Comp and Coffee

Is compensation always-on?

For the longest time, compensation has revolved around an annual rhythm.  One yearly market data refresh. One compensation planning cycle.  But that rhythm no longer ma

The job is changing faster than the job description 

For years, organizations could define a role and expect its responsibilities to remain relatively stable. Today, that assumption no longer holds.  AI is reshaping work.

Aligning talent acquisition and compensation when jobs keep changing

Jobs aren't changing once every few years anymore. They're evolving constantly.  Skills are shifting, AI is reshaping roles, and organizations are redefining jobs faster

You don't have to be on a compensation island all by yourself

Compensation has never been more visible, more complex, or more connected to business outcomes. Yet many HR and compensation teams are expected to manage pay transpare

Why your top performers may be a flight risk

Flight risk is rarely loud. Most of the time, it shows up quietly in compensation data long before it shows up in resignation letters. Across organizations, roles, and l

Compensation in the age of AI: Innovation, governance, and trust

Compensation professionals are no longer asking whether AI will change their work—they're asking how, where, and how fast.  Teams are experimenting with tools like Claud

EU pay transparency directive debrief: The deadline has passed. Now what?

For the last three years, organizations across Europe have been preparing for the biggest shift in pay transparency and pay equity regulation in a generation. The EU Pay

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 fro

Why skills-based pay is finally within reach

For decades, organizations have talked about paying for skills instead of jobs.  The idea is simple. Reward people based on what they can do, not just the role they hold

We have an announcement...

Recorded live from WorldatWork Total Rewards 2026 in San Antonio, this special episode of Comp and Coffee gives you an inside look at the launch of Payscale Intelligence

Pay equity isn't dead

The gender pay gap has widened.   New data from the 2026 Gender Pay Gap Report shows the uncontrolled gender pay gap increased from $0.83 to $0.82, meaning women earn 18

The hidden cost of peanut butter pay

When budgets shrink, performance pay is put to the test.  The 2026 Compensation Best Practices Report tells a clear story: budgets are tighter, bonuses are shrinking, an

When pay research speaks: What HR and compensation leaders need to know now

In this episode of Comp and Coffee, Ruth Thomas sits down with Stacey Harris, Chief Research Officer at Sapient Insights Group, and Amy Stewart, Payscale’s Manager of Con

The business impact of confident pay

Pay decisions do not live in isolation. They shape hiring speed, retention, employee trust, and ultimately business performance.  According to Payscale’s 2026 Compensati

What's in and out for HR and compensation in 2026: Predictions, opportunities, and challenges

HR and compensation leaders are facing a new set of challenges and opportunities in 2026. From new pay transparency laws to AI-driven decision-making, the landscape is sh

Lost in translation: How HR, finance, legal, and leadership can finally speak the same language about pay

Everyone agrees that pay matters. What they do not agree on is what it means. HR talks about fairness and equity.Finance talks about cost and ROI.Legal talks about compli

Pay transparency again? What you actually need to know for 2026

Another conversation about pay transparency? We know what you are thinking, haven’t we already covered this?  But the truth is, 2025 changed everything. From a wave of n

AI overload? What HR Tech 2025 got right (and wrong)

At HR Tech 2025, AI stole the spotlight, but not everyone was convinced. Amid the hype and bold claims, HR and compensation professionals were asking tougher questions: W

The most important pay conversations you're not having

In a year of tight budgets and increasing expectations of pay transparency, pay conversations are more critical than ever. Skipping, delaying, or diluting these conversat

Pay transparency in practice: Making pay a universal language

Pay transparency laws are forcing the conversation—but alignment is what makes it stick.  When it comes to pay transparency, HR, Legal, and leadership often speak in dif