We need to talk about transferable skills, hiring practices, and how we compensate people who didn’t take the traditional path but still deliver real value to their employer.

Too many strong candidates are being overlooked because they don’t have the “right” job title, degree, or perfectly matched resume. And even when they are hired, they’re often brought in at lower pay levels despite bringing the skills to succeed and drive results.

Let’s be clear:

Broad bands can be an attractive alternative to traditional pay structures especially for agile, fast-moving organizations that need flexibility. But before you make the leap, it’s worth understanding the trade-offs.

Broad bands = fewer levels with wider pay ranges.

Instead of 15 plus traditional pay grades, you might have 6 bands spanning $50K–$300K. Range spreads are often 80%–200% with fewer overlaps and broader career paths. This flexibility lets managers reward performance, skills, and market changes more easily.

It sounds great and it can be. But only if paired with strong structure and governance.

No company intends to create pay inequities, but many do, unintentionally.

It’s not usually one big mistake. It’s a thousand small ones: assumptions, inconsistencies, exceptions, outdated practices, and unchecked manager discretion that add up to real pay gaps. Gaps that erode trust with employees and increase non-compliance risk.

Here are three flaws I see often:

1.       Inconsistent Job Evaluation Practices

While most U.S. states adopt the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA duties tests, a few states apply different or stricter interpretations, either in law or in enforcement practice. Here's a breakdown of the key ones:

U.S. States with Meaningfully Different or Stricter FLSA Duties Tests

California = Most distinct from FLSA.

• Applies a quantitative test: To be exempt, an employee must spend more than 50% of their work time on exempt duties (unlike FLSA’s more subjective “primary duty” test).

Do you want your employees to trust your compensation programs? Communicate early, often and through multiple channels.

Compensation isn't just about what you pay. It's about how clearly and consistently you explain why and how you pay.

Even the best-designed salary structures, incentive plans, or equity programs can fail if employees don't understand them. Confusion fuels disengagement and disengagement leads to turnover.

The solution? Repetition across multiple vehicles. Tailor messages for different learning styles and audiences.

Here are the mistakes employers must address to remain competitive and build organizational trust:

1.  Failing to Align Compensation with Market Data

·        The external market and your competition for talent evolve rapidly. Stagnant salary structures will cause you to loose top talent to more agile competitors.

·        Recommendation: Conduct comprehensive market benchmarking annually and update your pay structures and incentive targets.

One of the most common pitfalls in compensation work? Using years of experience as the primary factor when matching jobs to salary surveys or assigning a career level.

Yes, experience matters, but only as context. It should never replace a proper evaluation of job responsibilities and overall job purpose.

Let’s break it down.

As compensation professionals, we know that getting pay right matters. Fair pay, transparency, and alignment to company goals are critical. But here’s the truth: compensation alone cannot fix the foundational issues that really shape an employee’s experience.

Here are 5 problems money doesn’t solve and what does:

1 - A Bad Manager

Even the highest pay can’t make up for poor leadership.

One of the most important (and misunderstood) U.S. compliance decisions in HR is determining whether a job is exempt or nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Why does it matter? Because getting it wrong can lead to lawsuits, back pay, penalties, and employee mistrust. Getting it right supports compliance, equity, and transparency.

So how do you figure it out? Start with the federal FLSA three-part test:

Want to be a better compensation partner? Start by getting curious about the work, the people, and the business.

Great compensation professionals don’t just know market data. They know the context behind the numbers. They understand how each role contributes to the value chain. They know that compensation isn’t just about pay. It is about people, performance, perception, and purpose.

To truly partner with HR and business leaders, you need to:

When you choose a business major in college, you typically pick from tracks like accounting, finance, marketing, HR, or management. Some schools offer concentrations in entrepreneurship, business analytics, or international business. But what’s missing?

Compensation.

Despite its complexity, influence, and growing demand, compensation rarely gets the spotlight it deserves in undergraduate programs. And yet, the work we do like defining pay structures, evaluating jobs, analyzing market data, and progressing pay equity and transparency is central to how organizations attract, motivate, and retain talent.

We live in the details.

·       Every word in a job description

·       Every row of a spreadsheet

·       Every decision to create pay grades and a salary structure

·       Every nuance of an incentive plan

We double-check formulas. We stress over data presentation. We build models that align with business goals, only to pivot when priorities change.

The EU Pay Transparency Directive is ushering in a new era of workplace equity, and while the June 2026 deadline might seem distant, the groundwork needs to start now.

This Directive requires that employers with over 100 employees regularly report on gender pay gaps. If a gap of 5% or more is identified in any job category and can't be justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria, employers have six months to address it. Failing that, a comprehensive pay audit, involving employee representatives, becomes mandatory.

There’s one pattern I see again and again. The HR/Compensation team is stretched thinly, but the workload keeps growing. New priorities, evolving pay transparency laws, more complex job architectures, systems implementations, and increasing demands from leaders all while headcount stays flat.

When you can't hire more people (yet), it's time to reframe the work.

I encourage teams to categorize their HR/Compensation deliverables into three buckets:

#1: Self Service – Tasks that managers or employees can handle directly when given the right tools.

“How do we reward employees when we don’t have much of a budget for raises?”

This is a question I’ve heard from many HR leaders and executives lately. Tariffs, tighter profit margins, and budget constraints are real. But so is the need to keep your employees engaged and motivated.

Here’s the good news: You can drive impact without deep pockets. It takes a bit more creativity and intentionality, but in many ways, that’s where the best workplace culture-building happens.

If you’re in HR or Compensation, chances are you care a lot. You care about employees, fairness, and business results. You care about how work gets done, and whether people are treated with dignity and respect.

You advocate. You present data, share stories, highlight risks, and propose solutions. You show up day after day with the hope that your insight and expertise will shape better decisions and outcomes.

But sometimes, your voice isn’t heard. Your recommendations are ignored. Your efforts to influence the decision makers are dismissed. That’s when frustration creeps in. You wonder, Why am I here if no one listens? Or worse, Am I complicit in outcomes I don’t believe in?

Imagine being a member of a Compensation team that finds out about bonus changes at the same time as all the other employees. If you have been in this situation, you know how challenging it can be.

When changes to bonus or long-term incentive plans are made without input from HR or Compensation, it creates ripple effects.

·       Education and training materials must be urgently revised.

·       Clarifying communications need to be written and sent.

·       Systems must be modified.

Psychological safety is essential if you want to have high-performing teams. It’s defined as a shared belief that it’s safe to take interpersonal risks at work. It means you can speak up, ask questions, offer ideas, or challenge the status quo without fear of humiliation or punishment.

Here’s the truth:  Compensation alone won’t motivate your workforce.

Pay is foundational. It ensures people can take care of their basic needs and are rewarded for their contributions. But once those needs are met, how employees are treated day-to-day becomes far more influential.

Workforce planning tells us what we need.

Job architecture tells us what we have.

Together, they help us build what’s next.

When these two disciplines are integrated, organizations gain the clarity to not just plan, but to plan well.

Workforce planning helps organizations anticipate future talent needs based on business strategy.

I was recently asked to be on a panel that was focused on sharing the results of a salary survey sponsored by a legal recruitment firm and a law magazine.  

I was seriously considering saying “yes” until I found out they weren’t going to pay me for sharing my expertise and time.

I am sure I would have enjoyed the experience, but I didn’t believe I would get a client from the audience. I have spoken to legal groups in the past and knew the likelihood of converting my 4 – 5 hours into revenue was small.