Quick Reference Guide
You have a set budget for merit increases every year. The planner works out how to split it, so that stronger performers and people who sit low in their salary range get more, and the total comes to exactly what you have.
Before you start, have three numbers to hand: the total base salary of everyone in the merit cycle, the merit budget you have been given, and how many employees are included.
1. Enter your organization details
- Country. Pick yours. The currency changes to match, and your budget is compared with PE portfolio companies in that country. If your country is not listed, choose Another country and type in a market figure of your own, or leave it blank and the comparison will not show.
- Total base salary. Only the employees in the merit cycle. Leave out anyone who is not getting a review.
- Merit budget. Enter it as an amount or switch to a percentage, whichever way it was given to you.
- Employees. Headcount in the cycle. Used to show how many people sit in each box.
Fields marked * are required. Figures take thousands separators as you type.
2. Set your rating scale
Choose three, four or five levels, and whether you label them with words, numbers, or your own wording. If your lowest rating normally receives nothing, leave that box ticked. If everyone in your cycle receives something, untick it and set a smallest increase.
3. Set the matrix shape
| Setting | What it does |
|---|
| Rating and compa-ratio | Two employees with the same rating can sit at different points in the salary range. The same rating pays more to someone below the midpoint than to someone above it. Use this if you keep salary ranges. |
| Rating only | One increase per rating, the same for everyone at that rating. Use this if you do not keep salary ranges, or for a first conversation with your leadership team. |
| Gap between the top and bottom rating | At 2× the top performer gets twice the increase, at 3× three times. |
| Extra for people paid below their midpoint | The same rating pays more to someone below the midpoint. At 0% everyone with the same rating gets the same increase. |
| Smallest and largest increase | Limits no box may cross. Applied after the grid is worked out, so raising the smallest pulls the largest down. |
4. Describe your employees
Set what share of your population sits at each rating, and at each compa-ratio band. Both should total 100%; the planner flags them in orange if they do not. These are your figures, and they change the answer significantly.
5. Read the grid
Each box shows the increase, how many employees are in it, and what it costs. Deeper shading means more of the budget lands there. The four right-hand columns total each rating: headcount, average increase, share of budget, and amount. The bottom row totals everything.
Type into any box to set it yourself, then click the small square to hold it while the rest of the grid re-solves around it. The total stays on budget. Click again to release.
The most useful test. Set the grid the way you think you want it, then look at the box for a strong performer who is already well paid. That is what your best-paid, best-performing people will actually see. It is usually lower than people expect.
6. Check the two panels underneath
How your budget compares puts your percentage against PE portfolio companies in your country. The teal line is their median budget. The shaded band covers the middle half of them, so a quarter sit below it and a quarter above. The orange line is your own budget. Switch between 2027 projected and 2026 actual.
How far your grid spreads tells you how much more your largest increase is than your smallest one. A 3× spread means the top box pays three times the bottom box.
It shows two gaps, and they are usually different:
- The gap you set between rating levels is the slider in the matrix shape panel. It only moves ratings apart.
- The gap the finished grid produces is what actually comes out. It is wider, because the compa-ratio setting separates people again inside each rating. A 2.8× slider with compa-ratio weighting typically lands nearer 4.7× end to end.
The panel shows the highest and lowest increases behind that figure, so you can see the arithmetic. Quote the second number, not the slider, if anyone asks how much you differentiate. Zeros are left out, because a zero makes the ratio meaningless.
7. Save your work
| Button | What it does |
|---|
| Download PDF | A one-page summary: the matrix with totals, both comparison panels, and the inputs behind them. Suitable for a board pack or a file note. |
| Download CSV | Every figure, including the inputs, the population mix, the full matrix and the benchmark comparison. Opens in Excel. |
| Reset all | Returns every setting to its starting value, including country, rating scale and population mix. |
Nothing is stored, so download before you close the tab.
What this is, and what it is not
- It is a starting grid for a discussion, not an approved plan.
- Benchmarks come from SCOPE 2026–27 participants and are marked survey. Everything else is your own input and is marked you. Do not present your own assumptions as survey findings.
- Country benchmarks are shown only where enough companies reported that country.
Questions about the figures behind the benchmarks can go to the Insightory team at scope@insightory.com.
