How Sales Compensation Must Change With The Introduction Of Automation

The introduction of automation and machine learning to the sales process is already changing the game. Modern sales technology is allowing buyers to go through a majority of the buying process without ever speaking to a salesperson. Not only is this change evolving the role of the sales professional, but it is also altering how companies should structure their compensation plans. READ MORE

Sharing salary data: Empowering HR with compensation insight

For Stacey Klimek, vice president of people at PayScale, eliminating surprises, articulating compensation philosophy and providing context for pay decisions is all in a day’s work. And it’s easier to do when you have home-grown comp data and analytical tools at your fingertips. Employee Benefit News recently spoke to Klimek about how a pay data and compensation analytical tool provider can help executives meet corporate goals. Edited excerpts of that conversation follow. READ MORE

New CEO pay ratio rule offers narrow view into executive compensation

The new CEO pay-ratio rule has provided a new view into executive compensation — but more a peephole, limited and slightly distorted.

Public companies have long had to disclose the compensation of their five highest-paid executives, including the CEO. Under the new regulation, public companies need to report the ratio of the CEO’s pay to the pay of the median employee at the company. READ MORE

7 Compensation Strategies for Cash-Strapped Startups

As a startup founder, I’m constantly struggling to recruit top talent without breaking the bank. We can’t always match market salaries, but we need exceptional (read: expensive) talent in order to build from scratch. How do you recruit a developer making well into six figures, or an experienced salesperson with four kids in private school? At our company, Hatch Apps, we’ve learned to get creative. READ MORE

Which is better for business owners: compensation or dividends?

One of the major changes in the tax law enacted last December in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was the creation of a new deduction for “qualified business income.” As a general rule, this deduction allows individuals who are either sole proprietors or who own interests in businesses that are formed as limited liability companies, partnerships, or S corporations to deduct from their gross income an amount that may be as high as 20 percent of their share of that entity’s income.  READ MORE

What Does "Compensation" Mean Under the 401(k)/403(b) Plan?

One of the Top 10 Mistakes made by 401(k)/403(b) plan sponsors is failing to follow the definition of “compensation” under the terms of the relevant plan document.  Compensation can be defined several different ways for plan administration purposes.  For example, compensation may be defined as W-2 wages, which would include bonuses for purpose of making elective deferrals.  Using the example, if an employer fails to allow the employer to defer off a year-end bonus (part of W-2 compensation), the plan has experienced an operational error, which affects its tax-qualified status.  READ MORE