Voice of Business Blog

Each year, Greater Rochester Chamber conducts eleven or so annual member HR benchmarking surveys which take place at different times of the year. The surveys are available for participation at no cost to members (open to Corporate and Partner members only), and members receive the complimentary results when they participate in a survey (membership at those tiers must be in good standing at time of release, i.e. current/renewed).

How do I sign up?
A survey signup invitation is emailed to eligible top and secondary HR contacts in our membership database in early December for 1st quarter surveys and mid-June for 3rd quarter surveys. Members sign up to participate in the survey(s) of their choice via a brief web survey.

What happens when a survey is open for participation?
When a survey first opens, we will send out an email invitation to those that signed up from each member organization. The survey email will contain a participation link or attachment along with any other information needed to participate. And we do take late signups as long as the survey hasn’t been closed for compilation! We will also reach out to past participants in case they missed signups.

Each survey has its own rules for how much of it needs to be completed in order to be considered a participant eligible to receive the full results. For example, simply completing the demographic questions (headcount, industry, contact info, etc.) at the beginning is not sufficient to be considered a participant.

Will I receive the results for free?
Any Corporate and Partner member that participated in a survey and whose membership is in good standing at time of a survey’s release will automatically receive the complimentary results of the survey(s) they participated in.

The survey calendar is the best way to stay up to date and plan your participation time. The calendar includes what surveys are conducted, when the survey starts, when the deadline falls, and the timeframe when the final report will be published. And if for some reason a member is unable to participate, surveys can be purchased. Or for those in the Corporate and Partner tiers, HR professionals may come in to view the larger surveys – Corporate may view the local surveys and Partner may view local and national surveys. As a bonus, filling out larger surveys may also earn certified HR professionals recertification credits toward the HRCI Certification Institute PHR or SPHR designations (Professional/Senior Professional in Human Resources).
 
What surveys do you offer?
We offer a variety of compensation and benefits surveys, both local and national.

Annual Wage and Salary Surveys – (these surveys contain only greater Rochester area data)
- Nonexempt – Staff level positions in office/clerical, maintenance, finance and warehouse positions; includes special Co-op/Intern section.
- Professional/Managerial - Professional level positions in finance, HR, customer service, engineering, IT, production, sales/marketing, legal, and purchasing.
- Health & Human Services - Survey containing nonexempt and exempt positions in health and human services organizations.
- Manufacturing - Survey containing nonexempt manufacturing positions.

National Surveys (these surveys contain both local and national data)
- National Executive Compensation Survey - A comprehensive survey covering salary and benefits data for 48 key executive positions.
- National Policies & Practices Survey and National Benefits Survey – these comprehensive surveys alternate and are conducted every other year. Policies & Practices (starts week of September 15) includes topics such as: pay practices, paid time off, recruitment, training and development, employee/community relations, and workplace policies, while the National Benefits Survey covers health and welfare benefits, retirement benefits, miscellaneous benefits, and part-time employee benefits. These surveys are broken down into two sections: Rochester area and national data. Additional breakouts are provided by company size and employee category.

Research Reports (these surveys contain only greater Rochester area data)
- Health Benefits Survey - This survey typically addresses health and dental insurance topics for the Rochester area including: average premium contributions, management of premium increases, domestic partner benefits, self insured plans, high deductible plans, dental, retiree benefits, etc. (IN PROGRESS NOW! Email Kathy to sign up!)
- Holiday Closings Survey - Covers anticipated holiday observances for the coming year. (starts week of August 4! Email Kathy to sign up!)
- Pay Trends Survey - Reports pay adjustments received as a percent of pay at firms granting increases. (IN PROGRESS NOW! Email Kathy to sign up!)
- Turnover and Absenteeism Survey - An annual survey of turnover statistics and absenteeism rates. (results released in April 2025! Click to request a complimentary copy! Corporate and Partner members only)

We greatly appreciate the support of our members and the time commitment needed to provide data that enables us to publish our surveys throughout the year. If there are ways that we can make participation easier for you or your organization, please let us know. We have a lot of short cuts to make the process easier, especially for the local wage surveys,  so feel free to reach out! Please contact Kathy Richmond at (585) 256-4618 or Cindy Miller at (585) 256-4606 with any questions.