You face compensation decisions every month. A full time compensation director costs well over $150,000 a year, and most organizations your size cannot justify that. This is the option in between.
The work centers on compensation, and it extends to the total rewards questions that arrive alongside it: benefits cost and design, retirement plan structure, pay transparency obligations, and the workforce analytics your leadership asks for.
Book a scoping callA manager wants to promote someone and the new salary is unclear
A candidate names a number for a role you have never hired before
An employee learns what a colleague earns and now there is a conversation to handle
Finance needs a merit budget recommendation this week
The company is expanding into a new state and the requirements are unfamiliar
Leadership asks whether the organization is paying market and the honest answer is uncertainty
These are not project questions. They arrive on ordinary weeks, and a project does not solve them.
A standing monthly strategy session of sixty minutes covering open requisitions, promotions, budget planning, and structure maintenance
Decision support between sessions by email or message, with a response within one business day
Benchmarking on request for any role in any state, priced against government verified wage data
Full employer access to the What It Pays™ platform, including benchmarking, the employee dashboard, retention risk scoring, and reporting, with no separate subscription
Structure maintenance so ranges stay current as the market moves and as roles are added
Compensation calendar support covering merit cycles, budget season, and posting requirement deadlines
Total rewards questions as they arise, covering benefits cost and design, retirement plan structure, and pay transparency obligations
Support on workforce metrics your leadership or board requests
Full time compensation director
$150,000 and above
Complete coverage, plus a headcount that may be difficult to justify
Traditional consultancy project
$15,000 to $40,000 per project
A deliverable, then no contact until the next project
Enterprise compensation software
$16,000 to $27,000 per year
Data and a dashboard, without interpretation
Advisory
$24,000 to $42,000 per year
Ongoing expertise, the platform, and answers to the questions that arrive weekly
Consultancy and software figures reflect typical published market ranges for mid market engagements.
Together we establish whether your volume of compensation decisions justifies a retainer, or whether a one time structure build is the better use of budget. You will hear the honest answer.
Your structure is built or reviewed so the work starts from something real. This is included in the first month rather than billed separately.
Monthly session, support between sessions, platform access throughout.
Terms: three month initial term, then month to month with thirty days notice.
Dr. Bruce Brown holds a PhD in Human Resources and a SHRM-SCP certification, and has been a Director of Compensation and HRIS. The person on your monthly call is the person doing the analysis.
All market data traces to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data. When leadership asks where a number came from, the answer is a federal survey rather than a crowdsourced website.
Most engagements fall between $2,000 and $3,500 per month depending on headcount, number of locations, and decision volume. Platform access is included at every level, with no separate software fee. A fixed monthly quote follows the fit call.
Advisory clients are taken in limited numbers so the response commitment stays realistic. If capacity is full, you will hear that on the fit call along with when it opens.
Three months, then month to month.
No. Building or reviewing one is part of onboarding.
Yes. If decision volume is low, a one time pay structure build is the better spend, and that recommendation will be made directly.
No. This is compensation strategy. Where an issue carries legal exposure, such as a pay equity claim, an active audit, or litigation, the work should be directed by counsel.
You do. Every file, structure, and document.
Twenty minutes. If a retainer is not the right answer for your situation, you will hear what is.
Book a scoping callLeaving a PEO? Start with PEO Exit Planning.The calculators and content on HRAnalyst are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. Compensation and compliance obligations vary by jurisdiction. Consult qualified counsel before acting on any result.
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