I help startups and scaleups worldwide design fair, transparent, and scalable compensation strategies that build trust.
The challenge
Pay transparency fosters a workforce of loyal and engaged employees, however compensation is often shrouded in secrecy. A black box of subjective assessments and random figures that are difficult to verify which leads to frustration, confusion, and a lack of trust.
āHow can I get a pay rise?ā
āHow are our salary benchmarks calculated?ā
āWhy is X making more than me when weāre doing the same job?ā
āWhy donāt we display salary bands on job adverts?ā
āWhy do we pay higher salaries in location A vs location B?ā
āI heard Netflixs pays more for this role. Why donāt we pay the same?ā
If your employees constantly challenge you about compensation, here's the truth: You probably aren't being transparent enough about your compensation process.
The solution
I've simplified the complex process of salary benchmarking into an easy-to-follow guide. Over 70 global organisations, from the UK to New Zealand, San Francisco to Oman, have used my guide, compensation calculator, and compensation philosophy to begin their journey toward pay transparency.
Typical running order of a project
Step 1: Project set up & discovery
Starting the project on the right foot
Step 2 - Market Data
Choosing relevant and reliable data to compare yourself against
Step 3 - Job Architecture & Levelling
Introducing a ācommon languageā, aka ājob architectureā so you can map your teams objectively back to the market and compare āapples to applesā
Step 4: Compensation Philosophy & Salary bands
Define your North star for making comp decisions and build your salary bands based on these principles
Step 5: Analyse market position and pay equity
Once your compensation philosophy and salary bands are in place, we can identify any hidden pay inequities and determine the cost to address these gaps.
Step 6: Educate & launch
Arguably one of the most important steps is to make sure managers and employees across the organisation understands how pay is calculated
Key deliverables
1. Compensation Calculator
2. Compensation Philosophy
How I work
Iām committed to practising what I preach, so hereās what you can expect from working with me.
Who
Youāll be working with just me. Iām purposely building a one person business.
I'm based just outside of London in the UK, but my work spans the globe, collaborating with clients from the UK and Europe, to New Zealand and San Francisco.
Weekly meeting
- Weāll have a standing weekly one-hour call for brainstorming on a specific topic.
- Iāll send out an agenda 24 hours in advance, outlining discussion points.
Async work
- Async catch ups over email or Slack.
- I also use Loom to share updates. This is particularly useful when explaining modifications made to the compensation calculator.
Costs
Project duration | 6-8 weeks |
My Time | 5-10 days (Ā£975 per day) |
Justly Materials | Ā£5,000 (fixed price) |
Total Cost | Ā£9,875 - Ā£12,800 (+VAT @20% for UK companies) |
I operate on a time-based model, tracking time to provide a clear record of where I spend it. The number of days estimated above are based on my typical engagements. After initial discussions, I'll be able to provide a precise estimate.
ā Ā Compensation calculator ā Ā Compensation philosophy ā Ā Levelling framework ā Ā 2 x Manager training decks ā Ā A ton of comms materials ā Ā Project plan and decisions
āĀ Salary data sets - The price for salary data from providers such as Radford, Mercer, Figures, Pave, and Ravio is not included, so youāll need to set aside an annual budget for this. Annual costs for these can range from FREE to Ā£10k depending on your location.
While we'll discuss these topics during our project, the following areas won't be covered in-depth. I can however connect you with trusted partners who specialise in these specific domains:
Whenever you're ready, there are 4ļøā£ ways that I can help you
Partner with me directly to develop your pay strategy, create salary bands, craft a compensation philosophy, and benchmark your organisation by following the steps outlined above.
Whether you're starting from scratch or have some compensation elements in place but lack confidence, I can help by carrying out a Compensation Strategy Deep Dive or simply becoming a strategic partner to help tackle a specific challenge youāre facing.
- Day rate: Ā£975 + VAT
- This gives you 7 hours of my time and the freedom to use whenever you wish.
- Hourly rate: Ā£150 + VAT
- Buy by the hour.
Explore my free and paid templates to help supercharge your project.
Still in your discovery phase? Read my comprehensive guide to salary benchmarking and pay transparency to learn more about building fair compensation systems.
FAQs
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Compensation Strategy Deep Dive
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