Compensation Strategy Guide

Compensation Can Be Your Biggest Cost... and Asset

A great compensation strategy can be an incredible asset that supports your business goals and builds organizational trust. No matter where you're starting from, this guide will take you through 6 simple steps to level up your approach.

Barley - 6 Steps to a Better Compensation Strategy

A Winning Compensation Strategy Starts Here

1. Document Your Compensation Philosophy

Document "why" you pay the way you do, with a checklist to test if your compensation philosophy passes the quality test.

2. Define Your Employee Value Proposition

Define the unique value and benefits that your company brings to the table, with real-world examples that go beyond compensation.

3. Build Your Total Rewards Package

Leverage the other elements of total rewards, beyond base salary, to provide your employees with the right mix of incentives to drive business results.

4. Determine Your Market Position

Decide how you pay relative to other companies that are competing with you for talent: whether to meet, lead, or lag the market.

5. Consider Location-Based Pay

Determine whether you want to anchor pay to a particular city, region, or country, taking into account the difficulty of administrating each approach.

6. Set Your Level Of Pay Transparency

Find the level of pay transparency that delivers value to your business and improves morale, while complying with pay transparency legislation.

Only 32%

of employees think they are being paid fairly

Gartner Research, 2022

If you get comp wrong,
nothing else matters

Research shows that the vast majority of employees don't understand compensation, and consequently don't trust that they are being paid fairly.

By using these 6 key steps to guide your approach to compensation, you can build a compensation strategy that improves organizational trust, productivity, and morale.

Level up your comp strategy

Download the guide