Building a reward model that reflects impact
- Type
- Alongside leadership
- Role
- Strategic advisor on people & reward
- Sector
- AI consultancy scale-up
The salary model no longer fit how the company worked. It was a knowledge-driven AI consultancy built on autonomy and impact, and pay still followed tenure and title. They needed a reward system that matched how roles actually created value.
What changed
- Better conversations between managers and their people
- More transparency and trust around pay and growth
- A reward system that can grow with the consultancy
What I did
Roles judged on impact
We assessed roles on the value they created. Together we defined 19 core competencies, from client impact to technical innovation to leading across teams, and mapped every role against them. Pay started to follow contribution, and salary negotiations mattered a lot less.
Visible career levels
A clear framework showed how people could grow, with expectations defined for every level. Progression became something you could see and work towards.
A system that fit the culture
The company worked in autonomous teams, so the framework gave structure and left the teams room to fit it into their own way of working.
Every number in a reward model says something about what the company values, so we made those choices explicit.
The messy version is fine. I’ll tell you honestly whether I can help.