“We’re actually going to see a year-on-year decrease in compensation levels in the tech sector as a demonstration to shareholders that companies are actually being more judicious and with an eye [toward] future profitability,” said Aalap Shah, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

“The vast majority of my clients in the tech industry are planning to cut their executives’ pay this year by giving them smaller equity packages,” said Aalap Shah, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

“It will be difficult for many [tech] companies to not reduce the number of shares that the executives are getting," said Aalap Shah, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

“Passing [say-on-pay] by 60 percent or passing by 70 percent is almost like failing,” said Jan Koors, senior managing director, Pearl Meyer.  

“With disclosures getting more regimented and compliance-oriented, maybe [companies] have decided they don’t want to be involved in an SEC enforcement action,” said Deborah Lifshey, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

“You can make your entire [executive] compensation plan discretionary, but obviously investors will not like that,” said Deborah Lifshey, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

“Newer [insurance] companies tend to focus more on equity compensation and be conservative on salary so they can reinvest that cash into the business,” said Ed Steinhoff, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

According to Pearl Meyer, an executive compensation consultancy, 5% to 20% of employers have increased or plan to increase competitive positioning for one or more pay components, like base salary, cash bonuses, or equity-based incentives.

“As long as the stock price went up, investors had very little to say [about tech companies doling out equity instead of cash for compensation] because it was part of the company's growth strategy,” said Aalap Shah, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

The Pearl Meyer survey found that 44 percent of employers cited “retention concerns” as the primary reason for higher raises this year; 30 percent said “cost of living.”

“Many companies are still actively recruiting and know the employee mindset has changed, particularly for younger folks,” said Bill Reilly, managing director.

"Ultimately, compensation decisions should be based on your business goals and talent management strategy," said Bill Reilly, managing director at Pearl Meyer.