Starting salary
Starting salary tells ChartHop where within a compensation band a new hire's offer should land, then uses that to pre-fill compensation when you open a job for an open role. Instead of asking hiring managers to guess a number, you define the rule once (for example, "new hires start at the midpoint of the band") and ChartHop applies it consistently every time someone creates a requisition.
Before you start
Starting salary is part of Compensation Bands. Your organization needs Compensation Bands enabled to see these settings. Configuring starting salary requires access to Org Settings > Financial. Using the auto-fill only requires the standard ability to create or edit jobs.
How it works
- An admin sets a starting salary rule in Org Settings > Financial (for example, band midpoint).
- ChartHop calculates a starting salary value for each compensation band from that rule and shows it as a column on your bands.
- When a manager selects a band while creating a job for an open role, ChartHop fills in the compensation from that band's starting salary.
Step 1: Configure the starting salary rule
- Go to Settings > Org Settings > Financial.
- In the Starting Salary section, choose a Starting Salary Type. This is the rule that determines where in each band a new hire starts:
Starting Salary Type | What it uses |
|---|---|
Band Minimum | The bottom of the band range. |
Band Quarter | The first quartile (25th percentile) of the band range. |
Band Midpoint | The middle of the band range. |
Custom Percentile | A percentile you specify (0-100). When you pick this, enter the percentile value in the field that appears. |
- Set the Effective date. This is the date ChartHop uses when calculating starting salary from your bands, which matters if your bands change over time. It defaults to today.
- Optionally enable:
- Include equity target - pulls the band's equity target into the starting compensation.
- Include variable compensation - pulls the band's variable (bonus) target into the starting compensation.
- Select Save.
Where this lives
The Starting Salary configuration currently lives in Org Settings > Financial. It will move to the Compensation Bands settings area later this year.
Estimate open job cost when comp is missing
By default, an open job with no compensation set is counted as zero in your cost totals. Turn on Estimate open job cost when comp is missing to have ChartHop estimate each such open job's cost from its compensation band instead. ChartHop applies your starting-salary rule to choose the point in the band, or uses the band midpoint if you haven't set a rule. The estimated cost then appears anywhere cost is calculated, including datasheets, budgets, forecasts, and scenarios. Turning it off returns open jobs with no comp to being counted as zero.
This setting requires Compensation Bands to be enabled. If you don't see the Starting Salary section, Compensation Bands is not turned on for your organization.
To turn it on:
- Go to Settings > Financial.
- In the Starting Salary section, check Estimate open job cost when comp is missing.
- Select Save.
Step 2: Review starting salary on your bands
Once a starting salary rule is set, a Starting Salary column appears on your compensation bands, both in the bands editor and in the bands table view. Each band shows the calculated starting salary produced by your rule.
You can review, and where appropriate override, the per-band value directly in the bands grid. A starting salary must be a positive number.
For background on how band values like minimum, midpoint, and target are defined, see Compensation bands and Comp band base target.
Step 3: Auto-fill compensation when opening a job
When you create or edit a job for an open role and select a compensation band, ChartHop automatically fills in the compensation from that band's starting salary:
- Base pay (as annual salary or hourly wage, matching the band's pay period)
- Variable / bonus target (if your rule includes variable compensation and the band defines one)
- Equity target (if your rule includes equity and the band defines one)
The fields are pre-populated so you can review, adjust, and save.
Filled positions are not changed
Auto-fill only applies to open roles. If a job already has a person in it, selecting a band will not overwrite that person's existing compensation.