What your ELT really wants to know about pay. A CPO and CFO conversation

Compensation is no longer just an HR process. It is a business decision that executive teams are paying close attention to.

In this special podcast episode, adapted from a recent Payscale webinar, Chief Product Officer Lexi Clarke and Chief Financial Officer Philip Watson discuss how organizations can rethink compensation reporting to better align with business goals and executive expectations.

Drawing from insights in Payscale’s 2026 Compensation Best Practices Report, they explore the questions leadership teams are asking after recent merit and pay cycles, including how compensation impacts retention, performance, and financial outcomes. The conversation also covers why traditional HR metrics often fall short and what compensation leaders should bring into strategic business discussions instead.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The compensation questions executive teams are asking right now and why they matter
• Where traditional HR metrics fall short and what to bring into the conversation instead
• How to connect pay decisions to outcomes like retention, performance, and cost

Want the full experience? Watch the webinar recording and access the presentation slides to dive deeper into the discussion: https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/what-your-elt-really-wants-to-know-about-pay.