For a better return on what's probably your architecture or engineering firm's largest expense, turn to PSMJ's A/E/C Compensation Analysis Service.  Way more than a generic payroll review, you get a team of compensation experts looking at your practices from every angle, using the industry’s most accurate salary, incentive and benefits data.  The result? A new strategically-crafted pay structure that aligns with your firm’s culture, business performance targets, and current market conditions. 

Learn more about how PSMJ's A/E/C Compensation Analysis Service can dramatically improve your balance sheet while driving measurable improvements in employee engagement and productivity.

Stop Paying Too Much, or Too Little, to Maintain a High-Performance A/E/C Workforce
Over time, compensation can become unbalanced, uncompetitive, and even unfair—leading to unhappy employees looking elsewhere and a bloated payroll failing to deliver ROI. PSMJ's A/E/C-specific 3-factor compensation analysis covers all elements of non-exempt, exempt,
PMs/middle management, and senior management compensation, including rates, incentives, and benefits. You get a pay structure that's:

WORKING TOGETHER, WE:

• Determine which of your firm’s base salaries and bonus levels are competitive with A/E/C firms in your market/region and which need attention.
• Propose adjustments for positions based on best possible ROI.
• Develop a performance bonus strategy that rewards and incentivizes peak performance.
• Establish appropriate utilization goals and billing rates for each employee, enabling you to track performance.
• Predict the financial impact of every compensation adjustment.

LEARNING ABOUT YOUR FIRM

We begin by listening and learning about your current job descriptions, compensation data, employee benefits, and more. We then facilitate meaningful discussions with key personnel to reveal goals, challenges, and opportunities.

LABOR MARKET ANALYSIS

PSMJ matches each employee’s position to a comparable position in surveys based on job title, job description, relevant experience, and level of responsibility. Then we apply data in PSMJ’s exclusive compensation surveys and other benchmarks to determine how your comp practices compare to the labor market.

EQUITY ANALYSIS

Using PSMJ’s proprietary Salary Equity Tool, we ensure internal equity between positions, establish appropriate utilization goals

and billing rates for each employee, and show you the the financial impacts of any

salary adjustments. 

Common Compensation Practices Mistakes for A/E/C Firm Leaders

How PSMJ Avoids Them When Analyzing Your Compensation Program and Recommending Adjustments 

Failing to consider the impact of increased compensation on financial performance

Wage increases impact your firm’s competitiveness for winning projects, so it’s critical to benchmark each employee with metrics like utilization and billing rate multiplier. Your PSMJ compensation analysis lets you adjust these metrics and forecast revenues as base salaries increase, to hit profit targets.

Using only one compensation survey, and only looking at A/E/C data

In addition to proprietary surveys, PSMJ applies several external data sources

to ensure accurate results, including relevant non-A/E/C industry data.

Assuming that salary information is confidential

Unbalanced, unfair compensation systems create lower employee engagement and higher turnover. Your report reveals internal degree-based inequities so we can remedy them before they cause morale and productivity problems.

A/E/C Enterprise Project Performance System (EPPS) delivers a 3-step high-impact custom learning experience tailored to find and fix your firm’s 

Failing to link comp strategy with growth goals

Facilitating a discussion among your firm’s key leaders means your firm’s

growth and profitability goals drive any recommendations.

• Industry Experts—At PSMJ Resources, the A/E/C industry isn’t just another client sector; it’s our only business focus and has been for over 40 years.

• Exclusive, industry-leading benchmarking data—We use PSMJ’s exclusive A/E compensation surveys to benchmark your firm against similar ones in your industry—including our surveys on management compensation, staff compensation, bonus and benefit plans, and financial performance.  Our surveys—paired with external metrics—means you get precise data-driven recommendations.

• Broadest Experience —PSMJ has studied compensation and bonus programs for over 20 years, resulting in an impressive amount of data and knowledge about what works and what doesn’t.

• PSMJ’s proprietary Salary Equity Tool—Using this exclusive tool, you ensure that base salaries for all your employees are internally equitable, create utilization goals and billing rates for each employee, and determine the financial impacts of any salary increases.

• The Big Picture — We don’t match positions based solely on job title. PSMJ looks deeper into each employee’s role, taking into account relevant experience, level of responsibility, job description, and geographic location.

• Tested Solutions — All PSMJ consultants bring real-world experience, having successfully managed top design and engineering firms and delivered proven solutions. 

Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved.