SELLING YOUR C-SUITE - hrsoft.com...The first step of selling your C-suite on your compensation...

SELLING YOUR C-SUITE ON YOUR COMPENSATION PLANS

HRsoft is the industry leader for compensation planning and total rewards software. Our cloud based SaaS solutions combine best of breed features with

an intuitive, easy-to-use interface that simplifies and automates the entire compensation process helping companies save time and their best employees.

Selling Your C Suite On Your Compensation Plans

One of the biggest challenges compensation professionals face is getting key stakeholders to support their

plans. Securing buy-in from the C-suite isn’t easy, and it’s certainly never guaranteed. Oftentimes, one of the main

reasons we’re so hesitant to approach people like our CEO, CFO, and CHRO is because we simply don’t know the

best approach to take.

Like us, CEOs, CFOs, and CHROs all have their own sets of priorities and concerns. By taking these factors into

consideration, we can shape our message and deliver it in a way that has the greatest odds of being received

well by our audience. In this guide, we’ll discover how to

build a stronger reputation,

develop relationships

organize your approach, and

communicate with your CEO, CFO, and CHRO.

Ready to start gaining support for your compensation plans? Your journey to the CEO’s office starts here.




Build Your Compensation Brand

The first step of selling your C-suite on your

compensation plans lies in building your own

brand as a compensation expert. In order to do

that, you’ll need to act as your own marketing

department. Here’s how:

Identify Your REAL Needs & Objectives

What is it you’re truly trying to accomplish with your compensation plan? Identifying your real needs and

objectives may require a little digging, but it’s an important preliminary step to take.

Define Your Business

Today, most compensation departments aren’t in place simply to help companies pay their people right.

Now more than ever, compensation is becoming more strategic. To illustrate your value, develop an

active compensation philosophy.

Create a Strong Foundation

Stay up-to-date with research and valuable data to demonstrate your expertise. If you’re going to

establish your reputation as a compensation expert, you’ll need to back your claims with relevant data

when it comes time to state your case.

Summarize Your “Brand”

Finish the statement: We exist to ______, by doing _____. Make it specific; don’t just state that you exist to

attract, motivate, and retain. Explain how you’re unique. Perhaps you make it easier for your managers to

hire the best talent. Use your brand summary to show how you achieve your distinct purpose.

Communicate Your Story

Whenever possible, communicate your points using a story. Doing so will help you make a more

powerful impact on your audience, because people enjoy hearing stories more so than data alone.

Finally, the last component of building your compensation brand consists of creating your service delivery model.

Determine who’s in your circle of influence. Who are your key stakeholders, and what is their preferred method

of communication? We’ll discuss useful communication techniques for approaching these individuals in an

upcoming segment.




Developing Relationships

Making an impact on your C-suite is all about “influencing the influencers.” To gain respect from key stakeholders,

keep the following key points in mind:

Limit Compensation Jargon

While your C-suite expects you to know a lot about compensation, there’s no need to try to impress them

with your knowledge. They don’t want to about every small detail that supports your case, so be sure to

limit the amount of compensation speak you use and instead…

Speak From Their Perspective

Your audience will appreciate your message much more if you deliver it in a way that aligns with their

perspective. In other words, what drives their day-to-day needs? What propels their concern with pay? To

find this out, do your homework and understand your audience’s background. Communicate from their

perspective instead of that of a compensation pro, and your message will likely be received better.

Schedule Within Their Schedule

Make your schedule secondary to theirs. If there’s a known busy time for the stakeholder you’re trying to

meet with, make sure you’re working around their timeline.

Keep Meetings Short

It’s far better to have someone request a second meeting with you than it is to use up too much of their time.

Keep meetings brief by delivering your information in as succinct a presentation as possible. Don’t be too

chatty nor too silent, but do maintain confidence and enthusiasm to communicate your position effectively.

Of course, the best way to ensure you’re prepared for a meeting with your C-suite is to be organized. For our next

topic, we’ll go over some ways to take an organized approach.


an intuitive, easy-to-use interface that simplifi es and automates the entire compensation process helping companies save time and their best employees.


Organize & Communicate

Strong communicators always organize a strategic

approach prior to going into an important meeting.

You can organize your strategic approach by

establishing guiding principles. To do that, you

must be able to answer, “What is it that we’re

trying to accomplish as a whole?” Whether you

need to hire top-tier engineers or develop and

retain rising stars, make sure you’re focusing on

big-picture objectives.

You can start at the bottom, but work your way

towards the top by digging down and fi guring

out what it is you’re really trying to fi x. If you need

to pay someone more, make sure you’re able

to illustrate the why behind the need for a pay

increase. Your duty here is to fi gure out the cause

of the problem, not the problem itself.

To better illustrate an eff ective approach, here’s a high-level overview of what it should look like:

1. Diagnose

Identify your objectives and issues, then describe a solution.

2. Design

Draft a plan, test your design, and fi nalize the details.

3. Execute

Implement, communicate, motivate, and manage.

4. Adapt

Measure results and adjust according to evolving business needs.

Oftentimes, compensation managers tend to start with the solution. Instead, we need to take a step back and

begin with diagnostics. In the coming pages, we’ll discuss how you can diagnose compensation issues and

design your approach in greater detail.




Diagnose the Issue & Design Your Approach

As you go through the diagnostic phase of formulating compensation plans, bear in mind that you’ll eventually

need to present these ideas. When you do so, you’ll want to present plans from your audience’s point of view –

not your own, as a compensation expert. Thus, while there’s a time and place for

selecting data sources,

creating salary structures,

determining your market position, and

identifying critical or “hot” positions,

these steps should comprise your foundation, not your approach. Presenting all of this information to your C-suite

would be far too tactical.

Instead, your approach should encompass the following key points:

How do our employees perceive our compensation programs?

What are our programs and pay levels designed to do?

What evidence do we have that our plans are (or aren’t) working?

What are the

easiest changes,

most impactful changes,

cost-effective changes, and

fastest changes we can make?

What end results can we expect from each potential change?




To present this information to your audience effectively, you might consider incorporating some digital models.

You can use resources like employee survey data if it’s available to you to state your case. Just be sure to build a

composite of multiple data sources, and use details to support your high-level view.

Most importantly, make sure you’re communicating with the right people at the right time and place. Oftentimes,

we make the mistake of providing members of the C-suite relevant information for the first time the day before

we meet with them. This gives them almost no opportunity to prepare questions, which either forces them to say

no when we present plans, or leaves them feeling like they’ll have to ask a lot of rudimentary questions to gather

sufficient information to come to a decision.

A better approach would be to give people at the top of the company ample time to ask questions in private. In

doing so, you may actually allow the person making decisions to make it look like your comp ideas were theirs all

along – which is ultimately a good thing for your compensation team and organization as a whole.

There are a few steps which may boost your odds of securing support from your CEO, CFO, and CHRO. Let’s take

a look.




What Does Your CEO Wish You Knew?

Thinking from your audience’s perspective helps

you deliver your compensation plans in a more

effective way. Thus, it can be helpful to step back

and put yourself in their position. Here are a few

things your CEO wishes you knew, for starters:

I want every department in the company to be a profit center.

The compensation department actually costs the company more money than any other department.

Thus, one way to gain credibility in the eyes of your CEO is to show how you’ll make the company more

money. You can do that by: a) designing efficient plans that will make the organization more profitable,

and b) actually demonstrating how your plans will achieve that.

Anticipate answers and have alternatives.

If you can support your CEO’s perspective through an academic standpoint, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll

win their support. Use academic research through a source like the Social Science Research Network

(SSRN) to back your CEO’s position on pay. Then, if you’re suggesting an alternative, provide relevant

information to state your case.

Start with something I don’t know and summarize it to a level that will allow me to make a decision or

ask critical questions.

Have details ready to be shared upon request, but don’t insist that your CEO sees them.

Don’t present me with a problem; instead, start with the answer.

If you convince your CEO that you’ve developed a useful solution and that you can be trusted, know when

to walk away. Once you’ve gained their support, walk away, say thank you, and avoid taking up more of

their time. Don’t try to sell them on something they’ve already said yes to.

Avoid the “language” of HR and compensation.

Instead, use the language your CEO speaks. Get your hands on a memo, read proxy reports, and do

anything else you can to develop a deep-rooted understanding of your industry and company culture.

You’re better off speaking to your CEO in their preferred language to your best abilities than speaking to

them in comp, which they may not fully understand.




Don’t make assumptions about our business strategy.

Learn what the business strategy is in advance and then design your plan around it.

Explain everything from the perspective of how it helps us become more successful.

Most CEOs aren’t concerned with trendy ideas or ways to make employees happier unless they also help

the company grow and succeed.

Be prepared!

Woodrow Wilson once said: “If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week of preparation; if fifteen minutes,

three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now.” The point is this: condensing your

message into as little time as possible will take some work, but it’s well worth doing. You’re better off

taking up less of your CEO’s time than anticipated. Work hard at making your message clear and concise.

Please try to tell me everything from my perspective.

It’s difficult to think outside your own point of view, but preparing your message in your CEO’s point of

view will drastically enhance the odds they’ll support everything you say.

Next, we’ll go over some strategies for communicating with your CFO and CHRO.




What Your CFO & CHRO Wish You Knew

Like your CEO, your CFO and CHRO have unique

perspectives. Let’s look at some of the positions

they might hold, and how understanding them

can help you communicate with each party:

What Your CFO Wishes You Knew

By nature, your CFO is most likely an expert negotiator. Thus, keep in mind that you mustn’t approach your

negotiation with the goal of winning. Everyone will likely walk away just a little bit unhappy, which is usually

evidence of a good negotiation.

That being said, the CFO is often the easiest person to work with on compensation projects. That’s because they

share some common goals and perspectives with you, such as the understanding of numbers and the goal of

linking budget decisions to the growth of the company. Like you, their position requires them to talk about money

daily.

Nonetheless, there are still some things your CFO wishes you knew:

I understand the strategic importance of talent,

but I am numbers person.

Don’t throw numbers out that don’t make sense.

Don’t oversell anything.

Oftentimes, plans that deliver 3-5% of real return

are enough to be considered worthwhile in the

eyes of your CFO.

Show me charts and graphs that make sense.

Eye-catching demonstrations are less important

than information-rich graphs.

If you do give me charts and summaries, make

sure you leave behind full data sets.

Even if your CFO never looks at them, it’s better

that they’re made available in the event they do

want to see the data.

Understand how your recommendations will

impact our company finances.

If you don’t know the extent to which your plan

will affect the company budget, ask your CFO to

explain before you seek support for your latest

solution.

Use assumptions applicable to our company.

Don’t model expense for awards and payouts that

wouldn’t actually fit in your company. Again, you

can always ask in advance if you’re unsure.

We have the same goals.

I’ll support any idea that makes more money than it

costs, as long as you can show me how It will work.

Just be ready to discuss risks, and to help figure

out where the money will come from.




What Your CHRO Wishes You Knew

Your CHRO is in a unique position: they must

consider the needs of both internal and external

stakeholders. So, while today’s issue may be a

single important individual with a compensation

concern, tomorrow’s issue might consist of getting

a multi-year equity plan approval from the board

of shareholders.

Also, your CHRO is responsible for some of the largest budgets at the company. They fight hard to obtain budgets

designed to suit your talent needs, so they need you to make sure you optimize whatever amount you get!

Here are some specific things your CHRO wishes you knew about their role in the process:

Please be aware of how much I do/don’t know about Compensation.

If it’s not their area of expertise, try to present your information in a way that allows them to make it sound

like they are.

I already know how important compensation is.

You don’t have to convince them, so don’t use your time trying to explain why pay is so important. Instead,

focus on explaining how your idea is the best way to solve the issue at hand.

Understand the interaction of ALL total rewards programs and objectives.

Communicate regularly with your compensation and benefits peers.

Make sure I’m aware of any biases or assumptions that have been made in creating the data that I

must support and defend.

Your CHRO doesn’t want to be surprised by any questions they might encounter from an executive or

board member.

Try to under-promise on your expectations.

Everyone looks better if performance exceeds initial promises.

Compensation is a huge part of HR, but it’s not always the most important.

Try to schedule your calendar around your CHRO’s plans and priorities. They’ll be able to provide a higher

level of support that way.

Remember, I only get a few minutes to gain approval.

Anything you can do to simplify recommendations (i.e., better charts, pictures, etc.) will be greatly

appreciated. It will also help to move their needs (and yours) forward more quickly.




Summary

We’ve discussed many strategies for effectively selling your C-suite on your compensation plans throughout this

guide. Let’s take a moment to recap some of the most important learnings you can take away:

Speak Your Stakeholders’ Language

Whether it’s your CEO, CFO, or CHRO, tailoring your message to their preferred language will help you

become a more effective communicator. To enhance the impact your message makes, do your research

ahead of time to identify audience’s key concerns, and then package your plans in a way that will best

resonate with them based on your findings.

Be Enthusiastic, But Not Overly Optimistic

Taking a realistic approach to your compensation plans is essential. You should be confident in your ideas

and enthusiastic about them, but don’t expect your audience to share the same level of excitement for

detailed compensation plans that you do. Share just enough to allow them to come to a decision, and

have answers prepared in advance for any questions you may encounter. Most importantly, don’t over-

promise anything. It’s better to err on the side of caution and then out-perform than it is to under-deliver.

Use Effective Charts & Pictures

Remember, you’re selling a story. Help your audience see the “big picture” using relevant charts, graphs,

and images. Most importantly, always provide your C-suite with the information they need and give them

ample time in advance before asking them to agree.

Winning the support of your C-suite may seem like a challenging feat, but with the proper amount of preparation,

it’s certainly possible. Plus, approaching your CEO, CFO, and CHRO becomes easier each time you do it. With

a little practice and plenty of planning, you can get your C-suite on board with your compensation plans and

secure your position as a trusted, valuable source of knowledge within the organization.


an intuitive, easy-to-use interface that simplifi es and automates the entire compensation process helping companies save time and their best employees.


About the Contributors

Dan Walter | CEP, President, and CEO, Performensation

Dan is the founder of Performenseation and has more than two decades of industry experience. His work includes both executive and broad-based programs, and he has provided end-to-end solutions for private and public companies in the U.S. and internationally. He has worked extensively throughout the Silicon Valley and in New York. He is also a board member for the National Center for Employee Ownership and the Institute for Human Resources.

Sam Reeve | EVP of Consulting Services, Performensation

Sam is a member of the Performance Management Advisory Board for HR.com’s Institute of Human Resources. He is a global certifi ed compensation consultant with 15 years of experience in Total Reward Strategies. Sam is an expert in broad-based compensation and focuses his talents on enhancing performance through the eff ective use of incentive and recognition programs. Prior to joining the fi rm, Sam worked in the corporate compensation functions of notable fi rms such as BlackRock, McKesson and Automatic Data Processing (ADP).

Resources

HRsoft is the industry leader for compensation planning and total

rewards software. Our cloud based SaaS solutions combine best

of breed features with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface that

simplifi es and automates the entire compensation process helping

companies save time and their best employees.

Phone: 866.953.8800 | Email: [email protected] | Web: hrsoft.com

SELLING YOUR C-SUITE - hrsoft.com...The first step of selling your C-suite on your compensation...

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