A recap of "Managing Compensation Cycles in a Downturn"

Managing compensation cycles in a downturn is nuanced and requires intentional planning and clear communication throughout the company. In a recent webinar, Chad Atwell, Owner and Principal Compensation Advisor of People-Centered Pay, LLC, and Lisa Wallace, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Assemble, discussed how teams can navigate transparent, annual and mid-year merit based cycles, in today’s economic climate. These best practices include curating a dynamic employee narrative about compensation philosophy changes and aligning multiple sources of market data to create equitable salaries.

Below are some key takeaways from the conversation:

• Spending time reflecting on the following questions can greatly improve how you tackle your next merit based cycle:

1. What are the overall company goals?
2. Have you aligned with executives to determine priorities for the business?
3. Are you focused on strategic growth?
4. Are you focused on being lean and operational efficiency?
5. What is your talent mix?

• Be honest and transparent about repriced stock options and the changing value of employees’s equity.
• Develop a cohesive, transparent, strategic, and dynamic narrative to share with employees around compensation, pay equity, changes to total rewards, and the current state of your business.
• Compensation is a personal topic. Compensation philosophies should be driven by insights from conversations with your talent acquisition team, market data, consultants, and market data providers.
• Pay transparency, effective job structures, and a robust career framework go hand in hand. It’s imperative to thoughtfully communicate with employees about how they can grow in their careers to achieve merit based compensation changes in the future even if your cycles are currently on hold.
• Think proactively about next year even if you just completed the mid year cycle to avoid a “set it and forget it” mentality.
• Continue the conversation around compensation year round even if your teams are in the midst of annual cycles, mid year cycles, or in between.

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