Beyond pay: How non-compensation can win in a competitive talent market

Ask any recruiter what tops a candidate’s list of priorities, and you’ll hear the same answer I’ve heard for decades: compensation. Our latest nationwide survey of physicians and advanced practice providers, conducted in partnership with healthcare research and advisory firm Advisory Board, confirms that pay still reigns supreme in job selection.

But here’s the takeaway staffing leaders can’t afford to miss: Once you match the market on compensation, the real differentiators are schedule flexibility, work-life balance and meaningful benefits. In other words, if you can’t match your competitors on pay, then outperform them on everything else that matters. READ MORE

Shareholder Influence on Executive Compensation

The CEO of Palantir Technologies, Alex Karp, recently made headlines as one of the highest paid chief executives of a publicly traded U.S. company. But Karp’s compensation was not solely in cash—the sizeable $6.8 billion figure refers to “compensation actually paid,” the annual increase in the value of an executive’s current and potential stock holdings. Like most chief executives, the majority of Karp’s compensation takes the form of stock, stock options, and other investment vehicles.

Executive compensation plans are typically incentive based, calculated from metrics such as the economic performance of the corporation. But the rise of environmental and social governance (ESG) shifted the priorities of corporate governance. For example, Apple CEO Tim Cook’s 2024 pay package was tied to his performance on ESG criteria, putting Apple at the forefront of a growing cohort of companies expanding their executive performance benchmarks to include non-economic metrics. READ MORE

To win the war for talent, focus on the 3 Cs: culture, clarity, compensation

Much has been written over the years in the mainstream media and industry press about “the war for talent.” Employment statistics, vacancy rates, salary and benefit comparisons, and market analyses all paint a picture of an ever-changing and dynamic labor market. Recruiters and business leaders know that, regardless of the vagaries of specific industries or the broader labor market, the one enduring truth is that every company wants to hire the best talent for an open role. Whether an organization is growing rapidly or only seeking to fill one or two key openings, the challenges—and the opportunities—remain the same.

To “win the talent war,” there are some widely applicable principles to keep in mind: engaging attractive applicants in a meaningful, mutually beneficial, transparent and insightful interview process is the step to a successful talent acquisition program—a program that will fuel your company’s growth and overall talent objectives. Across industries, culture, clarity in business strategy and role, and competitive compensation (total rewards) packages are key factors in attracting top talent at every level. READ MORE

Musk’s Compensation Dream Is A Reality — So What Comes Next?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package is a done deal, and now we are immersed in the waiting game. Was it only two years ago in which Master Plan 3 was released, with its laser focus on sustainable energy? Not anymore. Now Musk is pushing agendas for AI, robots, and self-driving cars. His vision for long-term vehicle sales growth at Tesla is wrapped up in trying to achieve full self-driving (FSD) capability and robotaxi deployment.

A repeated headline about Tesla this morning read, “Could Buying Tesla stock today set you up for life?” It’s a company that is seeing its research and development costs rise 57% at the same time as its operating margin is tumbling. Yet Musk continues to insist the company’s future lies beyond electric vehicles. Achieving those goals is going to be very expensive. READ MORE

Americans with six-figure incomes are in 'survival mode'

A six-figure salary doesn’t mean what it once did. 

That’s the takeaway from a new Harris poll, which suggests a six-figure income in 2025 equates to survival, but not necessarily to success.  READ MORE

The era of salary negotiation is ending

If you’re looking for a new job right now, one of your main motivating factors is likely to be that you’d like a bit more money in your pocket.

Of course, there are other factors at play: plentiful tech layoffs and federal worker cuts have placed many Americans back into the labor market too. Career progression is another reason employees seek to move jobs; instead of stagnating, they’re searching for fresh opportunities for upskilling and professional development. READ MORE

ESG metrics and executive pay: A comparative analysis of payouts

On the surface, ESG executive incentive payouts seem to be in line with financial metrics, but a nuanced — and different — picture emerges when you look closely at specific metrics.

Sustainability, or environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics are commonplace across executive incentive plans, as evidenced in WTW’s 2024 ESG Incentive Metrics Study. This is perhaps unsurprising, given many companies have incorporated sustainability into business strategy, therefore making it a key area on which to focus attention and drive performance via performance goals and incentives. READ MORE

The Compensation Clawback Rules: The Rules That Haven’t Changed Much of Anything

Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 required the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue rules mandating the recovery of incentive-based compensation in the case of a financial restatement (“clawbacks”).

The SEC issued proposed clawback rules in 2015. These rules were met with broad criticism. They then basically sat untouched until late 2021, when the SEC reopened them for discussion. READ MORE

Workers turn to 'polyworking' to combat frozen salaries and inflation

As workers face frozen salaries, inflation and fear of layoffs, some have decided to branch out from their traditional careers. They're taking on side jobs to bring in additional income and provide a backup plan should they find themselves out of work, or adding second, third and sometimes fourth jobs — what some call “polyworking” — to the mix.

Take Katelyn Cusick, 29. She beautifies displays as a visual merchandiser for Patagonia at her full-time job. Then she works a side gig managing social media influencers for a German shoe brand for 10 to 15 hours per week. She also has an Etsy shop where she sells paintings. If that wasn’t enough, she ushers at concerts in the San Francisco Bay Area — a way to see live shows for free. READ MORE

What Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay package can teach you about negotiating your own salary

When it comes to earning a living, you might want to be more like Elon.

There are some strategy lessons to be learned from the world's richest man, who just won a pay package worth up to $1 trillion at Tesla — even for those of us whose paychecks come with fewer zeros. READ MORE

Shareholders and compensation consultants weigh in on Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay package

On Thursday, 75% of Tesla shareholders voted to approve his proposed $1 trillion pay package as the company's CEO, contingent on a set of performance metrics he would need to meet over the next decade.

And based on the standing ovation and exuberant cheering Musk received at the shareholder meeting, Tesla superfans in attendance seemed to love it. READ MORE

How deferred compensation plans help attract and retain top talent

In today’s tight labor market, companies are seeking competitive advantages to attract and retain top talent. In this Crain’s Quick Take, Mindi Johnson, an employee benefits attorney at Foster Swift, outlines how deferred compensation plans can be a strategic tool for motivating and rewarding highly compensated employees.

Johnson explains that traditional salary and benefits packages often fall short for key executives due to federal limits on qualified plans. Non-qualified deferred compensation plans help bridge that gap. “These types of programs can help a company accomplish its goals in retaining that ‘top hat’ group of management by providing an attractive compensation and benefits package,” she says. READ MORE

Job seekers: Don't be swayed by secondary market's 10% bump to year-end bonuses

private market professionals eagerly await year-end bonuses, a top Wall Street compensation consultant warns against chasing the biggest annual payout. For the second consecutive year, secondaries fund managers will receive bonuses that are at least 10% higher than last year, while PE and VC bonuses will be mostly flat, according to new data from financial compensation consultant Johnson Associates. As

But, the stable career choice remains in the two primary asset classes, according to the firm's founder and managing director, Alan Johnson. READ MORE

Why The 10-Year TSR Is The Premier Metric For Long-Term Value Creation

In today's volatile markets, measuring corporate success demands a long view. The 10-year total shareholder return (TSR)—which includes stock price appreciation plus reinvested dividends—stands out as the premier indicator of sustained value creation. Strong long-term returns also reflect sustained customer support. Unlike shorter horizons like the 3-year TSR, it captures fundamental drivers such as return on invested capital (ROIC), earnings growth, and customer loyalty, while filtering out temporary noise.

It even signals survival risks: firms ignoring long-term TSR often face restructurings or decline. Below, I highlight insights from 11 key studies and cautionary tales from seven iconic companies that underwent major splits as a result of long-term underperformance. READ MORE

Short-Term Incentives Not Driving Performance? There’s a Solution

Given the persistent economic volatility, increasingly cloudy financial targets and continuously evolving employee expectations around transparency, many organizations are re-evaluating how they drive alignment and motivation. In this environment, short-term incentive (STI) plans should both encourage results and signal organizational priorities. READ MORE

If You Use Gig Workers to Quell Comp Costs, You Better Read This

Gig work is on the riseOpen in a new tab, and freelancers who contract for these tasks and projects can be a great talent outlet for specific skills while allowing organizations to rein in corporate compensation and benefit costs.

But independent contractors lack the safety net of benefits and a fixed salary, so they are especially vulnerable to inflation. READ MORE

Crypto Payroll Takes Over Silicon Valley: Hype vs Reality

The tech world is buzzing with news of companies switching to crypto payroll, and guess who's leading the charge? Yep, Gen Z. They're pushing companies to explore the idea of stablecoin salaries. Why? Well, to keep things stable and efficient in a market that's anything but. Let's take a closer look at this whole crypto payroll trend, what it brings to the table, and the hurdles that come along with it. READ MORE

How Crypto is Reshaping Compensation

In a world where traditional payroll systems struggle against economic uncertainty, cryptocurrency and stablecoins are emerging as game changers for businesses. As startups dive into the complexities of adopting crypto payroll, the role of advanced technologies like Chainlink becomes paramount. This article will delve into how crypto payroll is changing the salary landscape, the advantages of integrating digital assets, and the future of payroll in an ever-evolving financial climate. READ MORE

Elon Musk presses for $1 trillion pay plan because he needs to influence Tesla's future 'robot army'

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk made an unusual plea at the end of the company's earnings call, urging shareholders to approve his new $1 trillion pay package and claiming, among other things, he wouldn't be comfortable building "a robot army" without control over it.

During the Q&A portion of the call with investors following the company's Q3 miss, Musk was asked about the present challenges in bringing the Optimus robot to market. READ MORE

Cathie Wood blasts the proxy firms who say Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package is just too rich

Investor Cathie Wood, a longtime Tesla bull known for first investing in the company a decade ago at $13 per share, condemned the growing resistance to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s potential $1 trillion pay package. Over the weekend, the ARK Invest CEO suggested the financial system that’s enabling the pushback against it is the one with the problem, not the company that wants to make the world’s richest man richer by such a magnitude. READ MORE