Sample deliverable

The £150 Micro-Benchmark, on the page.

One role, one geography, one primary source, one paragraph recommendation. Two working days from briefing. Here is what it actually looks like.

Payband Advisory

Micro-Benchmark

Head of Operations, Manchester-based SME, 60 to 80 headcount

Role: Head of Operations · Geography: Greater Manchester · Source: ONS ASHE SOC 3543 · Delivered in 2 working days · SAMPLE

Recommendation: Set the Head of Operations salary at £65,000 to £72,000 base, with a documented review at month six against the ONS regional 75th percentile and any new live market evidence you have collected since this report. The ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings reports a UK median of £58,400 for SOC 3543 (marketing and sales directors, the closest published match), with a regional Manchester median around £52,800. The 75th percentile sits at £76,200 nationally and £68,400 regionally. The mid-point of the recommended range sits between the national median and the regional 75th, which is the right position for a UK SME in the 60 to 80 headcount bracket trying to attract an experienced operator without overpaying against the published market.

Primary source

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), SOC 3543. Office for National Statistics, latest release. Full-time equivalent gross annual pay, UK and North West region. Source URL: ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/annualsurveyofhoursandearningsashe. Retrieved at the date of report.

The published data for SOC 3543 shows the following percentiles:

Percentile	UK	North West
Median	£58,400	£52,800
75th	£76,200	£68,400

The North West regional figures sit about 9 percent below the UK median, which is the regional adjustment most Manchester-based employers apply without further negotiation. The recommended range accounts for both the regional adjustment and the published 75th percentile.

Assumptions

Base salary, full-time permanent contract, no bonus or equity in the headline figure
Pension matched to the statutory minimum (8 percent combined from April 2026)
Standard benefits package, no executive-level perquisites
Manchester-based, hybrid working assumed (3 days office, 2 days remote)

What this Micro-Benchmark does not include

Multiple geographies. One role, one geography, one source.
Video walkthrough or live call. The deliverable is the paragraph plus the source citation.
Clarification round. If the recommendation does not fit, the next step is a Benchmark (£750).

Methodology caveat: SOC 3543 is the closest published match for a Head of Operations role but is not a perfect match. A live market check on 5 to 10 advertised Head of Operations roles in Greater Manchester would tighten this range. For a Benchmark (£750) that adds a second source and a third source and re-runs the median and 75th against the triangulated data.

What you get for £150

One role, one geography, one source
One paragraph recommendation you can paste into an email or board note
Source link and source date
Stated assumptions on the page
Two working days from briefing

What you do not get

Multiple sources, video walkthrough, written clarification, or extras
Anything that needs more than one source of evidence is a £750 Benchmark or bigger

Order the £150 Micro on Gumroad Email a brief instead