Pulse
Vendor, Spend & AI Trends
Deeper-cut data on vendor usage, automation levels, spend trends, and AI adoption.
Staffing sentiment
How comp leaders describe their current staffing level — all respondents
38%
Under-
staffed
staffed
Understaffed: 38%
Just Right: 44%
Overstaffed: 19%
Very Understaffed
Understaffed
Just Right
Overstaffed
Very Overstaffed
Headcount change — past 12 months
Distribution of headcount change across each team — inline labels show % of respondents per segment
Decreased Significantly
Decreased
Stayed Consistent
Increased
Increased Significantly
Company-wide
HR team
Comp team
Headcount change — next 12 months
Anticipated distribution of headcount change across each team — inline labels show % of respondents per segment
Decreased Significantly
Decreased
Stayed Consistent
Increased
Increased Significantly
Company-wide
HR team
Comp team
Third-party tech adoption
In which areas has your compensation team implemented a third-party technology solution? (check all that apply)
Compensation Communications
Market & Range Management
Cycle Management
Pay Equity
Compensation Analytics
Job Management
Process automation level
How would you describe your team's level of compensation process automation?
Manual
Some Automation
Moderate Automated
Automated
Fully Automated
Spend & investment
How has spending changed over the past 12 months, and how do teams feel about their current spend?
Past 12 Months
Market Data
28%
Comp Technology
33%
Outsourcing
34%
← Decreased
Increased →
Current Sentiment
Market Data
100%
Comp Technology
100%
Outsourcing
100%
← Too Much
Too Little →
Top investment priority
If you could invest in one area first, which would it be?
AI Tooling
Market Data
Comp Technology
Headcount
AI usage extent
How much AI is currently being used
In production for some workflows
Piloting
Widely adopted
Not at all
Exploring
AI areas in use
% of AI users with deployment in each area (multi-select)
Scenario Modeling
Data Preparation
Job Descriptions
Comp Operations
Market Pricing
Pay Transparency
Offer Letters
Pay Equity Analysis
Team role composition
% of respondents with this role type on their comp team (multi-select)
TR Hybrid
Analysts
Regional Leads
Business Partners
Specialized Expertise
Program Owners
Generalists