This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Salt Lake County employees don't feel they're paid what they're worth, but the benefits apparently are good enough to make staying on the job worth it.

That's a leading conclusion of an 83-page survey that 60 percent of the county's 3,700 employees responded to earlier this year, county Human Resources Director Michael Ongkiko recently reported to the County Council.

The survey was part of an in-depth compensation study the county has been pursuing since fall 2013.

Launched partly as a sign of gratitude to county employees who bit the bullet during the Great Recession and accepted wage and benefits cuts (since restored), the review's primary purpose was to see how county compensation packages measure up to comparable positions in the private sector.

But it also was intended to smooth out disparities between the levels of compensation and potential for job advancement that are available in some county agencies and not in others.

A recommended course of action is likely to be presented to the County Council in late June by the Hay Group, a Philadelphia-based management consulting firm. It received a $265,000 contract in March 2014 to conduct a comprehensive market analysis of the county's compensation system, including the employee survey.

The overall employee sentiment that "my salary is not competitive … is certainly not a surprise or a shocker," said Ongkiko, as council members nodded in agreement, recalling how pay inequity has been an issue in every budget deliberation in recent years.

Just under a third of county employees feel their salaries reflect the value of their individual job performance. Even fewer (29 percent) believe their pay scale matches up with outside positions requiring similar job skills.

But for many, Ongkiko said, good benefits make up for small paychecks.

On the benefits front, "we fare well," he said, citing some striking survey results — 76 percent of employees are highly satisfied with their benefits, 72 percent feel their perks are competitive with the private sector and 80 percent feel the package meets their needs.

A few other survey points that stood out:

• By up to 20 percentage points, bosses are more likely to understand and be accepting of the compensation plan than their underlings;

• Employees believe pay increases should be driven by individual performance and not years on the job;

• Forty percent of employees are caregivers — to a dependent child, parent or spouse — so the health plan is important to them;

• The highest satisfaction levels are with the county's oldest and youngest workers;

• The most widespread dissatisfaction with county compensation plans came from the sheriff's office, although it was joined on different issues by surveyors and justice-court personnel, auditors and members of the regional-development office.

The non-monetary benefits county employees appreciate the most, Ongkiko said, are the chance to do interesting and meaningful work, a pleasant work environment, good work/leave balance and long-term career opportunities.

Medical, dental and retirement policies were more important to employees than vacation, sick leave and having a wellness program, the HR director added.