Post-IPO Compensation Strategy: Aligning Executive Pay with Public Markets

Recognizing the importance of an effective compensation plan for attracting, retaining, and motivating key executive talent during an initial public offering (IPO), Alvarez & Marsal Tax, LLC (A&M) released its Initial Public Offering Compensation Report (IPO Report) in 2021 and again in 2024. The 2024 IPO Report analyzed Form S-1 statements filed by companies that underwent IPOs between 2021 and 2023. While these IPO Reports provide valuable insights into the typical market practices for executive compensation during the lead up to the IPO, it is also valuable to understand compensation practices immediately after companies transition from private to public. To that end, A&M performed a similar review of recently public companies’ first proxy statements and compared its findings to the data in its 2024 IPO report. READ MORE

Better retention, better executive pay

As employers and workforces settle into the new year, change, as always, is sure to be among the major challenges they face.

More specifically, says Kevin Rockmann, a professor of management at George Mason University’s Costello College of Business, this year’s change scenario will be particularly acute within the ongoing evolution of remote and hybrid environments. READ MORE

2026 Is Shaping Up to Be the Year of the Job Search

In 2026, employers could see dramatically more people looking for new opportunities, with better benefits narrowly outpacing pay as the primary motivation.

Thirty-eight percent of surveyed U.S. workers plan to look for a new job in the first half of this year, up from 29% in the first half of 2025 and 27% in second half of 2025, according to researchOpen in a new tab released recently by talent solutions and business consulting firm Robert Half. READ MORE

Get £1600 a month to do ‘nothing’ – welcome to an AI future where nobody works

Every week, £282 appears in Elinor O’Donovan’s bank account. The 27-year-old is a multidisciplinary artist who sculpts and makes films and installations, but the money isn’t payment for her work – nor is it a form of benefit or a gift from a generous benefactor. It isn’t means-tested and it comes with no obligation to produce anything in return; how she chooses to spend it is entirely up to her.

It may sound too good to be true, but O’Donovan is one of 2,000 artists and cultural workers currently participating in a basic income pilot scheme in Ireland. In 2024, visual artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers, actors, dancers and 13 circus artists were chosen at random by the Irish government from more than 8,000 eligible applicants to receive the money each week for three years, no strings attached. READ MORE

Tech salaries surge 20% for top AI talent amid market cooling

Integration of artificial intelligence into the corporate mainstream reached a critical tipping point In 2025: 43% of organizations globally utilized AI within their recruitment processes, nearly doubling the 26% figure recorded in 2024. This 65% year-over-year increase serves as a primary indicator of a broader shift revealed in the 2025 market analysis by iTalent and iLeadX. The data suggests that the high-tech sector has moved beyond viewing AI as a theoretical trend, establishing it instead as a fundamental managerial and economic infrastructure. READ MORE

Essential Salary Negotiation Skills For Every Stage Of Your Career

Salary negotiation remains one of the most powerful yet underutilized tools in professional development. Despite knowing its importance, two-thirds of people never negotiate their compensation—a decision that costs individuals roughly $1 million over their careers. The gap between understanding negotiation's value and actually engaging in it reveals a critical truth: mastering salary negotiation isn't just about strategy—it's about mindset. READ MORE

Is your salary competitive? Average earnings by age group

Once you've settled into a new job, you might find yourself focused on the day-to-day, filling your time with meetings, tasks, and projects that keep you busy. You might not think much about how your paycheck stacks up against others'—until you start wondering whether you're being paid what you're worth.

But stepping back to ask a simple question—how does my income compare to others my age?—can give you a better sense of your career trajectory. READ MORE

Nvidia’s Huang says AI boom will create ‘six-figure salaries’ for those building chip factories

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said the AI boom will create “six-figure salaries” for those building the factories supporting it — becoming the latest leader to recommend skilled trades as AI hits office jobs.

Huang, one of the foremost voices on artificial intelligence, struck an optimistic tone on its impact on the labor market in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos Wednesday. READ MORE

Salary budgets have stabilized as employers focus on pay strategy for 2026

US salary budgets for 2026 are expected to remain stable at 3.4%, the same as the actual salary budget increase for 2025. Inflation expectations have regulated across many economies, reducing the need for reactive pay increases and instead allowing organizations to plan proactively. This is according to the latest Salary Budget Planning Survey from leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, WTW (NASDAQ:WTW). READ MORE

Four strategies for negotiating value-based compensation

New year, new pay bump?

Experts say that the best time to ask for a raise is when you’ve earned one (i.e., your role/responsibilities have changed, your work has resulted in a notable impact, etc). However, January is usually when a new fiscal year starts. It also often directly follows annual performance appraisals (usually completed in December). After a positive performance review and/or after your organization’s budget has been allocated, is as good a time as any to ask for a wage increase.  READ MORE

SMBs hiked year-end bonuses 11.5% in a signal of ‘optimism’

A new report has found that the average year-end bonus for 2025 was much more generous and widespread than the previous year within the nation’s small business sector.

The 2025 Year-End Bonus report from Gusto, which manages payroll, HR and benefits needs for small businesses, found that the average bonus paid to employees at U.S. small businesses increased 11.5% in December 2025 compared with December 2024. This figure well outpaces inflation, which hovered around 3% for most of the year. READ MORE

Why you might get a "peanut butter"-style pay raise in 2026

Your 2026 pay raise could be a "peanut-butter"-style increase, with new research from compensation expert Payscale finding more than four in 10 companies are opting to give identical, across-the-board hikes rather than merit-based raises.

This year, 44% of companies plan to rely on the peanut-butter approach — a method of evenly spreading pay hikes across the workforce — according to a new report from Payscale. READ MORE

2026 Board Focuses: Comp Design, Proxy Roles, Governance, AI and More

As 2026 kicks off, corporate boards of directors face a governance environment defined by rapid change and heightened complexity. Economic volatility, regulatory developments and technological disruption are reshaping the expectations placed on directors. To navigate this evolving landscape, consulting firm WTW identified five priorities that merit focused attention as boards of directors prepare for the year ahead. READ MORE