How XpertHR benchmarking survey research can help you

XpertHR's Benchmarking service unlocks the full potential of XpertHR survey data. Here we present a guide to XpertHR benchmarking survey research and what you can get out of it. 

On this page:

Introducing XpertHR's benchmarking survey research programme
How XpertHR benchmarking survey data can help you now

Who uses XpertHR benchmarking survey data?
XpertHR Benchmarking: unlocking the full potential of XpertHR survey data
The scope of XpertHR benchmarking survey data
The principles of XpertHR survey research
Who takes part in XpertHR surveys?
The methods of XpertHR benchmarking survey research
Why you can trust XpertHR benchmarking survey data
The history of XpertHR benchmarking survey research 
Take part in XpertHRs benchmarking survey research programme
Box 1: The principles of XpertHR benchmarking survey research
Additional resources on XpertHR

Key points

  • The XpertHR benchmarking survey research programme has a four-decade history of reporting on and setting the agenda for HR best practice. 
  • XpertHR survey research has consistently been guided by strong principles and a commitment to quality, accuracy and relevance. 
  • XpertHR's benchmarking service enables users to access the full data behind IRS surveys for the first time. 

Introducing XpertHR's benchmarking survey research programme 

XpertHR is a leading provider of HR benchmarking survey research, with a history stretching back to the early 1970s. Over the past four decades, our approach to HR benchmarking survey data has been consistently guided by strong principles (see box 1) and a commitment to quality, accuracy and relevance. 

These principles also inform the XpertHR Benchmarking service, which significantly enhances XpertHR's data services by unlocking the complete findings of XpertHR benchmarking survey research. It enables subscribers to access the full depth and breadth of XpertHR benchmarking survey data for the first time. 

Here, we present an introduction to XpertHR benchmarking survey data and the survey research programme that supports it. We also look at what you can get out of it today. 

How XpertHR benchmarking survey data can help you now

The XpertHR benchmarking survey research programme is ongoing. The resulting survey data have a wealth of practical applications for the day-to-day work of HR specialists. 

All XpertHR benchmarking surveys are designed to be of optimum value and utility to HR practitioners. The scope of the IRS survey research programme is wide, covering all aspects of employment practice, from recruitment strategies to exit interviews, from pay and benefits to contingency planning. 

The resulting data provide key insights into the challenges facing HR practitioners and their responses to these challenges, identifying and describing cutting edge practice. The XpertHR benchmarking survey data also dovetail into the wealth of good practice and legal compliance content available on XpertHR, helping to create a complete flowchart solution for all areas of HR practice. 

Who uses XpertHR benchmarking survey data?

The authority and relevance of XpertHR benchmarking survey data is illustrated by the diversity of the audience that puts it to practical use. As well as being used by HR practitioners across all disciplines (including specialist practitioners in reward, diversity and recruitment), a range of public bodies frequently consult XpertHR benchmarking research. For example:

  • The Office of Manpower Economics (external website) regularly uses XpertHR benchmarking survey data to feed into public sector pay review body decisions. 
  • The Bank of England makes extensive use of XpertHR pay data (for example in compiling its influential quarterly Inflation Report) and monthly Agents' Summary of Business Conditions report. It also conducts regular meetings with IRS pay specialists to discuss upcoming trends in reward and their implications for the wider UK economy. 

XpertHR Benchmarking: Unlocking the full potential of XpertHR survey data

Launched in 2010, the XpertHR Benchmarking service represents the next step in the evolution our survey research programme, further enhancing its value and utility for HR practitioners. 

The XpertHR Benchmarking service allows a new level of access to and interactivity with our data. In addition to our researchers' evaluation of survey findings, XpertHR subscribers now have the opportunity to access the full data underlying each survey, and to draw out the findings of greatest relevance to them. 

The XpertHR Benchmarking service also offers the option to segment statistical survey data by organisation size and industry sector band. Users can download the resulting findings for use in their own internal reports. 

The scope of XpertHR benchmarking survey data

The wide range of HR benchmarking data offered by XpertHR is illustrated by the list of XpertHR surveys available via the XpertHR Benchmarking service. The resource of benchmarking data stored here includes extensive coverage of the most frequently benchmarked HR topics: pay; redundancy; turnover; and absence. 

Pay is a particular area of expertise for XpertHR, with a history of collecting pay settlement data that stretches back to 1971. The first IRS (Industrial Relations Services - the original name for XpertHR's benchmarking survey research unit) collective review of pay settlements was published in April 1980, with the first electronically produced figures from the pay databank appearing in 1984. XpertHR collects data on pay settlements on an ongoing basis, which are compiled in the XpertHR pay databank. The XpertHR pay databank allows us to track trends in pay settlements over time, both across the whole economy and by sector. XpertHR publishes pay data on a rolling quarterly and an annual basis. 

XpertHR Benchmarking offers complete access to all data from XpertHR's full programme of benchmarking research surveys conducted. The complete benchmarking data for each new XpertHR survey is made available at the same time as the relevant written analysis article appears on XpertHR. The XpertHR Benchmarking service therefore represents the most up to date and authoritative benchmarking data resource available to UK employers. 

The principles of XpertHR survey research

Box 1 sets out the principles that have guided the XpertHR benchmarking survey research programme from its inception in the early 1970s. The XpertHR benchmarking survey research programme is designed to generate and provide survey data that are authoritative, comprehensive, timely, accessible and relevant. 

The principles underlying the XpertHR benchmarking survey research programme date back to the first ever IRS publication - the debut issue of IRS Industrial Relations Review and Report, published in January 1971 - which included something of an HR data manifesto. The introduction (PDF format, 510.9K) to that first issue, entitled "A new journal for a new era", sets out the principles behind all subsequent IRS (and, ultimately, XpertHR) publications and research. It states: "We will not be content with mere presentation of data. We will pick out important features of pay and procedure agreements and note significant trends ... We will ensure that our information is accurate ... [Everything we publish will] be easy to read and easy to understand. There is no rule which dictates that an industrial relations journal be badly presented and boring."

Our commitment to this view has not wavered since. 

A focus on the practical value to the end user is another key principle guiding the XpertHR benchmarking survey research programme. 

The intended value is set out in the instruction manual issued to all XpertHR researchers, which states: "[XpertHR survey research] defines what is new and important, and describes a wide range of current practice and identifies areas of change. This enables subscribers both to compare their own practice with that of other, named companies and to keep abreast of new developments."

Who takes part in XpertHR surveys?

Central to the strength of XpertHR benchmarking survey research is the quality of its participants. 

All XpertHR benchmarking surveys draw on the knowledge and experience of HR practitioners at the forefront of the profession. Survey samples are not necessarily always representative of the full spectrum of the economy, but neither are they intended to be. Rather, the XpertHR benchmarking survey research programme is focused on those engaged full time in critical HR activities. Our sample base is therefore representative of UK HR professionals (typically in medium to large organisations) tackling the key issues of the day. 

Some of our surveys deal with matters that must necessarily remain confidential, in which case no participants are named. But we strive where possible to produce a large number of "named practice" surveys each year. Named practice surveys provide details of the organisations taking part, thereby enabling users to learn exactly who is doing what, and why, and to identify organisations at the cutting edge of best practice in given areas. 

The methods of XpertHR benchmarking survey research

Throughout its history, the central method through which XpertHR benchmarking survey research data are collected has remained the same: the questionnaire. But how these questionnaires are designed and delivered is constantly evolving. 

At its inception back in the early 1970s, our benchmarking survey research programme used postal data collection methods, with the facility to complete surveys online being introduced in 2004. All XpertHR benchmarking survey research went entirely online from the end of 2006, with all survey questionnaires having been published and administered via the XpertHR Surveys website, and promoted via e-mails, blog posts and news items on XpertHR. 

All XpertHR benchmarking survey questionnaires are compiled by XpertHR's team of specialist researchers. The XpertHR editorial team draws on an unusually rich body of experience, gained through work in national newspapers, trade union representation, government research departments, consultancy, political parties, research organisations and local councils. Each XpertHR benchmarking survey questionnaire is informed by our researchers' strong understanding of key issues and latest developments in their specific areas of HR specialisation. 

The level of subject knowledge required of XpertHR researchers is also detailed in their instruction manual: "In-house research is preceded by a combination of contact with practitioners, internal discussions, attendance at conferences and desk research to establish the need and the analytical framework for the pursuit of further information."

Why you can trust XpertHR benchmarking survey data

The benchmarking survey data produced by XpertHR are designed to be capable of passing tests to confirm their reliability and their validity. XpertHR Senior Research Fellow Ed Cronin - who manages the XpertHR benchmarking survey research programme - defines these two factors:

  • "The first test is for reliability: if you repeated the research, would you get the same results? Reliability is generally a function of sample size (the number of respondents taking part in a survey) measured against population size (the target group for survey respondents), combined with the research method used. Given our subject population size (typically medium to large UK organisations for XpertHR benchmarking surveys), our samples are solid, meaning our research is reliable. 
  • "The second test is for validity: do the results mean anything or are they just chance? Validity concerns survey design and what is done with the results. To ensure that XpertHR benchmarking research is valid, all conclusions drawn from it are informed by a strong understanding of the modern employment relations landscape and the challenges faced by HR and employment practitioners."

All presentations of XpertHR benchmarking survey research data are clear as to the number of survey respondents and the time period to which the survey findings relate. Each XpertHR benchmarking survey provides detailed breakdowns of responses by workforce size and industry sector, where possible, so that all users are able to access data of direct relevance to their situation. 

The history of XpertHR benchmarking survey research

Benchmarking survey data have represented a cornerstone of XpertHR's offering from its launch in January 2002. 

But the history of XpertHR's benchmarking survey research programme stretches back much further. The first ever IRS survey research article appeared in the second edition of IRS Industrial Relations Review and Report, in February 1971, and looked at the perennial issue of equal pay and the gender pay gap (PDF format, 1.2MB). Its findings remain pertinent today. 

The need for authoritative information of direct practical relevance to HR remains equally pertinent. This perennial theme is also touched upon in the 1971 IRS article "A new journal for a new era" mentioned above. It refers to the "revolutionary" sea-change in industrial relations heralded by the legislation that would be enacted as the Industrial Relations Act 1971 and the changing priorities facing UK managers and unions. It begins: "British industrial relations is entering a new era. The old ways, like the old days, will soon be gone. They will not return."

Reliable and authoritative information was central to the ability to navigate the employment landscape of 1971 and has remained so ever since. As IRS put it almost 40 years ago, "progressive" responses from both managers and unions require "new policies and new methods, new techniques and new concepts based on more information than ever before."

The XpertHR benchmarking survey research programme has maintained this progressive approach to collecting and providing high quality information of direct practical use to HR practitioners. Its guiding principles remain unchanged, and are manifested in the XpertHR Benchmarking service. These principles will continue to inform XpertHR's ongoing evolution. 

Take part in XpertHR's benchmarking survey research programme

The XpertHR Benchmarking survey research programme is ongoing. Visit the XpertHR Surveys website for details of all current and forthcoming surveys, and follow the links to participate in and help shape the findings of our latest HR benchmarking surveys. 

This article was written by Michael Carty, Benchmarking Editor, XpertHR. 

Box 1: The principles of XpertHR benchmarking survey research

Over the four decades from its inception in early 1971, the XpertHR benchmarking survey research programme (previously IRS) has consistently been informed by an unwavering commitment to a set of core principles.

These principles are also reflected in the design and functionality of XpertHR's Benchmarking service, which allows full access to all XpertHR survey data. 

XpertHR benchmarking survey research:

  • provides authoritative information of direct practical relevance to HR; 
  • is always reliable, accurate, comprehensive, timely, accessible, relevant and of high quality; 
  • reflects and influences HR best practice; 
  • draws on the knowledge and experience of HR practitioners at the cutting edge of best practice;
  • is designed to offer optimum value and utility to HR; and
  • is always presented in a way that is clear and accessible. 

Additional resources on XpertHR

  • XpertHR Benchmarking Visit XpertHR's unique benchmarking service. 
  • XpertHR Benchmarking: List of Benchmarking Survey Data A complete index of all XpertHR benchmarking survey data now available via the XpertHR benchmarking service. 
  • XpertHR Pay Figures: The Guide A quarter of a century on from when XpertHR began electronically collating pay settlement data in 1984, we examine the economic and political changes that have occurred since then and examine their impact on the pattern of pay awards. 
  • XpertHR Surveys Learn more about the range of benchmarking surveys conducted by IRS and take part in our research.