Compensation Studies

Stop having discussions devoid of facts and only opinions!

Get hard data from an impartial expert.

A useful salary study takes time and is complex. Because of this, many turn to Fletch for help. Salaries and benefits are 54.6% of church budgets. This area deserves your best attention.

Church Leaders often want an outside expert to give impartial advice.
SPs, XPs and HR Directors see that it saves money and time for a recognized leader like Fletch to do the research.
Highly compensated employees often require an independent study—the IRS defines this as base salaries above $150,000.

Contact Jesse to learn more

There are various levels of studies that begin at $700 and are completed in 10-14 days: Small Study—1 to 4 key staff with a 20+ page report. Medium Study—5-19 staff with a 35+ page report. Large Study—20+ staff with a 45+ page report

All Compensation Studies are carefully crafted by Fletch.

Contact Jesse to discuss your needs

Fletch’s Church-centric Compensation Studies

He has a unique Compensation Study format that gives maximum data with high readability. Fletch was an XP in large churches for decades. He knows how church leaders think, what kind of information they want to see, and how to present cogent information to a church board.

In your custom report, discover 6 essential elements

Local Schools—See comparable salaries from your local school teachers and staff. Get insights on locally negotiated salaries.
Local Cost of Living—To live in your community, how much does a family of four need?
National Database—Have assurance from a reliable source. XPastor’s Salary Forecaster gives deep insight into billions of dollars of budgets.
Similar Salaries—Compare 50-100 actual salaries. Virtually no one else gives this. At a granular level, learn how other churches (made anonymous) pay their staff.
Bell Charts—See selected findings in bell charts and analytic tables.
Grid—Receive a Compensation Grid for all staff in the study.

Leaders are now ready for a vibrant and data-driven discussion

A Few Churches Need a Full Analysis

Some churches need more than a study, they require a Compensation Analysis. This provides:

The above 6 aspects of an XPastor study.
A top to bottom look at pastoral, managerial and non-exempt salaries and church issues.
It defines and documents who is a pastor or commissioned ministry director, who can opt out of Social Security, and FICA & SECA issues.
It examines ministerial issues, including extremely beneficial but less known rules and regulations.
All staff salaries are examined.
Fletch reviews job descriptions for ministerial compliance and the church constitution for process issues.
Recent budgets are used to understand the percent of salary and benefits to budget.
A Big Burrito is created of total compensation for each staff member.
Recommendations are given on salary and salary-related issues.

Contact Fletch if you desire a complete examination of your salary structure and rationale in an 80-100+ page report on salient issues.

Good Studies Give Graphic Results

Graphic results are based on a statistical analysis of 50-100 salaries. Fletch spent months upgrading his methodology on compensation studies. He added percentiles for each person, comparing salaries in other churches.

In the table, the SP is at the 39th percentile, meaning that statistically 38 people earn lower and 61 earn higher.

There may be room for growth!

A good compensation study has bell charts. They show all the surveyed salaries using dots along the bell, with the person’s current salary having a vertical line.

In the appendix to a study, 50 to 100 salaries are listed, along with census region, size of church budget and worship attendance. No one but Fletch gives this!

Get solid data for comparable salaries.

Salary Grid

Receive a Quad Compensation Grid for all staff in the study. This is the apex of what you need. It provides the basis for the next 3 years of possible raises. The Quads are ready for your board to have a vibrant discussion that is based on solid research.

Comments on Fletch’s work

Breadth of Information

I appreciate the breadth of information and know it will be used. It was a delight to work with you and I expect my replacement will continue working with you in the future.

Vickie Bray, Director of Human Resources, Stonebriar Church

Integrity Quotient

An independent compensation study increases the integrity quotient of your church, so that people don’t think the staff are setting their own salaries.

Keith Duff, Executive Pastor, Village Bible Church

Confidence in Decisions

The compensation discussion was succinct, data based, and meaningful. The best part is that we quickly gained agreement and left the meeting confident that we had made the right decision. In the past, compensation discussions were often lengthy, filled with opinions rather than data, and not characterized by confidence.

Elder, Presbyterian Church in the Southwest

Basis of Fletch’s Work

Fletch’s work is based on his book, Smart Money for Church Salaries, that was thoroughly reviewed by four Certified Public Accountants of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

Fletch’s Compensation Studies utilize his insider track, which provides extra data for all positions. He also brings in hard-to-find salary information for special cases. No confidential information is ever shared but you gain access to even more data.