“I’m not sure there’s a formula [for cutting executive pay] that says, ‘If we do this, then we can keep X employees, but I think it is more of an internal solidarity and fairness issue about how you’re treating all levels of the organization,” said Beth Florin, a managing director at Pearl Meyer.

“Compensation committees are taking a holistic view of the downturn and having healthy conversations about the impact paying executives for relative performance will have on shareholders, employees, reputation, and culture,” said Peter Lupo, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

“There was a dramatic increase in nonfinancial metrics in 2019, and because of the impact of COVID-19, I suspect a lot of metrics in annual incentive plans will be nonfinancial moving forward,” said Mike Esser, managing director at Pearl Meyer.

“If executives don’t react in a way of camaraderie [because of COVID-19] that’s going to be very telling about the kind of company you are,” said Aalap Shah, managing director of Pearl Meyer.

“I think compensation committees are going to have some serious and difficult conversations about to what extent they adjust performance to take COVID-19 into account,” says Peter Lupo, senior managing director and head of the Atlantic region for Pearl Meyer.

Consultant Pearl Meyer found that 6% of companies have reduced or eliminated employer contributions or matches to their retirement plan, and 16% are considering it.

“If boards don’t stop to think about what can unintentionally happen by not adjusting their own pay, they could face increased reputational risk,” said Jan Koors, managing director.

“This pandemic impacts industry sectors differently, and its effect on pay and workforce decisions vary as well,” said Jim Hudner, managing director at Pearl Meyer.

“There was a lot of finger pointing after the 2008 financial meltdown,” Deb Lifshey of Pearl Meyer said, “but it’s hard to assign blame for a virus.”

“While the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on the economy is unclear, companies are beginning to inventory the impact and are considering a range of people actions to ensure they can effectively navigate this massive disruption,” said Brett Herand, principal at Pearl Meyer

Peter Lupo, senior managing director and Atlantic region head said, “Discussions [about 2020 executive pay goals] will take place when comp committees convene for their regularly scheduled meeting to discuss goals around mid-year, but depending on the severity of issues, they could choose to have a special meeting.”

Preliminary results from a Pearl Meyer survey found more than half of companies among its 300-plus respondents have adjusted executive salaries in 2020.