The kit ships as editable Excel workbooks and PDF guides. Worked examples use the fictional plant Hartwell Components, with illustrative numbers only.
Manufacturing Compensation and Shift Differential Toolkit
Set plant pay the right way in one afternoon: salary bands for your salaried and indirect roles, shift differentials priced the way federal overtime law requires, skill ladders for the floor, a market check log, and a merit plan that respects the budget.
One-time purchase, no subscription. Instant download.
Built by expert HR practitioners and leaders
- Plant pay set in one afternoon: salary bands for your salaried and indirect roles, shift differentials priced the way federal overtime law requires, skill ladders for the floor, a market check log, and a merit plan that respects the budget
- Overtime figured the right way: shift differentials flow into the regular rate before overtime is calculated, following 29 CFR 778.207, so you are not quietly underpaying every overtime hour on every differential shift
- A pay ladder a supervisor can post: the Pay Ladder Builder opens with a finished Machine Operator path, five levels with the skill blocks that earn each step and the dollar and percent move between rungs; replace it with your roles and the math follows
- Your rates, logged and decided: a Market Check log that compares your base pay and your differential against the market and records whether you Hold, Watch, or Adjust, instead of scraped data you cannot verify
- Worked examples on every tab: every tool opens on a fully worked example for a fictional plant, so you see exactly how each one behaves before you touch your own numbers
The toolkit gives you the structure and the math; you bring current market data for your area. Pay decisions carry legal and equity weight that varies by market, so validate your structure and run a pay-equity review before you rely on it.
Editable Excel workbooks and PDF guides, general business information, not legal or tax advice. Pay decisions carry legal and equity weight, so validate your structure against current market data and applicable law, run a pay-equity review, and confirm specifics with a qualified professional before you rely on this.
Last reviewed June 2026
Two workbooks and the guides that run them
The core workbook builds bands, prices differentials, builds ladders, and logs market checks, with a budget-aware merit workbook alongside it. Every tool opens on a worked example, the Product License covers the kit, and a short Google Sheets guide is included.
Start Here
A one-page orientation that walks the full flow: set your bands, set your differentials, build your ladders, run a market check, then apply merit.
Compensation and Shift Differential Builder
The core tool, with nine tabs. Build a salary structure from one market anchor and two settings and see who sits below, within, or above range. Set a percent or flat differential per shift and the tab prices each person, computes overtime on the differential-inclusive rate, and rolls up the annual differential spend. Build skill-based pay ladders, and log market checks on base and differential with a Hold, Watch, or Adjust decision.
Compensation and Shift Differential Builder Guide
A seven-page guide that explains every tab, including a decomposed overtime example and the federal rule behind it.
Merit Increase Matrix
A budget-aware merit planning workbook, so the raise round respects the number finance gave you, with a budget rollup that keeps the total honest.
Merit Increase Matrix Guide
How to run the merit matrix: set the budget, place performance and position-in-range, and read the rollup before you commit the round.
From pay run on memory to a structure you can defend
The builder sets bands and prices differentials with the overtime math correct, the ladder posts the steps, and the merit matrix keeps the round inside the budget.
Set bands and price differentials
Build a salary structure from one market anchor and two settings, then set a percent or flat differential per shift and let the workbook price each person and compute overtime on the differential-inclusive rate.
Build ladders and check the market
Turn operator progression into posted wage steps on the Pay Ladder Builder, then log a market check on base and differential and record a Hold, Watch, or Adjust decision.
Apply merit inside the budget
Use the Merit Increase Matrix to plan the raise round against the number finance gave you, with the budget rollup keeping the total honest.
Built for the floor, honest about market and law
On most plant floors pay runs on memory and a few inherited spreadsheets, and the overtime math is quietly wrong because the premium is figured on the base rate instead of the rate that includes the differential. This toolkit fixes the math and gives you a system you can run yourself.
Who it is built for
Who the toolkit fits, and where to go if your need is something else.
Built for
- A plant manager, an HR team of one, or an operations leader at a 20 to 500 employee manufacturer that competes for hourly labor across multiple shifts.
- A floor running pay on memory and a few inherited spreadsheets, where the differential was set years ago and nobody is sure why.
- A plant losing hourly people to the shop down the road over a dollar an hour, with no one tracking where the rates sit against the market until someone resigns.
If your need is different
- The hire those rates are offered to. The Manufacturing Hiring Kit runs the job description, the skills checklist, the structured interview, and the bilingual application.
- The full plant HR program. The Plant HR Manager Complete System bundles this toolkit with attendance, supervision, hiring, and onboarding.
Before you buy
Does this calculate overtime correctly for shift differentials?
Is this software, or a spreadsheet?
Do I need a compensation background to use it?
Will it tell me what to pay my people?
Can I use it for both salaried staff and the hourly floor?
I already have a pay spreadsheet. Why switch?
My plant is small. Is this overkill?
What is the refund policy?
What happens after I buy?
Can I expense this purchase to my business?
The 6 red flags to check before you discipline or fire someone
A five-minute screen that catches the most common and most expensive people-decision mistakes before they happen. Free PDF, sent to your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime.
Set plant pay the right way in one afternoon
Your shifts, your differentials, and the overtime math that is quietly wrong: the toolkit fixes the math, posts a pay ladder, logs the market, and plans merit inside the budget.
Compensation planning support, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed June 2026.