We've all been there, furrowing our brows to think of gifts for someone that spends most of their day glued to a spreadsheet of compensation data. Maybe you just want to treat yourself? Below I've compiled a short list of ideas to get you started: 1) A Desktop Calculator I know what you are thinking... Continue Reading →
Let’s start embracing Pay Transparency
There are plenty of articles out there on how to prepare for pay transparency legislation, including this one by my colleague Gerry Murphy at Nua which sets out some tangible steps you can follow. I wanted to write a bit about, not how we can prepare for transparency, but why we should embrace it. It... Continue Reading →
The Pursuit of Happiness – Why happiness should be at the core of an EVP
The economics of happiness is not a new thing - Among others, Richard Layard, the "happiness economist" has been advising governments for decades on ways to measure and impact the collective happiness of individuals in the best way possible1. Increasingly, countries are coming to the realization that focusing on GDP growth is not making the... Continue Reading →
Pay-for-performance – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
"You May Run The Risks, My Friend, But I Do The Cutting. If We Cut Down My Percentage... Who Knows? It Might Just Interfere With My Aim." Blondie Many private companies consider the implementation of a formal annual bonus plan to be something "required" prior to an IPO. After all, if you pay people to... Continue Reading →
Anatomy of a salary structure – A glossary of terms
This is intended to help anyone new to compensation but also to clarify some terms that can be confusing or that have multiple interpretations that we should be aware of. If I am missing anything or need to clarify further, please let me know in the comments below. For considerations on salary structure approaches, take... Continue Reading →
Hybrid approaches to salary structures
"One does not simply build a salary structure" Following up on my previous posts on the differences in globally graded vs traditional salary structures and job-based approaches vs salary structures, I'd like to add one more piece to make it a trilogy. But hopefully a good trilogy like the Before trilogy or Lord of the... Continue Reading →
Three signs that your Sales Plans aren’t working effectively
2023 is likely to be a year of challenges for many companies with economic headwinds forcing leaders to regularly adjust their expectations. Most would agree, it's probably not the best time to be a salesperson, but this is also precisely the time that companies need their best sellers to stick around. Generally speaking, adjusting plans... Continue Reading →
Job-based Salary Ranges vs. Salary Structures
“Things are always happening to me. I’m that sort of bear” A while back I wrote a bit about the differences between traditional salary structures and global grading systems as a means to manage base pay. In this much-anticipated1 follow-up, I'd like to write a bit about how job-based ranges differ from salary structures, the... Continue Reading →
What’s next? A preview of 2023 for HR leaders in the VC-backed community
From the Nua Blog: It’s been a wild ride for HR leaders over the past few years. From an abrupt COVID-shaped change in work culture, to some of the most aggressive rounds of funding we’ve seen by VCs, to a global economic downturn in 2022, it is fair to say, the challenges keep on coming.... Continue Reading →
Six initiatives to combat inflation in 2022
Originally posted on the Nua Blog: Inflation is the new hot topic among economists. Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicates the cost for all consumer goods rose by 0.8% in November and called into question the notion that 2021 price increases were only a temporary spike. While economists debate whether inflation will continue to rise and... Continue Reading →
Options vs. RSUs – Is it time to make the move?
In the immortal words, imprinted in large friendly letters on the front cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - "Don't Panic". Even for those familiar with equity, discussions around shifting to a value-based RSU-delivered model can make your head spin. At some point in the VC-backed life-cycle, we reach the junction point of... Continue Reading →