In a year of tight budgets and increasing expectations of pay transparency, pay conversations are more critical than ever. Skipping, delaying, or diluting these conversations can erode trust and leave employees disengaged. In this episode of Comp and Coffee, host Ruth Thomas is joined by Payscale leaders to explore the “compensation telephone game,” share how HR trains managers to deliver clear messages, and discuss strategies for keeping the right talent engaged in a volatile environment. 

Guests:  

Lexi Clarke – Chief People Officer, Payscale 

Lauren Hein – Head of Total Rewards, Payscale 

Lauren Cole – Senior Director, Services & Customer Education

Resources:  

2025 – 2026 Salary budget survey - https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/salary-budget-survey-sbs?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=cnt_awr_payforperformance-blog_wv&utm_content=payforperformance-blog_sia 

Your voice deserves to be heard! Participate in this year’s compensation best practices survey - https://www.research.net/r/CBPR26Coffee 

 Your pay communications playbook - https://www.payscale.com/compensation-trends/your-pay-communications-playbook-building-trust-through-compensation-transparency?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=cnt_awr_payforperformance-blog_wv&utm_content=payforperformance-blog_sia 

Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions

Pay transparency laws are forcing the conversation—but alignment is what makes it stick. 

When it comes to pay transparency, HR, Legal, and leadership often speak in different “dialects.” HR frames it around equity and structure, Legal around compliance and risk, and leadership around outcomes and cost. The challenge? These perspectives rarely align into a shared understanding that employees can trust. 

In this episode of Comp and Coffee, we’re bringing together three leading voices to explore how organizations can move beyond compliance and turn transparency into a universal language of trust and alignment: 

Ruth Thomas – Chief Compensation Strategist and pay equity thought leader and advisor, helping organizations build consistent, bias-free pay practices. 

Lulu Seikaly – Corporate attorney guiding employers through the legal realities of pay transparency laws. 

Elaina Van Kirk, PHR – Principal Consultant at Exude Human Capital, advising organizations on compensation, performance, and inclusive culture strategies. 

Together, they’ll uncover how HR, Finance, and Legal can stop speaking past each other—and start building a pay narrative that employees not only understand but believe. 

Salary budgets are tightening — but strategy doesn’t have to. 

Payscale’s 10th Annual Salary Budget Survey reveals that planned pay increases for 2026 are dipping slightly from 2025, with economic uncertainty replacing competition for talent as the top driver of budget changes. But even in a cooling pay environment, HR and comp pros have a window to realign strategy before Q4 — if they have the right data in hand. 

In this episode of Comp and Coffee, host Ruth Thomas sits down with Amy Stewart, Payscale’s Principal of Research & Insights, and Kathryn Gombos, HR & Total Rewards Leader and Founder of Gombos Group. Together, they unpack the latest salary budget trends, explore what’s behind the shifts, and share how organizations can use these insights to plan smarter, communicate with confidence, and navigate survey season without burning out. 

2025–2026 Payscale Salary Budget Survey - https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/salary-budget-survey-sbs

Email: [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions 

Fair pay means nothing if no one believes it. That’s the wake-up call from Payscale’s latest Fair Pay Impact Report. Despite rising wages, transparency laws, and improved market conditions, employees don’t believe they’re being paid fairly—and it’s costing businesses their best people.

In this episode of Comp and Coffee, host Ruth Thomas is joined by Lexi Clarke and Kate Peter—three women in the C-suite who are putting fair pay back at the top of the agenda. They unpack what the data tells us, what it feels like as leaders, and what needs to happen next.

Episode Resources:

Connect with us

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.payscale.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/payscale

X: https://twitter.com/payscale

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/payscale

Chapters

(00:00) Commitment to Fair Pay and Leadership Introductions

(02:52) The Importance of Staying Loud About Pay Equity

(05:06) Challenges and Realities of Fair Pay Perception

(13:14) Economic Pressure and Trends Impacting Compensation Trust

(17:06) Defining and Practicing Real Transparency

(24:02) Personal Experiences Shaping Pay Advocacy

(31:01) Rebuilding Trust Through Honest Conversation

When the CFO asks why… will you panic or present your case with confidence? 

In this episode of Comp and Coffee, we go behind the scenes with Lexi Clarke and Philip Watson to uncover how HR and Finance can stop speaking past each other—and start building stronger pay strategies together. Whether you're preparing for budget season or defending comp decisions in the boardroom, this episode gives you the language, data, and mindset you need to show that compensation isn’t just a line item—it’s a lever for business success. 

Compensation isn’t just an HR function—it’s a core business strategy. In this episode of Comp and Coffee, we look into the pay crystal ball with Rebecca Toman of Pearl Meyer, Ruth Thomas, Chief Compensation Strategist at Payscale, and Sara Hillenmeyer, Payscale’s Director of Data Science. Together, they explore how trusted data, AI, and a forward-thinking approach to comp strategy can help organizations not just keep up—but lead. If you care about performance, retention, equity, or executive pay, this episode is your blueprint for aligning comp strategy with long-term business success. 

What happens when your pay strategy sparks more questions than confidence—and your best people start walking? In this episode, we bring in the experts to tackle the hard truths behind tough pay conversations and how to rebuild trust before it’s too late.

Compensation has come a long way—from handwritten ledgers and dusty binders to AI-powered insights and real-time salary data. But what does the past teach us about where we’re headed? Join us for a nostalgia-packed, future-forward journey through the history of comp, featuring expert reflections from WorldatWork, and predictions from the people shaping the next era of pay. 

Compensation isn’t just an HR function—it’s a core business strategy. In this episode of Comp and Coffee, we look into the pay crystal ball with Rebecca Toman of Pearl Meyer, Ruth Thomas, Chief Compensation Strategist at Payscale, and Sara Hillenmeyer, Payscale’s Director of Data Science. Together, they explore how trusted data, AI, and a forward-thinking approach to comp strategy can help organizations not just keep up—but lead. If you care about performance, retention, equity, or executive pay, this episode is your blueprint for aligning comp strategy with long-term business success. 

What happens when your pay strategy sparks more questions than confidence—and your best people start walking? In this episode, we bring in the experts to tackle the hard truths behind tough pay conversations and how to rebuild trust before it’s too late.

Episode resources:

https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/cbpr

Email [email protected] for listener questions and suggestions