Rethinking Compensation: Pay Well, Not Competitively

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Ep. 329 This Week, Are you paying to win or just to survive? In this week’s episode of This Week at Work, Phil and Burt flip the script on “competitive pay” and reveal why average compensation is costing you top talent. They’ll unpack why your well-meaning raises might be fueling turnover, how inflation is sabotaging morale, and what it really takes to build a compensation strategy that retains your best people. Join us as we challenge outdated pay norms and share actionable steps to rethink, realign, and actually reward your workforce. It's not about paying more, it's about paying smarter.

Timestamps:

00:53 – Intro & Episode Theme: Benchmarking Pay in 2025

03:18 – Why Phil’s “Phired Up” About Compensation

06:13 – Competitive Pay vs. Paying Well

09:17 – The Three-Part Quiz: Defining and Implementing "Paying Well"

20:09 – Lawyer on the Clock: Missouri’s Paid Sick Leave Repeal

27:03 – Trump-era Firings & Supreme Court Decision

30:45 – Phil’s on Phire Cheat Sheet, Upcoming Compensation Events & Final Thoughts

31:58 – Wrap-up & How to Join the Movement