[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Join us on a journey where we unravel the latest trends, tackle burning questions,

[00:00:05] [SPEAKER_01]: and explore innovative strategies that are shaping the future of compensation,

[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_02]: all with a cup of coffee in hand. Welcome everybody to today's episode of Comp and Coffee.

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_02]: In this episode, we're going to be bringing you insights from our Salary Budget Survey report that

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_02]: was released on July the 31st. We're going to hear more about that report soon, but I've got two

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_02]: wonderful guests who are going to talk to me about this report and how you as compensation

[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_02]: professionals might want to use the research from the report. So I am going to be welcoming Amy

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Stewart, who's been with me many times on the podcast, who's Principal Research and Insights

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_02]: here at Payscale. And then we have Mindy Stone, first time on the podcast. Welcome, Mindy.

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_02]: And she's our internal reward lead, her official title being Senior Director of Rewards,

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_02]: HR Operations and Talent Acquisition. So welcome both of you. Do you want to briefly introduce

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_02]: yourselves? Amy, I'll get you to start first. Absolutely. So yes, my name is Amy Stewart. As

[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Ruth mentioned, I manage a lot of the research and reporting functions here at Payscale. SBS is

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_04]: one of our annual reports, and I am excited to talk about the findings today. Thank you. And Mindy?

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_03]: Awesome. Well, I'm Mindy Stone. And as Ruth mentioned, I'm the Senior Director of Rewards,

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Operations and then also with our Talent Acquisition Group. Been with Payscale a little

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_03]: over two years now and had the pleasure of talking about SBS once already with Amy a couple of weeks

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_03]: ago, which I'll reference here again, I think a little bit further on, but just happy to be here.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you. Thank you for joining me, both of you. Okay. So let's start with the report SBS or Salary

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Budget Survey Report, we call it. Tell us a bit about the report, Amy, and what were the headline

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_04]: findings from this year's report? Yes. So SBS stands for Salary Budget Survey, and this is an

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_04]: annual report that Payscale and previously Payfactors have been doing on an annual basis to

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_04]: help organizations plan their budget for salary pay increases in the following year. So we field

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_04]: this survey in the spring and then release it in the summer in time for budget planning. So this

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_04]: year, the fielding ran between April and June of 2024. The questions in the survey are a little

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_04]: bit repetitive. They ask, what are your planned increases for 2025? What were your current increases?

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_04]: Actual increases in 2024? And we do that for merit, COLA, total increases, promotional increases, and

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_04]: structure increases. So it's a very useful breakout because we do also provide segmentation for the U.S.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_04]: versus Canada as well as some select countries outside of the U.S. and Canada, breakouts by

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_04]: state and province, company size, and industry. And then in terms of what are the overall findings for

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_04]: this year, what we're seeing is that salary budgets are declining from the height of what they were

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_04]: during the Great Resignation. Only 19% of our respondents in the U.S. said that their salary

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_04]: budgets are going to be higher in 2025 compared to 2024. You can compare that to 50% that said

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_04]: the same thing at the height of the Great Resignation in 2021. 66% are saying our budgets are

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_04]: about the same heading into the next year, and I think around 13% are saying that they are going to

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_04]: be lower. Overall, we're seeing pay increases decline not by a lot but by a little bit. So in the U.S.,

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_04]: they said that their pay increase budget was 3.6% for 2024, and it's dropping to 3.5% in 2025

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_04]: for the U.S. And in Canada, it's similar, a little bit lower numbers overall, 3.4% for 2024,

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_04]: dropping to 3.3% in 2025 for Canada. Right, so similar trends in both countries.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_02]: Why do you think – I mean, obviously we spend a lot of time, Amy, looking at what's going on in the labor

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_02]: markets. Can you explain for the audience why you think pay increase budgets are declining and why

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_04]: we're seeing that drop in 2025? Absolutely, and I don't think that this will come as a big surprise

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_04]: to compensation budget managers, but there is a lot that ties into the macroeconomic landscape when

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_04]: it comes to budget planning. So what we are reacting to is a cooling labor market. We had

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_04]: the Great Resignation in 2021 and 2022. We also had very high inflation in 2021 and 2022, and both

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_04]: of those things are in decline. So you still hear about inflation being a problem because prices

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_04]: increased and have not come down. But in terms of the growth year over year, we are back down to

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_04]: below 3%, which is a much more manageable place to be because what we don't want is to have that

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_04]: wage growth inflation spiral where everything keeps becoming more expensive like a runaway train.

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_04]: So we are starting to level back to what was normal prior to COVID-19. 3.5% is still elevated.

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_04]: If you look at the Great Recession time period up from then through COVID, around 3% was the average.

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_04]: So we're still a little bit high to account for those prices being increased, but it is dropping

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_04]: to something that is more within the realm of normal, quote unquote, for the 8-star industry.

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Now there's been a lot of speculation in terms of which way is the economy going to go?

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Are we going to hit a recession? Are we going to have a soft landing?

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_02]: We obviously – cooling labor markets are what are driving those potential reductions in pay

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_02]: budgets for next year. But are there any indicators that the market is turning around?

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely. I wish I could say with 100% certainty that we're going to enter a growth

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_04]: market and we're all going to be having a bonanza time in 2025, but it is still difficult to say

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_04]: that. Interest rates are still relatively high, relatively compared to what they were

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_04]: prior to COVID-19. There has been discussion that because the labor market has cooled and

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_04]: that reports over the last half a year were maybe perhaps inflated from what the labor

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_04]: market was actually experiencing, that we are poised for interest rate cuts in September.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_04]: But I don't speak for the Fed and I can't tell you what the cuts are going to be,

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_04]: when they're going to happen, if there's going to be deep cuts or shallow cuts and how often

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_04]: those cuts will happen. And even if we do have interest rate cuts, what that will ultimately

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_04]: impact in terms of the labor market and our potential to start growing again from a hiring

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_04]: perspective. I am cautiously optimistic that we are going to see a positive impact. I do think

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_04]: that the labor market has been sluggish. That was by design to avoid a recession. That's part of that

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_04]: soft landing equation that we've been trying to orchestrate as a country. But it does put

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_04]: businesses in a precarious position of wondering, are we going to teeter too far into the direction

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_04]: of non-solvent and then end up having to have a market correction or recession in order to get

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_04]: back on pace? So far, that has not happened. But economists are always split on this. So we really

[00:07:45] [SPEAKER_04]: don't know until it happens. And then we look back and say, okay, there was a recession. Hopefully,

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_04]: we're going to see the opposite happen. That rates will be cut, that things will become less

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_04]: expensive to invest in, and we will start seeing more of a growth economy in 2025.

[00:08:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, to have a crystal ball, hey? I think we're all hanging out there for that growth economy.

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_02]: So Mindy, in terms of that declining budget, cooling labor markets, is that something that

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_02]: you're hearing and what we're experiencing here at Payscale? Yeah. So I was just going to use

[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_03]: the crystal ball analogy myself. And especially as Amy was talking, I was thinking,

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_03]: this is where we all get to this part of the year. We're all getting ready to embark on that budget

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_03]: season, if you will, and using such things as the salary budget survey results to help guide our

[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_03]: decisions. And it still causes confusion. It still makes people stop to think whether or not they

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_03]: should have multiple versions of a budget going into one meeting, and then should I have a backup,

[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_03]: or how many times are we willing to pivot and turn and make changes along the way?

[00:09:03] [SPEAKER_03]: So again, fortunately, I had the pleasure of already accompanying Amy on a webinar a few

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_03]: weeks ago where she obviously broke down some of those same stats about SBS and those results,

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_03]: and really was able to give some of our listeners some insights on how to prepare for their upcoming

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER_03]: compensation budget planning season. And we had quite a few comments come in from the participants

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_03]: asking how they should be prioritizing their budgets, knowing that there's likely areas in

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_03]: their orgs with higher turnover, specific recruitment challenges. It's just becoming

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_03]: extra tough right now to spread what seems like even a smaller amount sort of appropriately

[00:09:43] [SPEAKER_03]: across everyone. And then how do we know, how can you truly look out, and this is for everyone,

[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_03]: a full 12 months and know exactly where we should be putting our money? So I think it's tough every

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_03]: year. It gets tougher, especially when you start to think about some of these things that are just

[00:10:00] [SPEAKER_03]: still so much part of an unknown and in an election year here in the United States.

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. And I mean, essentially, this is a trend report, and it's due, you know, it's kind of to

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_02]: give an indicator at this stage. And obviously, what you end up setting as your budget will be

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_02]: dependent on how your firm is performing, but will also potentially depend on the industry that

[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_02]: you're in because there are differences in the industries, and we saw that in the survey data.

[00:10:30] [SPEAKER_02]: So are there any that are trending higher or lower than those average figures that you were

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_04]: quoting, Amy? Yeah, I'm glad you asked that. We do see differences by industry and not just in SBS.

[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_04]: We know we have conferences coming up. I hope everyone listening is registered for conference.

[00:10:47] [SPEAKER_04]: We have a lot of healthcare organizations that submitted to speak as conference speakers this

[00:10:52] [SPEAKER_04]: year, and I think that ties into the labor market that the healthcare industry is experiencing,

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_04]: which is radically different than the labor market that, say, the technology

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_04]: industry is experiencing right now. In technology, and I'm sure, Mindy, you could speak to this,

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_04]: every job application or every job posting that goes out is getting thousands of submissions,

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_04]: whereas in healthcare, people are struggling to hire nurses, hire case managers, hire lab

[00:11:20] [SPEAKER_04]: technicians. So that necessitates a very different strategy when it comes to compensation. And of

[00:11:27] [SPEAKER_04]: course, because of the macroeconomic factors, every industry is under the gun to try to reduce

[00:11:35] [SPEAKER_04]: inflationary pressures, reduce costs, so that can create even more challenges for that industry.

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_04]: We also saw some higher pay increases in government because of the federal employee

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_04]: mandate that was issued by the current administration, and we also see non-profits

[00:11:52] [SPEAKER_04]: showing higher pay increase plans than some other industries in their report,

[00:11:57] [SPEAKER_04]: which you can see a breakdown of all of the industry groupings if you download it and then

[00:12:02] [SPEAKER_02]: take a look. Yeah, and we'll include the link in the episode brief, but you can also find that at

[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_02]: payscale.com underneath research and insights, and you'll find the salary budget survey there.

[00:12:14] [SPEAKER_02]: And as Amy said, there are pages for each country on the industry averages as well,

[00:12:19] [SPEAKER_02]: so that can help you get more specific in terms of the data that you need to start planning budgets.

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_02]: I kind of find it hard to believe, Mindy, we were actually talking about planning budgets.

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_02]: You and I were talking before we started the podcast. It is the end of summer,

[00:12:33] [SPEAKER_02]: nearly, Labor Day. As we record this, it's Labor Day coming up. I've just come back from my PTO.

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_02]: So how should folks be using this data now? Are we ready to start thinking about budgeting season?

[00:12:47] [SPEAKER_03]: How does that work? Yeah. The time is now, and of course, if you didn't get a chance to listen

[00:12:53] [SPEAKER_03]: to the webinar I've referenced already a couple times, I would definitely search that one up.

[00:12:59] [SPEAKER_03]: Build Your Best Compensation Budget was the name of that one. I think there were a lot of great

[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_03]: tidbits, just nuggets in there about what Amy was sharing, the commentary about the budget survey,

[00:13:13] [SPEAKER_03]: sort of like a start and stop. You could reference that, and I think that would be helpful.

[00:13:20] [SPEAKER_03]: At Payscale, we're just around the corner from our own budget planning season for 2025. We absolutely,

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_03]: of course, use this information along with insights from our hiring managers, our HR business

[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_03]: partners, and our recruiters. I mentioned that in the webinar too, that they become important

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_03]: stakeholders in the entire process here as well, because they've been getting that information

[00:13:44] [SPEAKER_03]: along the way. One of the things that you just mentioned, just from a recruitment standpoint,

[00:13:49] [SPEAKER_03]: so some of our recruiters are also weighing into what we know, because we just posted a position

[00:13:56] [SPEAKER_03]: to work on my team, and we got 1,100 applicants in two days. That's a lot. It's really just

[00:14:05] [SPEAKER_03]: a... It's even hard for me to understand where to even start sometimes when you think about

[00:14:12] [SPEAKER_03]: what we're recruiting for and what we need longer term. Again, a lot can be said about the number of

[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_03]: applicants that you get when you post a job. Even the rule of supply and demand comes in and plays

[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_03]: a part in all of this as well. I think it's helpful to know that we're doing the exact same

[00:14:30] [SPEAKER_03]: thing that the rest of you are doing as well. We're just in the beginning stages, but again,

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_03]: it's now. Unfortunately, you're right. This is the end of summer.

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER_03]: Will you be using the salary budget survey data?

[00:14:47] [SPEAKER_03]: We do. We absolutely do. A lot of that, again, is about just making projections on what we think

[00:14:56] [SPEAKER_03]: is going to happen. We also know that there's a lot of good data, and a lot of people provide that

[00:15:02] [SPEAKER_03]: information, so why not use it? We absolutely use it here at PayScale. We're just wrapping up our

[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_03]: midyear cycle, so we'll be turning right around here in the next couple of weeks and talking more

[00:15:13] [SPEAKER_02]: about budget. Yeah, great. Amy, we're not the only ones that do this type of survey, are we? There

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_02]: are a few other providers out there. Can you maybe allude to some of those?

[00:15:27] [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, there are other providers that run a salary budget survey. I know Willis Towers Watson runs one,

[00:15:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Gallagher runs one. There are some other organizations that certainly ask those same

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_04]: questions and provide that data to their survey participants. We asked this question again in

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_04]: our own survey compensation best practices report that runs in the fall. It's a little

[00:15:52] [SPEAKER_04]: bit too late for your budget planning purposes, but it's a good check to see how well you did

[00:15:58] [SPEAKER_04]: compared to your peers when that data is released in February. Overall, we're seeing the same trends

[00:16:06] [SPEAKER_04]: across those different surveys. The numbers are not one-to-one because the participants,

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_04]: like the size of the companies and where they're located, does differ, but we are seeing a

[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_04]: correlation between budgets going down slightly compared to last year. That is the same across

[00:16:23] [SPEAKER_02]: those different providers. Yeah, and our friends at World at Work do a good job of reporting on

[00:16:29] [SPEAKER_02]: that. I know they were reporting on our data and they report on other providers' data and

[00:16:33] [SPEAKER_02]: they do some good commentary. If you want to also find some other resources, do check World at Work.

[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_02]: You can find some good information there for this. Mindy, any budget tips for people then

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_02]: as for this year? Is there anything that you're going to do differently this year in light of

[00:16:52] [SPEAKER_02]: maybe the economic climate or changes in our business? Well, I think just breaking it down

[00:17:00] [SPEAKER_03]: into some categories here, if you think about what are some of the things that you should be

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_03]: thinking about now even before you officially maybe get started or put pen to paper here,

[00:17:12] [SPEAKER_03]: I think you're thinking about what things we've already talked about like business impact,

[00:17:17] [SPEAKER_03]: for example. Are there changes that you want to make to your comp strategy or to your philosophy?

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_03]: Or does the current plan work for now? What outcomes does the company need in the end?

[00:17:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Again, pulling in those necessary conversations now are really helpful, but don't be afraid to

[00:17:34] [SPEAKER_03]: make changes to those strategies and those philosophies as things change. Making sure that

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_03]: you've got the right stakeholders, the people in place. I mentioned our hiring managers,

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_03]: our recruiters. I think I failed to mention our finance partners as part of that. Just making

[00:17:51] [SPEAKER_03]: sure that they're first brought into the conversations. What's your role versus what's

[00:17:56] [SPEAKER_03]: my role? What information do you want from me versus what are you going to provide for us?

[00:18:01] [SPEAKER_03]: It's probably a bit of back and forth for anyone in this process. But again, just setting the stage

[00:18:07] [SPEAKER_03]: really about what the expectations are. Who is taking what scope? Then generally speaking,

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_03]: what's the scope of the plan and the budget for your own business? I know you can't do everything

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_03]: every year. We try to bite off more than we can and we always go in with a bigger budget than we

[00:18:24] [SPEAKER_03]: probably should, knowing that we're probably going to be asked to scale that back. But I think

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_03]: just knowing that you've got your top priorities all the way down to your bottom priorities and

[00:18:35] [SPEAKER_03]: however many that is for you will depend on your business. But I think it's important to list as

[00:18:41] [SPEAKER_03]: much as you possibly can. Then of course, the timing makes a big difference. Everybody's companies

[00:18:47] [SPEAKER_03]: are set up a little bit differently. If your fiscal year, of course, is at the beginning of January

[00:18:52] [SPEAKER_03]: or coming up into 2025, you're absolutely going to be getting ready for your budget season now.

[00:18:58] [SPEAKER_03]: But that can be adjusted and some of the information that we share now can be changed

[00:19:04] [SPEAKER_03]: depending on again what the timing of your own budget season is. Then just from an external

[00:19:09] [SPEAKER_03]: standpoint, again, we've already talked about competition for talent, but that will continue

[00:19:14] [SPEAKER_03]: throughout the year. So just again figuring out what are your competitors doing? What would stand

[00:19:22] [SPEAKER_03]: you apart from them? I always tell people too, I don't think it's just about your compensation

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_03]: budget, although that's what we're talking about today, but maybe your whole entire rewards

[00:19:30] [SPEAKER_03]: budget as a whole. Again, where are the trade-offs? Because where we may want to put more money on the

[00:19:37] [SPEAKER_03]: compensation side, we may need to pull that back from another area. So those are some of my tips, I guess.

[00:19:43] [SPEAKER_02]: Great. Well, that will sound very useful. As you said, that was all covered in a webinar that

[00:19:49] [SPEAKER_02]: you both did. So we'll make sure we, if I haven't said that already, we'll make sure we include

[00:19:53] [SPEAKER_02]: the link to that so they can access those resources. And I think you had some slides

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_02]: that accompanied that as well. Interestingly, you mentioned the timing there because obviously

[00:20:03] [SPEAKER_02]: if you are a fiscal year, as you said, this is the time when you start your budget planning.

[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_02]: We also cover this in our end of year report, our compensation best practice report, Amy. Do

[00:20:14] [SPEAKER_02]: you want to just talk about that and the timing of that because how we update that data then?

[00:20:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. So I mentioned it briefly, but I can go into a little bit more detail. So we will be

[00:20:23] [SPEAKER_04]: fielding that survey in Q4. So again, it's past the time most likely that you have at least started

[00:20:30] [SPEAKER_04]: your budget. Maybe you are going through a review process after getting your salary data back from

[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_04]: whatever surveys you might be participating in from third parties. But we field that survey in

[00:20:41] [SPEAKER_04]: the last quarter of the year. We gather the data in January and we release the report. It was 100

[00:20:47] [SPEAKER_04]: pages last year around the end of February, early March. So that tends to be a very powerful report.

[00:20:56] [SPEAKER_04]: It's not just on salary budgets, but it's on a host of questions that are really impactful

[00:21:02] [SPEAKER_04]: and relevant to the compensation space and the HR space. And we'll be teeing up what kinds of

[00:21:09] [SPEAKER_04]: questions we're going to be adding for 2025 and then removing from 2024. So if you'd like to send

[00:21:15] [SPEAKER_04]: us your ideas, we're certainly open to hearing what they are right now as we build and finalize

[00:21:20] [SPEAKER_02]: the survey for that fielding period. Yep. So stay tuned for that because if you're needing

[00:21:27] [SPEAKER_02]: more validation in terms of backup on budget trends, and that's another update that will be

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_02]: released. When do we normally release it? January, CBPR? Oh no, not January. We get the data for

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_04]: January, but it takes a long time to put together the 100 page report. So it's Q1,

[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_02]: but it can be as late as March. Right. Great. Well, thank you both for sharing your insights

[00:21:50] [SPEAKER_02]: today. Thank you, Mindy. Good luck with your budget planning. I'm sure we'll get you back

[00:21:55] [SPEAKER_02]: again to tell you how things played out and give some more guidance to our listeners. And Amy,

[00:21:59] [SPEAKER_02]: thank you as always for coming to share the research data and keep us up to date on the

[00:22:05] [SPEAKER_02]: research that we're producing here at PayScale. And you also did a great call out for conference.

[00:22:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes. So that's our virtual conference happening on September 17th, 18th and 19th. It's virtual.

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_04]: It's free except for the workshops, which are amazing this year. They're divided by strategy,

[00:22:24] [SPEAKER_04]: execution and communication. So you can get detailed guidance on how to use our products

[00:22:30] [SPEAKER_04]: to build a comp plan, build your structures if that's where you're currently sitting as an

[00:22:36] [SPEAKER_04]: organization. We're going to go into some deep detail on how to do reporting, including things

[00:22:42] [SPEAKER_04]: like budget analysis and how to leverage what's in the tool to help get consolidation from your

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_04]: finance team and your executive leadership team. And then also on communications, how do you

[00:22:54] [SPEAKER_04]: communicate this in terms of compliance with pay transparency? And how also do you extend that?

[00:23:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Across the organization to all of your employees throughout the employee life cycle. So a lot of

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_04]: really fantastic content for conference this year. If you've not registered, please do that. The free

[00:23:11] [SPEAKER_04]: sessions are virtual and free to register and the workshops are very affordable. So we're looking

[00:23:15] [SPEAKER_02]: forward to that in September. And that's payscale.com events slash conference.

[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_02]: Slash conference. You can get to the conference registration page. So yeah,

[00:23:25] [SPEAKER_02]: please register for that. It's fast approaching. I'm going to be delivering a few sessions and I

[00:23:30] [SPEAKER_02]: know we're going to be hard at work over the next couple of weeks preparing for those. So yeah,

[00:23:34] [SPEAKER_02]: thank you both for sharing your insights. And our next episode is actually our 100th episode

[00:23:43] [SPEAKER_02]: of the podcast. I think it's been running for about three years, but we're going to take a little

[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_02]: actually longer than that. The podcast has been running since 2018. I'm looking at my notes here.

[00:23:52] [SPEAKER_02]: So it was a podcast that started with pay factors when pay factors became part of payscale. We've

[00:23:57] [SPEAKER_02]: continued that on and we have reached the grand milestone of 100 episodes that we've produced here.

[00:24:04] [SPEAKER_02]: So we're going to be doing a little look back at some of the topics that we've covered since we

[00:24:08] [SPEAKER_02]: began the podcast. I'm going to get a few guests together to come and join me with some coffee

[00:24:12] [SPEAKER_02]: and some general discussion about compensation. So I hope you enjoyed today's session. Thank you,

[00:24:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Amy. Again, let us know what you think at coffee at payscale.com

[00:24:22] [SPEAKER_02]: and we look forward to seeing you on our next episode. Thank you.