Pulling The Curtain Back on Compensation with Katelyn Lopez
Compensation often feels like a confusing black box - nerve-wracking to discuss, and entirely outside your control. But understanding the why and how behind your paycheck is crucial for career growth, negotiating with confidence, and achieving equity.
In this episode of The Glass Sessions, we chat with compensation expert Katelyn Lopez. Katelyn is the VP, Customer Success at Comprehensive, a compensation platform that helps companies automate compensation reviews, manage pay ranges, and benchmark salaries. With a strong background designing and leading compensation strategies at companies like Shareworks by Morgan Stanley, Katelyn has seen these systems from the inside out, making her the perfect person to finally demystify pay. We pull back the curtain on everything from the philosophy that drives company pay decisions to the tactical steps employees can take to navigate the total rewards system with clarity.
Actionable Tips & Takeaways
Compensation philosophy: Know the why
Every company has a guiding set of principles for how they pay. This is their compensation philosophy, and it’s the why behind the numbers.
Understand your company’s market target: Is your company aiming to pay at the 50th percentile (average market rate) or the 75th percentile (top of the market)? Knowing this target helps you understand if your current pay is fair according to their stated goals, and gives you crucial context for any negotiation.
Gauging growth potential and fairness: A clear philosophy helps you assess the company’s view on internal equity and future growth. Use this information as a critical factor when deciding if a role is the right long-term career move.
How to evaluate your total rewards (it’s not just salary!)
Don't get fixated on base salary alone. Your true compensation is the total rewards package - the fully-loaded value of your job.
Value the non-cash: Learn how to calculate the true worth of components like equity (grants, stock options), and how to evaluate benefits (employer contribution to health insurance, retirement match) as tangible parts of your compensation. Start with asking your employer to monetize the value of each of these items.
Understand the components of total rewards: Get familiar with all the elements: Base salary, variable pay (bonuses, commissions), equity, benefits, and paid time off (PTO). When considering new employment opportunities, be sure to compare their total rewards package to your current rewards (don’t just compare salary).
Employee negotiation strategies
Compensation discussions are not a debate about worth; they are a negotiation about value. Knowledge is power in these conversations.
Do your research: Use publicly available data, including salaries posted due to pay transparency laws, to firmly establish your market value before you enter the room. Tip - you can use Comprehensive’s free market data as a starting place!
Practice your pitch: Your request for a raise or promotion should be tied to tangible results and your future value to the company. Write down your talking points, tie your achievements directly to company goals, and practice saying the numbers out loud until they feel comfortable.
Anchor high, justifiably: Be prepared to state your desired number confidently. This number should be at the higher end of the range that your research supports.
Be prepared to get a “no”: Understand that whenever you’re entering a negotiation, you may not get what you’re looking for. If your company is unable to share the “why” behind the “no,” that is a red flag that may be a trigger to explore new job opportunities.
Tips For Managers
As a manager, you are the face of the compensation system, and how you communicate pay decisions directly impacts trust, morale, and retention.
Get fluent in your company’s compensation philosophy: You can't delegate understanding the compensation structure. Know the pay bands for your team's roles, understand the various compensation levers (like promotion vs. merit increase), and be able to articulate why someone is paid what they are. This is a foundational step to building trust.
Focus on internal equity: Be a proactive advocate for fairness within your team. New hire salaries can often outpace long-tenured employees. It's your job to be aware of and proactively manage any significant pay discrepancies that could lead to your top talent walking out the door.
Coach, don't just deliver: A compensation discussion should be a coaching conversation about career growth, not just a one-time number delivery. Help your team members clearly understand what skills they need to develop, what results they need to deliver, and what the path is to move into the next pay grade or band.
Handle transparency proactively: Assume your team members are researching the market and comparing their pay to others. Instead of being defensive when questions arise, be proactive and transparent about how their performance and role fit within the company’s structured compensation system. This prevents suspicion and builds a culture of open communication.
