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For WorldatWork Members How to Communicate Pay Frequency Changes , Workspan Magazine article;Comp Talk 101: Training Managers to Communicate Pay Decisions , Workspan Magazine article;5 Things TR Pros Can Do to Mitigate Pay Transparency Risks , Workspan Daily Plus+ article;Teaching Employees About Pay Helps Avoid Transparency Problems , Journal of Total Rewards article;Compensation Philosophy Guide , tool; For Everyone 2025-2026 Salary Budget Survey , research;WorldatWork: 2026 Salary Increase Budgets Project U.S., Global Caution , Workspan Daily article;A Framework for Fair and Consistent Pay Decisions , Workspan Daily article;Exploring the Merits of the Compensation Conversation , Workspan Daily article;Pay with Purpose: Driving Employee Engagement Through Compensation , webinar; “Pay is personal.”

Inflation and the labor market’s voluntary turnover rate may be dropping, but organizations are continuing to use compensation to distinguish themselves from competitors.

;Even the least-frequently included types of compensation, such as special one-time equity/stock-based grants, are (or likely will soon be) included in pay equity analysis by more than a quarter of respondents.; “If companies conduct an analysis only on base pay, they could be leaving out important elements of total compensation,” said Emily Cervino, CEP, head of industry relationships and thought leadership at Fidelity Stock Plan Services.

.; A company’s pay positioning policy is one of the most critical steps in sales compensation design.

The higher predicted 3.3% average suggested that a portion of respondents were anticipating notably higher increase budgets going forward, perhaps as they expected to compensate for pay increases that were delayed or deferred in prior years and to address increasing labor market pressure.

These changes will impact how Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis assess organizations’ executive compensation programs moving forward, including the methodology for assessing pay and performance alignment, a positive perspective on long vesting time-based awards and revised policies related to compensation committee responsiveness and equity plan proposals.

There is a direct effect on sales compensation professionals, because the retail sales sector has been among the most affected by the pandemic.

Relevant WorldatWork Resources Certification: Certified Compensation Professional;Course: Compensation Immersion Program;Course: Geographic Pay Strategies;