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.

Employers: Do you buy talent (hire externally) or build talent (develop from within)? It is not just a budget question. It is a strategy decision.

Both talent paths come with trade-offs and big implications for your compensation strategy.

Buying Talent - Pros:

·        You get immediate expertise and a fresh perspective. You can also plug urgent skill gaps with this approach.

Job architecture is a structured framework that defines how roles are organized within an organization, including job levels, families, and career paths. It provides clarity on job responsibilities, titles, progression, and compensation. It supports consistency, equity, and alignment with business goals. By standardizing roles and expectations, it enables more effective talent management and strategic workforce planning.

Job architecture provides:

#1 - Organizational Clarity & Alignment

It’s not just about crunching numbers or pulling survey data. It’s deeper than that and more nuanced. The best compensation professionals I've worked with over the years share a rare blend of traits that you don’t often find in a single person.

They’re researchers and part private detectives. They are relentless in pursuit of truth. They know how to dig. They don’t stop at surface-level pay data; they triangulate between salary surveys, internal equity, economic and labor market trends, as well as pay transparency expectations.

Employers: How do you respond when a candidate asks for more than you’re willing to pay?

There are a few ways to approach this as an employer or hiring manager.

One option: move on. The candidate priced themselves out of the role, and you find someone else whose expectations are more in line with your offer.

Another approach: be transparent.

Employee Question: “Why don’t we get paid like engineers at Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, or Microsoft?”

If you’re an HR  Leader at a startup or mid-sized tech company, chances are you’ve heard this question and felt the tension behind it.

It’s a fair question, especially in an era of pay transparency and readily available comp data. But it’s also an incomplete comparison.

Here’s how to respond thoughtfully and transparently:

Step 1 - Start with Education, Not Defensiveness

Talking about pay can be awkward, emotional, and stressful for both employees and managers. These discussions often involve fairness, competitiveness, contributions, and financial security, which can trigger frustration, anxiety, or even excitement.

The more you prepare, the better the conversation will be.

How do you manage emotions in pay conversations? Whether you're asking for a raise or responding to a request, emotions can run high. Here’s how to stay in control:

While incentive plans might seem like a natural fit for fundraising roles, there are several reasons why they can be problematic. Here are the top five reasons why putting fundraisers on an incentive plan is generally not advisable:

1. Misalignment with Donor Ethics and Expectations

• Many donors expect their contributions to support the mission, not individual compensation.

A well-designed sales compensation plan isn’t just about paying reps. It’s about aligning incentives with business goals, driving performance, and ensuring scalability. Too often, companies design plans in a silo, leading to unintended behaviors, missed revenue targets, or poor rep retention.

So, how do you get it right? And who should be at the table?

1. Align Compensation with Strategy

Before structuring payouts, define your go-to-market (GTM) strategy:

In today’s job market, retaining top talent and boosting engagement is critical. One underutilized tool? Spot bonuses are discretionary, immediate rewards for outstanding contributions.

What Are Spot Bonuses?

Unlike annual bonuses, spot bonuses are one-time, unplanned monetary awards given in real-time for exceptional performance, teamwork, innovation, or embodying company values.