What you need to know about our Tribal Gaming & Government Compensation Survey Reports

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Your key to hiring and retaining top talent

It’s important to attract—and retain—the best employees to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of your tribal organization. And given an exceptionally competitive labor market and the usual budget constraints, this means basing your employee compensation and benefits programs on relevant and reliable data.

Since 2011, REDW has continued to compile a comprehensive annual survey of employee compensation data that Tribal Governments and Tribal Gaming organizations need to make smart, strategic decisions for strengthening their workforce. Each year data is collected in the Spring and Summer and a full report of the findings, complete with historic trends, is made available in the Fall.

2023 Important Dates

  • March – Data collection opens
  • May 31 – Early Bird deadline for contributing at least 10% of your tribe’s compensation data to be entered into a raffle drawing for a $100 gift card
  • July 15 – Deadline for submitting compensation data via REDW’s Excel template to receive complimentary Data Input Services
  • August 31 – Data collection closes
  • October 1 – Comparing, Filtering & Reporting features and Annual Summary Report are available

In 2023, we’ve collected information on more positions than ever before:

  • 319 Government positions
  • 269 Gaming positions

Videos

Discover the Power of Tribal Compensation Survey Reports

Gain valuable insights and helpful, step-by-step guidance on how to implement smart compensation strategies for your tribal organization by watching this series of quick, informative videos – simply click on the menu icon to access the full playlist.

  • A Handy Guide for Data Contributors
  • What You Can Learn from the Data

Click on the white menu icon (with arrow) to access all videos in this playlist

Participating

Frequently asked questions regarding participating in the survey.
Why participate in the survey?

To gain an accurate and meaningful picture of how your Tribal Government or Tribal Gaming employee compensation compares to others’, you’ll need to begin by contributing your own organization’s data. Data contributors also enjoy a substantial discount when it comes to utilizing the Survey platforms’ powerful Comparing, Filtering & Reporting features. Plus, the more who participate, the better the data, and the greater the benefit to everyone.

If I participated in the past, should I participate this year?

Yes! You should participate every year to ensure you have the most current and accurate data possible. Compensation structures change year to year, and it is important to stay competitive in your industry and in your geographical area.

Do I have to contribute my own tribe’s data?

To gain an accurate and meaningful picture of how your own Tribal Government or Tribal Gaming employee compensation compares to that of other tribes, you’ll need to contribute your own data. Or you can simply opt to purchase an Annual Summary Report that contains data from other tribal organizations nationwide, for a big-picture view of the compensation landscape.

What data does the survey provide?

The Survey gathers compensation data from participating tribes across the nation and uses powerful filtering and comparing tools to generate a wide range of useful reports that contrast your compensation data, by specific position, against that of other, similar tribes. These include:

  • Metric-by-metric comparisons, filtered according to:
    • Number of employees
    • Annual revenue
    • BIA region and/or Rural vs. Urban
  • A Tribal Benchmark Report of Participating Tribes, by:
    • BIA region
    • Number of tribal employees
    • Annual revenue
    • Tribes using Tribal Preference
    • Benefits offered
  • Trend Reports, showing year-over-year compensation trends per position
  • A comprehensive, dynamic Annual Report

These reports can be downloaded in PDF or PowerPoint formats for use in meetings and presentations, or for planning purposes.

What types of questions are asked?
  • What is the minimum annualized salary?
  • What is the hourly wage for the position?
  • What is the number of employees?
  • What is the number of employees who are Tribal Members?
  • Is there a stipend paid to Tribal Council/Board Members?

Pricing

Frequently asked questions and pricing for the Tribal Compensation Annual Report
How much does the annual report cost? (Pricing Table)

2023 REDW Compensation Survey Pricing

How much does it cost to participate?

There is no fee to register for the Tribal Government Compensation Survey or the Tribal Gaming Compensation Survey, or to enter your own tribe’s compensation data into our secure, cloud-based platforms. The cost to access the Surveys’ powerful Comparing, Filtering and Reporting features and to receive an Annual Summary Report, whether you’re a Data Contributor or Non-Contributor, is listed in the pricing table.

Do survey participants pay less for the annual report?

Yes! Those who contribute their own data to the Survey receive a significant discount on the Annual Summary Report; see the pricing table.

How do I pay for and renew my subscription or pay for the survey?

REDW can send you an invoice and you can submit payment by check. You can also pay via credit card online, but please note, you will be charged a 3.5% service fee for any online payments. Once we receive payment, you will be granted access to reports once they become available on October 1.

Data Collection

What you need to know about data collection for the compensation survey.
Is the data I submit confidential?

All data entered into the Surveys’ cloud-based platform is secure and accessible only by your tribal representative. Data specific to any individual tribal organization is never displayed in the Survey results, and controls are in place so that a minimum data threshold must be met in order for reporting to occur. This prevents users from being able to deduce which tribes are reporting.

Is there a way I can compile my data in a spreadsheet rather than entering it online?

Once you obtain your login credentials, you can use the Download Questions icon on the home page to download questions in the survey, with or without your answers, to help compile and share your data with others.

We also offer handy Data Entry Worksheets you can download for both Surveys.

If you complete and return either worksheet to us by July 15th, REDW will enter your data into the platform at no cost to you. If you elect instead to provide data exported from your HRIS, tiered pricing is available for Data Upload Services noted in the Pricing Chart.

Do I have to enter all the data at one time, or can I enter it gradually?

You do not have to enter your data all at one time. You will be able to log in and out and enter as much data as you’d like each time. There will also be an outline of all the questions on the survey under the “Support” tab. If you feel more comfortable entering all your information at once, this will help you get everything organized.

Can new positions be added?

There is a field for you to input an alternate title. We will collect this data and, just like in years past, add common titles to the survey for next year. If you are unsure if a title matches your title, please use the PDF of Position Descriptions, which also indicates alternate titles, available on the “Support” page.

Can I add multiple users so that more than one person can enter data?

Yes, you can add as many users as you would like via the “Company Setup” link. When the registered user adds another user to the account, an email invitation is automatically sent with separate login credentials.

Is help available for uploading my data?

If you prefer not to enter your tribe’s compensation data into our downloadable worksheets, which require you to map your existing positions to those included in the survey platform, REDW offers Data Upload Services, where we do the work for you. If you have 100 or fewer employees, the cost for this service is included; if you have more than 100, the fees increase accordingly, as outlined in the pricing table.

The Survey Report

What you need to know about the annual report.
What are the dates to participate, and when is the report available?
  • March – Data collection opens
  • July 15 – Deadline for submitting compensation data via REDW’s Excel template to receive complimentary Data Input Services
  • August 31 – Data collection closes
  • October 1 – Comparing, Filtering & Reporting features and Annual Summary Report are available
How do I use the comparing tab?

This tab leads you to metric-by-metric comparisons of data gathered through the Survey. Numeric metric comparisons are presented in line charts. Multiple choice metric comparisons are presented in bar charts. These charts can be downloaded in PowerPoint or PDF format – just click on the pop-up chart icon.

How do I use the reporting tab?

This tab leads you to this platform’s powerful built-in automated report generator. Simply select the year and choose the report and your dynamically generated PowerPoint slide deck will be downloaded directly to your computer. Reports can be viewed online, saved as PDFs, printed, emailed, etc. You can use your filters here to run the reports on subsets of data.

How do I apply filters to the data?

You can filter the database in many ways. By selecting several specific attributes, you will see how your organization compares to a specific subset of the database. For instance, you may want to look at an organization’s region or size. Filtering gives you the ultimate benchmarking tool where you decide the most important comparison factors. You may not be able to see responses where there are not enough data points to ensure participant anonymity.

How do I understand the data?

Report and Chart data is presented in quartiles – values that divide a list of numbers into quarters. The 25th Percentile/First Quartile means 25% of the data falls below this percentile. The 50th Percentile/Median represents the middle number where 50% of answers are lower and 50% are higher. For example, if you have a series of numbers like 1,5,10,15,30, the median is 10 (the average would be 12.2 and is typically higher than the median, which is not skewed by a single high or low response). The 75th Percentile/Third Quartile means 75% of the data falls below this percentile.

Additional Information

Does REDW offer compensation surveys for other industries?

Our Human Resources Consulting team is experienced at conducting compensation studies that help organizations determine competitive rates of pay in their particular industries, while also considering internal equity factors.

Who do I call if I need help or have more questions?

If you don’t find what you need under the “Support” tab on the survey platform or you have more questions that aren’t answered here, you can contact the REDW Compensation Survey Team through our handy online form.

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