Hello friends,

Last week was filled with highs and lows.

I don’t often talk about my personal life, but I know many of my professional connections are aware of, or have likely even (virtually) met my puppy dog, Delilah. After almost 17 beautiful years, sadly, last week was her last. While we were fortunate to have had the chance to plan for and celebrate her life before saying goodbye, nothing can really prepare you for the grief of losing someone you love, or the void their absence leaves.

Luckily, I have lots of photos like this one to remember her incredible life by.

While that was undoubtedly one of the hardest parts of the week for me, I was buoyed by the chance to speak to a cohort of mid-career HR practitioners during a session all about compensation, through Peak HR. For those who don’t know, Peak HR is a relatively new org headed up by three incredible people (Morgan Williams, Catalina Colman and my former work bestie, Kim Rohrer), and delivers modern education for HR professionals. It gave me so much appreciation and excitement for the incoming wave of professionals coming into the People space — if you’re looking for an alternative to the SHRM, AHRI, <insert your professional HR organisation> — check out Peak HR.

By the time this newsletter hits your inbox I’ll be in Sydney getting ready to hit up my first conference for the year, SXSW (only took until October to get to one). I’m excited for what will be a massive week filled with lots of inspiration, as well as making new connections and reforging old ones. Let me know if I’ll see you there.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this week’s edition, all about what to look out for when building your startup compensation practices, from someone who has been CPO of many startups, and now views them from the vantage of COO.

Matt

Why Your Pay Practices are Failing

with Mark Frein, COO at Oyster

In this conversation, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with a former boss — Mark Frein, the COO of Oyster HR. Since we recorded, Oyster hit their Series D and a heightened valuation of $1.2B! Mark brings enormous experience in both commercial and people remits, seeing his entry as Oyster’s CPO eventually transform into COO. Mark shares his insights on startup compensation strategies and pay transparency, as well as that transition from People function to Operations. We explored how companies can build fair and scalable compensation frameworks that align with their values, even in the fast-paced, resource-constrained world of startups.

We covered

• The transition from Chief People Officer to Chief Operating Officer.

• Establishing a compensation philosophy early in a startup’s growth.

• The role of compensation in reflecting company culture and values.

• Using market data versus company-specific values in pay strategies.

• Ensuring consistency and fairness in compensation as startups grow.

• Empowering managers to have transparent pay conversations with employees.

• Identifying when a compensation philosophy needs to evolve.

• Aligning pay decisions with long-term business objectives.

• Avoiding biases in compensation through structured frameworks.

• Balancing compensation transparency with business pragmatism.

• Ensuring managers understand the company’s compensation framework.

• Addressing common challenges in implementing pay transparency.

Key takeaways

• Mark emphasised the importance of having a strong compensation philosophy early in a startup’s journey. By aligning pay practices with company values from the start, you create consistency and fairness. As the company scales, this foundation ensures that compensation decisions are not arbitrary and remain aligned with the company's culture, supporting employee engagement and retention.

• Transparency in pay decisions, especially when aligned with a company’s compensation philosophy, is crucial for building trust. Employees want to know why they are being paid a certain amount and how their compensation is determined. Clear communication around pay structures not only reduces misunderstandings but also enhances engagement by making employees feel valued and fairly treated. Particularly crucial when most people's default position around pay is to not trust.

• Mark highlighted that compensation isn’t just about the salary figure; it's the experience of feeling valued. Even with a well-structured compensation plan, it’s important that employees feel their pay reflects their contributions and market value. Ensuring that employees understand how their compensation is determined strengthens their connection to the company.

• As startups grow and add managerial layers, it becomes increasingly important to apply compensation rules consistently. Without a clear, uniform process, bias can creep in, with different managers applying varying standards. A consistent framework ensures fairness across teams and prevents systemic bias, helping to foster equity within the organisation.

• Pay discussions can be difficult, but equipping managers with the right tools and knowledge can make these conversations more productive. Mark stressed that managers should be well-versed in the company’s compensation framework and philosophy, allowing them to have transparent, confident conversations with their teams about pay decisions. This leads to fewer misunderstandings and greater overall satisfaction with compensation practices.

Read the full interview here, or watch it on YouTube or Spotify.

If you ever want me to cover a specific topic or would like to nominate a guest, hit reply to this email.

TOOLS & RESOURCES

The Ultimate Startup Compensation Cheat Sheet

For the Head of People at a startup compensation is a superpower. By developing this skillset, you can become a truly commercial leader for your business. Here’s the key terms you should know, and how to use them.

Here’s some of the stuff we found interesting this month.

That’s all for this week.

Sure, this is technically the end of the newsletter, but we don’t have to end here! I’d love this to be a two-way chat, so let me know what you found helpful, any successes you’re seeing, or any questions you have for me.

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