Pay bands for designers, writers and digital marketers in a small agency

A designer in a twelve person agency asks for a raise on a Friday evening. She has heard that the new copywriter joined at a higher monthly figure. The owner has no sheet to check. He remembers the offer was made quickly because a client was waiting. He cannot explain the gap, and he cannot promise her anything fair.

A short pay band sheet would have prevented this. It will not make every conversation easy, but it gives you reasons to talk from. This post shows how to build one without a large budget.

A band is a range of pay for a defined role at a defined level. It has a lower limit, a midpoint and an upper limit. A person sits somewhere inside it based on skill, scope and results. A band is not a promise of annual increases and it is not a way to hide differences. It is a way to make them explainable.

Before any number, decide how the agency groups work. Most small agencies need three role families: creative (designers, video editors, motion artists), content (writers, editors, strategists) and growth (SEO, paid media, social, performance marketers). Each family needs three or four levels. A common pattern is trainee or associate, executive or designer, senior and lead.

Define each level by what the person can do alone, not by how long they have worked. A senior designer in your agency might lead a brand project without review. A designer might need review on final files. Write one short paragraph for each level.

1. 1

   Collect your current pay data

   List every person with role, level, fixed pay, variable pay and joining date. Check the list for gaps between people at the same level.

2. 2

   Gather market data

   Use salary surveys, recruiter conversations, offers you have lost or won and data from a benchmarking exercise. Note the source and the date of each point. Treat any single figure with care.

3. 3

   Choose your market position

   Decide whether you aim to pay below, around or above the market midpoint for each role. This is a business decision that depends on your margins, your location and how hard each role is to fill.

4. 4

   Draw the ranges

   For each level set a floor, midpoint and ceiling. Check that levels overlap a little, so a strong person at one level can earn near a weak person at the next, but not more than the next level's midpoint.

5. 5

   Place people and note the exceptions

   Put each person on the sheet. Mark anyone outside the band, and decide whether to adjust the person, the band or the level.

6. 6

   Write the rules for new hires

   Decide who approves an offer, how far into the band a new joiner can start and what evidence supports it.

Role family: creative, content or growth.
Level name and a one paragraph description of scope and independence.
Floor, midpoint and ceiling for fixed monthly pay, entered by the owner after benchmarking.
Variable pay: whether it applies, what it depends on and how often it is paid.
Typical skills expected at this level and examples of work.
Date the band was last reviewed, source of market data and approver.
Notes: exceptions, scarce skills and any planned changes.

Two people at the same level can sit at different points. Reasons that hold up include a rare skill, proven results on larger accounts or a stronger portfolio. Reasons that do not hold up include who negotiated harder or who joined during a rush. Write the reason beside the placement. When you review pay, begin with those notes.

Fixed and variable pay need separate thought. If you add variable pay for marketers, link it to targets they can influence. The incentives post for account managers discusses how to avoid rewarding the wrong behaviour.

You do not need to publish what each person earns. You can share the structure: roles, levels, what separates them and how decisions are made. When someone asks, show where they sit relative to their band and what would move them up. Keep the conversation about scope and skill. Do not compare them with named colleagues.

Review the bands once a year with fresh market data, and review individuals on a separate date with a clear process. A promotion is a change of level and a pay review is a movement within a band. Keep them apart so conversations stay clear. The compensation benchmarking service covers the data side if you want an outside view.

Connect pay to performance carefully. A rise tied to a review needs a fair review first, and the post on reviews for creative staff explains how to judge writers, designers and editors. The overview of marketing, advertising and creative agencies shows how roles are usually organised across agency types.