While some boards have recoiled at the optics of paying incentives to healthcare executives if workers aren't getting raises, boards have done the right thing by saying, “‘We need to make money and we don't want to pay compensation out of red ink. If we have improved access and we have improved quality... [that] should be recognized,’” said Alexander Yaffe, managing director.

“Succession planning is no longer just an annual discussion,” said Peter Thies, managing director. “Directors are more and more attuned to the need for active, ongoing succession planning—not just to address an immediate situation, but also the medium and longer-term transition scenarios.”

“Companies already should have been disclosing any changes made to compensation plans in response to proxy advisors’ concerns in public filings, but the new ISS policy about disclosure in a public filing before ISS will issue a proxy alert to update its analysis is a new specificity,” said Deb Lifshey, managing director.

“While data provides an important context for any company’s compensation programs, it should not be the driver,” said Bill Reilly, managing director. “Compensation decisions should be based on your talent management strategy and business goals.”

“No matter how much executive experience someone has, the thing they don’t have is the knowledge of the culture and the cadence of a particular board. You need a mentor or a buddy to pick that up,” said Jan Koors, senior managing director, Pearl Meyer.

"Community banks need to consider the age and demographics of future leaders they are trying to attract and retain and design compensation based on those needs," says Karen Butcher, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

“We saw inflation go through the roof, and that put pressure on executive compensation because as prices were going up, it was natural for boards to say, ‘How is this affecting the market, and what do we need to do so that we are remaining relevant?’” said Alexander Yaffe, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

"To recognize and/or reward employees when funds are limited, companies may assign higher-ranking titles or designations that are more 'creative' and 'flashier,'" said Rebecca Toman, vice president of the survey business unit at Pearl Meyer.

“Our data indicate that companies are increasingly reliant on job titles as an important component of their [talent] strategy,” said Rebecca Toman, vice president of the survey business unit at Pearl Meyer.

“If the CEO adds a lot of shareholder value through decisions that he or she is making resulting in a high return to shareholders, then boards are going to want to make sure that they are rewarding that individual appropriately to ensure that there's alignment,” said Ed Steinhoff, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

“In 2020 and 2021, [tech] employees were capturing that moment to win large pay increases, but now into ’23, we see the pendulum swinging in significant force back the other way,” said Aalap Shah, managing director, Pearl Meyer.”

"We see the most eye-popping numbers in the significant effort to reward and retain employees through the use of titles where 37% of our respondents are ‘actively applying’ titles to retain key employees, up from 27% in 2018," said Rebecca Toman, vice president of the survey business unit at Pearl Meyer.