“CEOs who don’t receive annual equity awards are still likely to feel the hit when share prices plummet, since many of those executives already own shares issued through up-front grants that are meant to last many years,” said Aalap Shah, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

“It would be unusual for a firm to award or reprice options so soon before selling itself in a deal that made those options worthless,” said Robert James, managing director, Pearl Meyer.

“Total [salary] increases for publicly traded companies are more modest than private companies, likely because public firms may utilize other vehicles to reward employees including more widespread equity programs,” Agenda reported based on Pearl Meyer's salary survey.

“Companies are confronting wage pressure across employment levels, and some are providing more flexible working arrangements in response,” said Bill Reilly, managing director at Pearl Meyer.

“While there are many factors that contribute to an employer’s pay gap, one of the more significant factors—over which employers have some control—is the percentage of women or under-represented minorities in executive and management roles,” Jim Hudner, managing director at Pearl Meyer.

"If you don’t have a salary increase program this year, you’re really behind the mark in 2022,” said Rebecca Toman, vice president of Pearl Meyer’s survey business unit.

“Companies need to have ‘a good audit trail’ for perk spending, how the company defines a perk, the value of the perk and perk policies,” said Deb Lifshey, managing director at Pearl Meyer

“While the cleanest way for a board to set financial planning perks is to treat all NEOs the same, that is unusual because financial planning is rarely one-size-fits-all,” said Deb Lifshey, managing director at Pearl Meyer. “Due to legacy agreements, executives’ living in different jurisdictions, and various sign-on agreements, the size of financial planning perks can vary substantially between NEOs at the same company.”

"You're in charge of your career," said Bill Dixon, managing director, Pearl Meyer. "Know your value and what you're worth in the marketplace, and use that information to get an equitable pay structure for you."

"Be careful during this [SPAC transaction] period that you're sizing awards and setting the exercise price on stock options in accordance with the current fair market value of the stock," said Robert James, a principal at Pearl Meyer.

“Despite the decline in the use of stock options, the vehicle remains prevalent with young companies, especially companies that are emerging from an IPO,” said Matt Turner, a managing director at Pearl Meyer.

“As companies are propelled into a continually new and changing world, incentive programs need to focus more on innovation,” said Aalap Shah, managing director at Pearl Meyer.