What is a Benchmark Job?

A job commonly found in the workforce for which pay and other relevant data are readily available. Benchmark jobs are used to make pay comparisons and job evaluations.

This data is helpful for both employers and employees. For employers, it gives the opportunity to establish to what degree of accountability they should hold their employees to. Furthermore, they can find out whether their salaries are consistent with similar positions in their industry. For employees, this data provides something of a bargaining chip. If they would like to negotiate a promotion, whether giving better pay or more responsibility - they can refer to the available data to argue their case.