Compensation Surveys Made SENSIBLE
Get the local wage and benefits numbers your decisions depend on, through a tool built for the questions Economic Developers and HR teams actually ask.
See it in action
Here's what your team works in every day.
What you get
Wage & Salary Survey Planning
Before we get started, we need to understand your needs and goals. Our first step is a set of meetings to go through every question in our template with you to ensure we cover every data point you require. We make recommendations, change the questionnaire template for you, and ensure your data is viable, year over year.
Use cases
Three ways Economic Developers put the data to work
The same platform supports a free public-service program, a paid report you can resell, or a paid membership that gates the data. Most teams start with one and add the others as the program matures.
Public resource
Support local employers
Run the survey free for local participants and hand back anonymized benchmarks. Builds your authority as the source for local compensation data, and gives every employer in your region a number they can defend.
Sell the report
Package and resell the analysis
Collect the data once, then sell the compiled, anonymized report to local businesses, site selectors, and consultants who need county-level comp data they cannot get anywhere else. Turns the survey into a revenue line.
Pay to participate
Make participation a paid program
Charge an annual fee or membership for participation. Participants get the full report; non-participants pay a higher price for the report, or are gated out entirely. Recurring revenue plus a built-in incentive to participate.
Hybrid models work too. Free for participants, paid for non-participants is a common starting point.
Sensible Surveys, Premium Edition
Whether you engage us to survey your participants or you run it yourself, you receive a year's access to the most premium edition of Sensible Surveys.
Sensible Surveys Premium Edition
Our fully-featured software makes requesting compensation surveys, collecting answers, and distributing results easy for everyone.
Advanced Benefits Survey Template
The default benefits template covers every aspect necessary at industry and enterprise levels. See the full list below.
Compensation Module
Customizable analytics dashboard with sorting, searching, and filters by industry sector, company size, employee types, shift types, career path, and percentile-based or actual wages.
Platform capabilities
Everything you need to run a wage and benefits survey
The full system: build your survey, manage participants and reminders, then analyze the results without exporting to a separate tool.
Build
- 14 question types, including matrix, numeric, SOC-code picker, and free text.
- Branching logic shows or hides questions based on prior answers.
- Multi-page sections with autosave so participants never lose progress.
- Schedule, pause, extend, or close any survey from the admin.
- Run multiple surveys simultaneously under one license.
- Editable pre-built templates as a starting point, or build from scratch.
Manage
- Bulk-upload participant lists from a CSV, no manual entry.
- Automatic reminders to non-starters and participants whose progress has stalled.
- Magic-link sign-in for participants, no password to remember on the first visit.
- Edit participant records, reset passwords, and resend invitations from the admin.
- Per-participant progress with status badges (invited / in progress / submitted) and last-activity timestamps.
- View individual responses or compiled aggregates. Switch views in one click.
Analyze
- Charts and data side-by-side. Toggle charts-only, data-only, or both.
- Histograms, stacked bars, matrix heatmaps, and compensation curves.
- Median, mean, and ±1 std-dev overlays on every wage distribution.
- Percentile bands (25th / 50th / 75th / 90th) by role and SOC code.
- Filter and slice by industry, business size, employee type, shift type, or career path.
- Safe Harbor anonymization with a configurable threshold and three display modes (show / mention / hide).
- Year-over-year comparisons: prior responses pre-fill the next cycle for direct comparability.
- Excel, CSV, and branded PDF exports for admins, with an optional self-service export for participants.
Participant Assistance
A great survey is only useful if participants complete it. We help every step of the way.
Intro & Follow-up Phone Calls
US-based, full-time staff make calls to establish trust, help participants complete surveys, and explain the value of participation.
Welcome & Follow-up Emails
Personalized, automatic emails inform participants where they are in the process and remind them as deadlines approach.
Video Calls
We provide video calls to walk users through their compensation data surveys, help them upload data, and review example results.
Survey Marketing
Participation is the difference between a half-finished spreadsheet and a benchmark you can defend. We help you frame why participating matters to your audience: the data they get back, how their numbers compare, and why the survey is worth their 30 minutes. Combined with the outreach above, this is how completion rates stay high.
Optional add-ons
- Dedicated survey microsite. A branded landing page where invitees learn about the survey, see who’s behind it, and start participating.
- Promotional video. A short explainer we produce that you can embed in invitation emails and on the microsite.
- Email campaign templates. Invite, reminder, and results-released emails written in your voice and ready to send.
- Infographic results visualization. A poster-style summary of the headline findings, sized for board packets, press releases, or member newsletters.
What the benefits template covers
Every category in the default 174-question benefits template, grouped for skimming. You can edit, remove, or add to any of these.
Time off & leave (8)
- Paid Time Off
- Vacation
- Paid Sick Leave
- Paid Holidays
- Bereavement
- Jury Duty
- Family Medical Leave Benefits
- Christmas / Holiday Events
Insurance (7)
- Life Insurance
- Medical Insurance
- Prescription Drugs Plan
- Vision Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Short Term Disability
- Long-Term Disability
Retirement & long-term (6)
- Retirement Plans
- Pension Plan
- Profit Sharing
- Service Awards
- Education Assistance
- Retiree Benefits
Wellness & work-family (8)
- Wellness Program
- Workplace Wellness
- Health Assessments
- Cafeteria Plan
- Section 125 Plan
- Work / Family Policies
- Child Care
- Annual Events Benefits
Background & policy (3)
- Background Information
- General Working Policies
- Part Time Employees
Complex surveys to send and don’t know where to start?
Book a 20-minute demo. We’ll show you the system, talk through your goals, and tell you whether we’re a fit. No pressure.