labor market data through their “Talent Guide” report, showing candidate expectations and latest recruitment trends. With data from over 4,000 candidates and 550 multinational companies in Vietnam, this leading salary survey provider gives you:

• Detailed salary tables for 23 key industries in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, from interns to senior management
• Analysis of why people change jobs and what candidates expect
• New trends like AI, ESG, and DE&I in human resources
• Average income, common benefits, and key skills by industry

Navigos Group’s strength is highly current data that shows real recruitment market changes. This helps CEOs understand what employees want, so they can adjust strategies to keep talent based on current average salaries in Vietnam. This report works for companies of all sizes that want to quickly grasp market trends to build competitive recruitment strategies.

3. KMC

KMC stands out with very detailed surveys by specific positions and geographic regions. This domestic HR consulting firm specializes in salary analysis for each specific industry, even breaking down technology sectors into Backend, Frontend, DevOps, and conducting regional salary surveys. KMC has specific pros and cons:

• Fair costs and flexible, fast services that fit small and medium business budgets
• Very detailed position and regional surveys, letting companies adjust pay policies by location for internal fairness
• Narrower industry data scope compared to larger providers, mainly strong in traditional, technical, and technology sectors
• Fewer big-picture trend forecasts and limited professional events

KMC works well for small and medium businesses or companies that need surveys for specialized industries, wanting detailed regional data with fair costs and short timelines.

4. Salary.vn

Salary.vn is a tech platform that lets you look up salaries instantly at low or no cost. They use AI and Big Data, giving you data that’s updated constantly from community sources. This platform has clear pros and cons:

• Instant lookup, cost savings, and high flexibility for small companies or individuals who need quick surveys
• Data updated constantly through community input, so it reflects real market conditions
• Limited reliability and depth since data comes from community self-reporting
• No strategic consulting services and not enough specialized industry data at senior levels

Salary.vn works best for small companies, startups, or individuals who need quick salary market checks for common positions without needing deep analysis or complex salary structure consulting.

What criteria should guide partner selection?

Picking the right salary survey partner requires careful thought about multiple factors, from company size to HR goals.

1. Determine scale and strategic objectives

Large corporations and foreign-invested companies typically need international-standard data with deep multi-level analysis to build complex pay systems. These organizations need consistency in applying global standards and the ability to compare against other international markets.

Small and medium businesses prefer flexible solutions with fair costs and fast setup. They need reports they can use right away without complex processes. For companies focused on recruitment, having data that matches labor market conditions and candidate expectations is key for building effective talent attraction strategies.

2. Evaluate reliability and methodology

Good partners must have clear, transparent data collection and verification methods. Scientific processes in data gathering, processing, and analysis ensure accurate and objective results.

Choose providers with long-standing market reputation and experienced HR expert teams for long-term company value.

3. Require report customization capabilities

Good partners must provide reports tailored to industry specifics, scale, and geographic regions. This flexibility ensures the data you receive will be relevant and directly applicable to your specific business strategies.

What hidden costs should you watch for?

One of the biggest challenges in picking salary survey services is controlling unexpected extra costs that can push total spending far beyond initial budgets:

• Customization fees typically show up when companies request special analysis for positions not included in standard packages or need data tailored to specific industry needs. Many providers only list general position categories in initial quotes, but during actual setup, CEOs discover that their company’s specialized roles aren’t covered.
• Deep analysis report fees require extra payment for more detailed data breakdown by level or department, beyond basic overview reports. This is especially important for large corporations with complex structures needing detailed cross-department comparisons.
• Data update fees represent another big cost since some packages only provide data at one point in time. Companies wanting quarterly or annual updates must pay substantial extra fees for this service, especially given today’s fast-changing labor market.
• Consulting and result interpretation fees for expert sessions analyzing reports in depth may not be included in basic packages. Many CEOs only realize this when they actually need specific guidance on applying data to their company’s real-world HR strategies.

Selecting the right salary survey provider is a strategic decision directly impacting your company’s competitive ability and talent retention capabilities. Wrong choices not only waste money but can lead to misguided HR strategy decisions. CEOs must carefully evaluate internal needs and business objectives before deciding. View investing in comprehensive salary survey reports as strategic investments in your company’s future, not merely operational expenses.

Ready to take your compensation strategy to the next level? Join us at THE MAKEOVER DAY 02 on October 16 with the theme “S-AI-ling Ahead – Forward is the only way.” This is where leaders from Vietnam, APAC, and beyond gather for real conversations about navigating the AI era. Day 02 unveils cutting-edge perspectives on total rewards in the digital age.