SalarySense

Developed by: House Chief Administrative Office in partnership with the House Administration Committee

Used by: Staff HR personnel and staffers themselves

Public link: N/A

SalarySense is an internal interactive database allowing House hiring managers and chiefs of staff to compare average compensation data across different Congressional staff roles.

SalarySense creates a dashboard for House chiefs of staff and staff directors to compare average Congressional staff compensation by role, tenure on the Hill, party, and state or region. It uses publicly-available Member office disbursement data to create a user-friendly tool helping House hiring managers conduct a more informed hiring process, making the most of limited budgets to attract and retain talented staff. With real-time data, SalarySense creates a benchmark for Member offices to establish their staff salaries, ensuring that they remain competitive with other offices and committees. SalarySense is continuing to expand its filters and make other long-term improvements through user feedback.

Development from the Ground Up

The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress examined multiple factors related to staff retention and turnover in Congress in its work between 2019 and 2022, and issued a series of recommendations to address persistent issues in this area. In the Committee’s own words from its final report:

“Recommendation 100: A database of staff salary information would provide timely information that would help hiring managers set staff salaries (and potentially benefits, if the system is crafted to track that as well), create transparency for employers and internal job seekers, and provide current salary data at a lower cost than surveying staff. Current congressional employees could also use the information when they are considering a new job or requesting a raise. The database would be viewable and collated in a way that is most beneficial to managers and staff, and include comparisons by region and state delegation, as well as differentiation between freshman and more senior offices.

For the last few years, the Senate has operated a voluntary, ‘live’ database of staff compensation. The Committee understands that, based on information received shortly before this report was completed, the database was used by approximately 42 offices – 30 personal offices and 12 committees.”

The Committee on House Administration (CHA) took next steps to address this recommendation when it directed the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to design a tool to improve salary transparency. CAO designed the tool in-house and tested it with a small group of chiefs of staff from offices on both sides of the aisle. Feedback from this initial group of user testers informed several improvements in the user experience of the tool, which was then launched more broadly to senior staff (including committee staff directors) based on this feedback. Access to the tool may be expanded to other staff roles in the future.

Historic Hill Salary Deficiencies

Comparatively low wages and long working hours have long contributed to a relatively high turnover rate for Congressional staff. According to a New America report, the tenure for staff on Capitol Hill is 3.1 years, and 65% of staffers expect to leave within five years. Staff retention and recruiting is critical to assisting Congress in effective legislating. This is especially true for lawmakers just starting out, who benefit the most from hiring experienced legislative staff with established networks and knowledge of the process, but may have the least insight into standard Hill pay scales.

Final Thoughts

SalarySense is a significant step forward in addressing the long-standing issues of pay transparency and competitiveness in the House. Although the tool is currently limited to senior staff, its potential for fostering greater pay equity and transparency is evident. As the House continues to adapt SalarySense and possibly broaden access, it stands to provide important information to help improve staff retention, enhance job satisfaction, and ensure that Congress can recruit and maintain a highly qualified workforce capable of effectively serving the public.