Compensation Strategy & Retention Risk Mitigation

Project Overview

Identified and addressed near-term retention risk within Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable and Administrative Assistant roles by conducting a market-based compensation analysis and advising leadership on cost-effective retention strategies.

Business Context

·       Local labor market conditions indicated increasing competition for experienced AR/AP and administrative talent.

·       Internal pay rates were at or below the low end of local market ranges, increasing vulnerability to turnover in roles critical to daily operations, cash flow, and administrative continuity.

·       Leadership required a data-driven, defensible recommendation suitable for executive and board-level review.

My Role

HR Strategic Advisor & Analyst

·       Led end-to-end compensation analysis using BLS/OES data and current local job postings.

·       Quantified the cost of employee turnover using conservative industry benchmarks.

·       Framed compensation recommendations as risk mitigation and cost avoidance, not discretionary increases.

·       Prepared executive-ready documentation designed for engineering- and board-level audiences.

Key Actions

·       Conducted local market analysis for AR/AP and Administrative Assistant roles using external labor data.

·       Benchmarked internal pay against market medians and advertised ranges.

·       Developed conservative cost-of-turnover estimates using the midpoint of widely accepted 20–30% benchmarks.

·       Clearly distinguished between quantifiable costs (recruiting, onboarding, lost productivity) and secondary systemic impacts (morale, workload distribution, productivity loss).

·       Produced a concise executive summary suitable for senior leadership and board review.

Recommendation

Proposed targeted base-pay adjustments to align roles closer to the local market: - Administrative Assistant: $18 → $21/hour - Accounts Payable / Accounts Receivable Specialists: $20 → $23/hour

Positioned adjustments as the lower-cost alternative to employee replacement.

Cost Comparison (Conservative Estimates)

·       Estimated cost of turnover: ~ $11,000 per employee (one-time)

·       Estimated cost of retention: ~ $6,200 per employee per year

Estimates intentionally excluded indirect costs such as team disruption, errors, delayed collections, institutional knowledge loss, and reduced morale.

Risk of Inaction

·       Increased likelihood of employee turnover

·       Higher workload and productivity loss for remaining staff

·       Negative impact on employee engagement and morale

·       Operational disruption and increased management time

Outcome

Provided leadership with a clear, data-driven decision framework outlining compensation risk, financial tradeoffs, and operational implications to support informed executive and board-level decision-making.

Skills & Competencies Demonstrated

·       Executive advisory & influence

·       Compensation analysis & benchmarking

·       Retention risk assessment

·       Cost modeling & data storytelling

·       Professional judgment in quantifying vs. contextualizing people-related impacts

Key Insight

Demonstrated the importance of balancing rigorous financial analysis with thoughtful acknowledgment of broader organizational impacts—maintaining credibility with data-driven leadership while surfacing real workforce risk.