Most people who do compensation work end up there by accident. I don’t know any 5-year-old that says they want to be a Compensation Analyst when they grow up.

Compensation is a profession that requires many skills and competencies. Things like data analysis, Excel skills, storytelling, effective communication, influence (sales) skills, critical thinking, problem solving, business acumen, and empathy are on the list of competencies I look for when adding people to my team.

Most people start off doing broad-based compensation work. Then there are the specialties within the profession that they sometimes go toward as their career progresses.

· Executive Compensation

· Sales Compensation

· Global Compensation

I’m starting to see a new niche in our profession. It is focused on pay transparency (aka communications) as well as pay equity. It often goes even broader into workplace equity (think pay and opportunity equity) and has ties to talent management and development.

The compensation profession is becoming more complicated. Those who sit at a desk and do data analysis all day will need to step out of their comfort zone.

We need to know the story the data tells us, but we also need to be able to communicate that story in simple terms and tie it to what the business leaders care about.

And those compensation professionals who will really stand out and excel will focus on more than rewards like cash or equity compensation. Instead, they will lead with a focus on the following:

· Rewards + Recognition + Relationships = Results

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” –Maya Angelou

#rewards #compensation #payequity #paytransparency #fairpay #hr #humanresources #incentives #equity #executives #leadership #recognition #relationships #pay #salary