Same Data, Different Language: How HR Can Build Executive Buy-in for Compensation Initiatives

HR often finds itself speaking a language that leadership and finance don’t understand. As Stacy Harris explains, organizations fail to recognize HR’s strategic importance because HR doesn’t put data into a “compelling context.”

The challenge isn’t just having good data. It’s translating that data into a story that resonates with leadership. It’s talking to finance about risks and ROI. It’s explaining the impact of pay decisions on employee engagement to C-suite.

HR practitioners that master this art of translation not only increase employee performance but drive better business outcomes.

How do you become someone the C-suite trusts?

Start with validated data

Waltzing into the boardroom with raw labor market data doesn’t sway leadership. Numbers alone don’t tell the story.

When comp teams rely on siloed spreadsheets with data from unverified sources, C-suite pounces. Where did the data come from? Is it accurate? These numbers just don’t look right.

But when HR comes with integrated HR-reported data, the conversation becomes much more meaningful. When multiple data sources tell the same story and managers validate job responsibilities, you’re not just presenting numbers. You’re offering evidence.

Translate compensation’s geek speak

 HR practitioners have their ‘comp math’. Compa-ratios and market midpoints. Guess what? Your CFO and other execs don't use these terms in their daily vernacular.

If you’re not translating your ‘Comp speak’ into a consumable language for the C-suite, even the most validated data will fall flat.

So how do you translate comp speak for leadership?

At minimum, begin each meeting about compensation by reviewing key terms and data sources. Set the playing field before you dive into content each time you meet. Imagine if you saw EBITDA calculations once a year and were expected to know how it’s calculated immediately. Compensation is a challenge for them as much as EBITDA details may be a challenge for you.

According to Payscale’s 2025 Compensation Best Practices Report, employee pay is the biggest challenge organization’s face. Especially now, with economic uncertainty bearing down and mixed labor market signals, executives are looking for direction.

It’s your opportunity to shine, becoming a strategic interpreter of market trends. Think about how your current pay practices impact retention and employee engagement. Give finance and the C-suite evidence to back up your claims.

Also, show up with solutions, not just presenting the challenges. If exit data shows pay is a dominant cause of voluntary turnover for IT workers, how will you address it? What’s the risk if you don’t?

Presenting solutions to leadership shows you’re more than a comp nerd. It positions you as a business strategist with invaluable input to share.

Compensation tied to business strategy

Think of communicating with finance and the C-suite as translating Spanish to Portuguese: the language of compensation is related, but not identical. To connect with leadership, HR practitioners must bridge, crafting a data-informed narrative that ties comp to business priorities.

This means reframing compensation not as a transaction, but as a strategic lever. Use your conversations with finance as a foundation, then build the narrative: how compensation impacts employee engagement and the retention of key talent.

Anticipate questions like:

• Why are we taking this approach to compensation?

• What are the tradeoffs?

• How does this align with business goals?

From analyst to interpreter: earning your seat at the table

Your presence in the boardroom shouldn’t be seasonal or tied to the annual increase cycle. Compensation must be an always-on activity. This comes from transforming yourself into an interpreter and translator — someone who can decode comp decisions into strategic options for finance and bottom-line revenue for your CEO.

That’s how you evolve compensation from a back-office function into a driver of business success.

Tell the story. Translate the value. Earn your seat at the table.

Translating compensation data into business results

Compensation has evolved to more than crunching numbers and presenting data. The strategic interpreters who can speak the language of finance and the C-suite will transform how organizations view and leverage compensation as an investment.

When HR is fluent in the language of business, they aren’t just at the strategy table, they’re architects of their organization’s success.

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Marc Mullis is a self-proclaimed “Comp Geek” with more than 25 years of experience in compensation, performance, and talent strategy design. He and his team partner with organizations to build pay programs that align with business goals while appropriately rewarding employees for the great work they do to achieve those goals. As a WorldatWork Faculty Member and former Payscale advisory board member, Marc brings both credibility and practicality, blending data, psychology, and a touch of humor to make compensation programs strategic, equitable, and human.