Afleveringen
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Compensation is no longer just an HR process. It is a business decision that executive teams are paying close attention to.
In this special podcast episode, adapted from a recent Payscale webinar, Chief Product Officer Lexi Clarke and Chief Financial Officer Philip Watson discuss how organizations can rethink compensation reporting to better align with business goals and executive expectations.
Drawing from insights in Payscale’s 2026 Compensation Best Practices Report, they explore the questions leadership teams are asking after recent merit and pay cycles, including how compensation impacts retention, performance, and financial outcomes. The conversation also covers why traditional HR metrics often fall short and what compensation leaders should bring into strategic business discussions instead.
In this episode, you will learn:
• The compensation questions executive teams are asking right now and why they matter • Where traditional HR metrics fall short and what to bring into the conversation instead • How to connect pay decisions to outcomes like retention, performance, and cost
Want the full experience? Watch the webinar recording and access the presentation slides to dive deeper into the discussion: https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/what-your-elt-really-wants-to-know-about-pay -
For decades, organizations have talked about paying for skills instead of jobs.
The idea is simple. Reward people based on what they can do, not just the role they hold.
But in practice, it has always been difficult to execute.
Skills are hard to define, harder to measure, and nearly impossible to track consistently across a workforce.
At the same time, the market is shifting fast.
AI-related skills are in high demand, showing up in job postings across industries. But new data shows those skills don’t always translate into higher pay.
So organizations are facing a disconnect.
They know skills matter more than ever. But they don’t yet have the systems or structures to consistently pay for them.
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, Ruth Thomas is joined by Sara Hillenmeyer, VP of AI and Data Science at Payscale, to explore why skills-based pay has remained out of reach and why that may finally be changing.
Together they unpack how AI is reshaping demand for skills, why the market isn’t consistently rewarding them yet, and what needs to happen for skills-based pay to become a reality at scale.
This conversation looks at the data, the technology gap, and the structural shifts required for organizations to move from jobs-based to skills-based compensation. -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Recorded live from WorldatWork Total Rewards 2026 in San Antonio, this special episode of Comp and Coffee gives you an inside look at the launch of Payscale Intelligence Cloud.
Host Ruth Thomas is joined by Chief People Officer Lexi Clarke to share what they are hearing on the ground, including a key insight that 54% of practitioners are struggling with disconnected tools, systems, and processes, and what that means for the future of compensation.
They explore how compensation is evolving from a behind the scenes function into a strategic, always on business lever. You will hear how Payscale Intelligence Cloud is built to support that shift with a unified experience across stakeholders, richer data including skills and demand insights, solutions that scale with your maturity journey, and contextual intelligence to help you make better pay decisions in real time.
The conversation also covers the growing importance of pay transparency, the expanding role of HR teams in compensation, and why stronger alignment with finance is becoming essential to driving business impact.
If you are navigating complexity, data overload, or the pressure to make faster and more defensible pay decisions, this episode is for you.
Grab a coffee and tune in. -
The gender pay gap has widened.
New data from the 2026 Gender Pay Gap Report shows the uncontrolled gender pay gap increased from $0.83 to $0.82, meaning women earn 18% less than men on average. That difference translates to $14,300 per year in lost earnings, and over $1 million across a career.
At the same time, organizations are navigating a new era of pay transparency legislation, tighter compensation budgets, and growing scrutiny around fairness in pay practices.
So what does pay equity actually look like in 2026?
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, Ruth Thomas is joined by Vicky Peakman, Founder of Fair Pay Partners, and Lulu Seikaly, Senior Corporate Attorney, to unpack what the latest gender pay gap data really means and why transparency and equity are now inseparable.
Together they explore why the uncontrolled gap still persists, where inequities show up most clearly across careers and industries, and how organizations can move beyond compliance to build compensation strategies that are both equitable and sustainable.
This conversation looks at the legal landscape, the operational realities inside organizations, and the strategic choices leaders must make if they want pay transparency to strengthen trust rather than expose gaps.
Episode resources:
2026 Gender Pay Gap Report: https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/gender-pay-gap
HR’s 2026 Guide to Pay Equity: https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/hr-2026-guide-to-pay-equity
Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions -
When budgets shrink, performance pay is put to the test.
The 2026 Compensation Best Practices Report tells a clear story: budgets are tighter, bonuses are shrinking, and organizations are reaching for simpler pay strategies to get through the year.
Today we're exploring what happens when compensation decisions prioritize administrative ease over strategic intent — and what leaders can do about it.
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, Ruth Thomas is joined by Founder of Payformance Partners Marc Mullis and People Operations leader at Leapfrog, Brittany Vogel to explore how organizations can maintain performance differentiation, employee trust, and retention in an era of tiny budgets.
This conversation goes beyond theory. It examines how leaders are creatively rethinking frequency versus size of rewards, leveraging non-base pay tools, strengthening communication, and avoiding the long-term consequences of oversimplified pay strategies.
Episode Resources:
2026 Compensation Best Practices Report: https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/cbpr
Your insights matter and shape the future of work. Participate in the 2027 Compensation Best Practices Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/cbprsignup
Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions -
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, Ruth Thomas sits down with Stacey Harris, Chief Research Officer at Sapient Insights Group, and Amy Stewart, Payscale’s Manager of Content & Research, to unpack how HR and compensation leaders can turn data into strategic, defensible decisions.We explore the latest research on HR systems, compensation trends, and the growing role of AI in pay and talent management. Stacey shares insights from the 28th annual HR Systems Survey, highlighting the tension HR leaders face between driving growth and managing costs, navigating workforce shifts, and understanding mid-market versus enterprise trends. Amy provides a sneak peek at Payscale’s 2026 Compensation Best Practices Report, including pay increase trends, “peanut butter” pay practices, and strategies for retaining top talent while controlling costs.Key takeaways include: Data-driven decision making: Use multiple validated data sources to interpret trends and avoid overreacting to headlines. Strategic compensation: Confidence in pay offers and total rewards is critical, especially in uncertain markets. Technology & AI: AI is transforming compensation strategy, enabling smarter market pricing and strategic insights—but trust and validated data remain essential. HR as a business partner: Compensation isn’t just an HR function; it’s a strategic lever that should inform enterprise-level decisions and connect to business outcomes.Whether you’re evaluating HR tech, managing tight budgets, or planning for AI integration, this episode provides practical guidance for leaders who want to leverage research to make smarter, more strategic decisions in 2026.Episode resources: Sapient Insights Group HR Systems Survey Report: https://bit.ly/4rB1zos Payscale 2026 Salary Increase Preview Report: https://bit.ly/3NWIQ8a Payscale Salary Budget Survey: https://bit.ly/4qYwlaD Payscale Pay Trends and Market Pricing Research: https://bit.ly/4kj5hk4 Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions
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Pay decisions do not live in isolation. They shape hiring speed, retention, employee trust, and ultimately business performance.
According to Payscale’s 2026 Compensation Best Practices Report, 63% of organizations believe their compensation policies drive positive business outcomes. That confidence shows up in measurable ways, including lower voluntary turnover, faster time to fill, and stronger employee sentiment.
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, Ruth Thomas brings together leaders from across Payscale’s people, research, and total rewards teams to unpack what “pay confidence” really means, how organizations are building it in a constrained market, and why compensation is increasingly being treated as core business infrastructure rather than an HR function of last resort.
This conversation moves beyond theory to explore how confident pay decisions are made today, how they are being tested by flat increases, AI, and misinformation, and how leaders can connect pay strategy directly to outcomes executives care about.
Speakers:
Ruth Thomas – Chief Compensation Strategist, Payscale
Amy Stewart – Manager, Research and Insights, Payscale
Brittni Beers-Branco – VP of People, Payscale
Lauren Hein – Head of Total Rewards, Payscale
Episode Resources:
2026 Compensation Best Practices Report: https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/cbpr?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=cnt_awr_2026-cbpr-podcast_wv_fls&utm_content=2026-cbpr-podcast_rpt_pst
Your insights matter and shape the future of work. Participate in the 2027 Compensation Best Practices Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/cbprsignup
Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions -
HR and compensation leaders are facing a new set of challenges and opportunities in 2026. From new pay transparency laws to AI-driven decision-making, the landscape is shifting fast. This episode unpacks what is in and what is out for the year ahead and explores the trends that will define the future of work.
Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions.
Payscale End-of-Year report and HR Predictions: https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/end-of-year-top-jobs-report?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=cnt_awr_eoyreport_wv&utm_content=eoyreport_pst
Compensation translator: https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/your-compensation-translator?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=cnt_awr_comptranslator-asset_wv&utm_content=compensation-translator-asset
2026 Pay increase report – https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/2026-salary-increases-preview?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=cnt_awr_payincreasereport_wv&utm_content=payincreasereport_pst -
Everyone agrees that pay matters. What they do not agree on is what it means.
HR talks about fairness and equity.Finance talks about cost and ROI.Legal talks about compliance and defensibility.Leaders talk about performance and business outcomes.
These perspectives are all correct, yet they often conflict. When they collide, compensation decisions lose clarity, employees feel confused, and managers deliver mixed messages—leaving HR as the translator.
In this episode, Ruth Thomas is joined by Hannah Beaver, Director of Compensation at Trilogy Health Services, and Kim O’Grady, Compensation Supervisor at Designer Brands. Together, they break down how organizations can turn pay into a shared language that builds trust, alignment, and credibility from the C-suite to the front line.
Episode resources:
Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions.
Compensation translator: https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/your-compensation-translator?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=cnt_awr_comptranslator-asset_wv&utm_content=compensation-translator-asset -
Another conversation about pay transparency? We know what you are thinking, haven’t we already covered this?
But the truth is, 2025 changed everything. From a wave of new state laws in the U.S. to Canada and the EU rewriting the playbook, pay transparency has moved from policy talk to daily reality. With 2026 around the corner, the stakes are only getting higher.
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, host Ruth Thomas sits down with Vicky Peakman, Director at Fair Pay Partners, and Lulu Seikaly, Senior Corporate Attorney at Payscale, to unpack the year’s biggest developments and what is coming next.
Episode resources:
2025 – 2026 Salary budget survey - https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/salary-budget-survey-sbs?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=cnt_awr_payforperformance-blog_wv&utm_content=payforperformance-blog_sia
Your voice deserves to be heard! Participate in this year’s compensation best practices survey - https://www.research.net/r/CBPR26Coffee
Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions. -
At HR Tech 2025, AI stole the spotlight, but not everyone was convinced. Amid the hype and bold claims, HR and compensation professionals were asking tougher questions: What’s actually working? What’s just marketing? And how can AI really make their jobs easier?
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, host Ruth Thomas sits down with Peh Keong Teh, Chief Product Officer at Payscale, Olivia Sedler, Product Manager at Payscale, and Mark Feffer, contributing analyst at 3Sixty Insights and editor of WorkforceAI.News and HCM Technology Report. Together, they cut through the noise from HR Tech, unpack what vendors got right and wrong, and discuss where AI can and cannot move the needle for HR and comp leaders today.
Episode Resources:
Pay trends report - https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/pay-trends-report
How AI is reshaping your workforce - https://www.payscale.com/compensation-trends/how-ai-is-reshaping-your-workforce
AI 101 - https://www.payscale.com/compensation-trends/ai-101-the-hr-and-compensation-starter-p[…]gn=brd_ai-blog-engagement_wv&utm_content=data_blg_ai-101_pst
AI Webinar - https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/how-ai-is-reshaping-pay-decisions-on-d[…]ement_wv&utm_content=data_wbn-o_how-ai-is-reshaping-comp_pst
Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions -
In a year of tight budgets and increasing expectations of pay transparency, pay conversations are more critical than ever. Skipping, delaying, or diluting these conversations can erode trust and leave employees disengaged. In this episode of Comp and Coffee, host Ruth Thomas is joined by Payscale leaders to explore the “compensation telephone game,” share how HR trains managers to deliver clear messages, and discuss strategies for keeping the right talent engaged in a volatile environment.
Guests:
Lexi Clarke – Chief People Officer, Payscale
Lauren Hein – Head of Total Rewards, Payscale
Lauren Cole – Senior Director, Services & Customer Education
Resources:
2025 – 2026 Salary budget survey - https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/salary-budget-survey-sbs?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=cnt_awr_payforperformance-blog_wv&utm_content=payforperformance-blog_sia
Your voice deserves to be heard! Participate in this year’s compensation best practices survey - https://www.research.net/r/CBPR26Coffee
Your pay communications playbook - https://www.payscale.com/compensation-trends/your-pay-communications-playbook-building-trust-through-compensation-transparency?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=cnt_awr_payforperformance-blog_wv&utm_content=payforperformance-blog_sia
Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions -
Pay transparency laws are forcing the conversation—but alignment is what makes it stick.
When it comes to pay transparency, HR, Legal, and leadership often speak in different “dialects.” HR frames it around equity and structure, Legal around compliance and risk, and leadership around outcomes and cost. The challenge? These perspectives rarely align into a shared understanding that employees can trust.
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, we’re bringing together three leading voices to explore how organizations can move beyond compliance and turn transparency into a universal language of trust and alignment:
Ruth Thomas – Chief Compensation Strategist and pay equity thought leader and advisor, helping organizations build consistent, bias-free pay practices.
Lulu Seikaly – Corporate attorney guiding employers through the legal realities of pay transparency laws.
Elaina Van Kirk, PHR – Principal Consultant at Exude Human Capital, advising organizations on compensation, performance, and inclusive culture strategies.
Together, they’ll uncover how HR, Finance, and Legal can stop speaking past each other—and start building a pay narrative that employees not only understand but believe. -
Salary budgets are tightening — but strategy doesn’t have to.
Payscale’s 10th Annual Salary Budget Survey reveals that planned pay increases for 2026 are dipping slightly from 2025, with economic uncertainty replacing competition for talent as the top driver of budget changes. But even in a cooling pay environment, HR and comp pros have a window to realign strategy before Q4 — if they have the right data in hand.
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, host Ruth Thomas sits down with Amy Stewart, Payscale’s Principal of Research & Insights, and Kathryn Gombos, HR & Total Rewards Leader and Founder of Gombos Group. Together, they unpack the latest salary budget trends, explore what’s behind the shifts, and share how organizations can use these insights to plan smarter, communicate with confidence, and navigate survey season without burning out.
2025–2026 Payscale Salary Budget Survey - https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/salary-budget-survey-sbs
Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions -
Fair pay means nothing if no one believes it. That’s the wake-up call from Payscale’s latest Fair Pay Impact Report. Despite rising wages, transparency laws, and improved market conditions, employees don’t believe they’re being paid fairly—and it’s costing businesses their best people.
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, host Ruth Thomas is joined by Lexi Clarke and Kate Peter—three women in the C-suite who are putting fair pay back at the top of the agenda. They unpack what the data tells us, what it feels like as leaders, and what needs to happen next.
Episode Resources:
Fair Pay Impact Report - https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/fair-pay-impact
Email [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions
Connect with us
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.payscale.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/payscale
X: https://twitter.com/payscale
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/payscale
Chapters
(00:00) Commitment to Fair Pay and Leadership Introductions
(02:52) The Importance of Staying Loud About Pay Equity
(05:06) Challenges and Realities of Fair Pay Perception
(13:14) Economic Pressure and Trends Impacting Compensation Trust
(17:06) Defining and Practicing Real Transparency
(24:02) Personal Experiences Shaping Pay Advocacy
(31:01) Rebuilding Trust Through Honest Conversation -
When the CFO asks why… will you panic or present your case with confidence?
In this episode of Comp and Coffee, we go behind the scenes with Lexi Clarke and Philip Watson to uncover how HR and Finance can stop speaking past each other—and start building stronger pay strategies together. Whether you're preparing for budget season or defending comp decisions in the boardroom, this episode gives you the language, data, and mindset you need to show that compensation isn’t just a line item—it’s a lever for business success. -
Compensation isn’t just an HR function—it’s a core business strategy. In this episode of Comp and Coffee, we look into the pay crystal ball with Rebecca Toman of Pearl Meyer, Ruth Thomas, Chief Compensation Strategist at Payscale, and Sara Hillenmeyer, Payscale’s Director of Data Science. Together, they explore how trusted data, AI, and a forward-thinking approach to comp strategy can help organizations not just keep up—but lead. If you care about performance, retention, equity, or executive pay, this episode is your blueprint for aligning comp strategy with long-term business success.
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What happens when your pay strategy sparks more questions than confidence—and your best people start walking? In this episode, we bring in the experts to tackle the hard truths behind tough pay conversations and how to rebuild trust before it’s too late.
Episode resources:
https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/cbpr
Email [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions -
Compensation has come a long way—from handwritten ledgers and dusty binders to AI-powered insights and real-time salary data. But what does the past teach us about where we’re headed? Join us for a nostalgia-packed, future-forward journey through the history of comp, featuring expert reflections from WorldatWork, and predictions from the people shaping the next era of pay.
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What's the state of the gender pay gap in 2025?
In this episode Ruth Thomas discusses Payscale's 2025 Gender Pay Gap Report with Amy Stewart, Payscale's principal content strategist and author of the report.
Together, they explore the controlled and uncontrolled pay gaps, the impact of pay transparency, and the various systemic factors contributing to the gender pay gap.
Gain insights into why pay disparities persist and what organizations can do to address these inequalities.
Key Highlights
Discussion on the difference between controlled and uncontrolled pay gaps and their current figures.
Examination of how pay transparency legislation is affecting gender pay gaps across different states in the U.S.
Insights into the systemic issues and historical context driving the gender pay gap, including the role of motherhood.
Analysis of specific data showing pay disparities for women of color and in various industries.
Recommendations for organizations on measures to close the gender pay gap.
Quotes
"Pay transparency legislation is showing promise in closing pay gaps, though the impact is gradual." – Amy Stewart
"The gender pay gap remains at 83 cents on the dollar for women, highlighting persistent barriers in the workforce." – Ruth Thomas
Resources
2025 Gender Pay Gap Report: https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/gender-pay-gap/ - Laat meer zien
