Feed Fire

To determine a living wage, do a survey of average salaries and benefits in your region. At Tipton, Pa.-based New Pig catalog, a business-to-business merchant of industrial supplies, HR Manager Adam Ross surveys other companies in his area to see what they're paying comparable staff-level positions. "It turns out we're not the highest payer nor the lowest payer," says Ross. "But we also don't hire and lay off people. We offer career paths, training and longevity." At New Pig, corporate-wide staff turnover averaged only about 5 percent in 2004.