New beqom Research Reveals Companies Are Confident in Pay Decisions, but Struggle to Prove the ROI

95% see opportunities to better allocate compensation spending, while 45% report exceeding their compensation budgets.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- beqom, the market leader in compensation, today announced the findings of its new Pay Intelligence Report, revealing a significant disconnect between employers' confidence in their compensation decisions and their ability to measure whether those decisions deliver the intended business results.

Based on a survey of 202 US professionals involved in management, HR, and compensation decision-making, the report found that 95% of respondents see at least some opportunity to better allocate compensation spending, while 45% ended the year over their compensation budget.

The research identifies what beqom calls the “pay proof gap”: the disconnect between making a compensation decision and having the evidence to demonstrate why it was made, what it cost, and whether it achieved its intended outcome.

Although 84% of executives are highly confident that paying employees above market rates improves their performance, most executives don't check whether big pay raises actually pay off.

“Compensation is one of the largest investments a company makes, but too often, organizations lack the visibility to understand what that spending is delivering,” said Brad Perry, COO and CFO at beqom. “When companies approve pay premiums or make exceptions to secure talent, they need to know whether those additional dollars are driving better performance, retention, or other business outcomes. Without that connection, it's difficult to make informed decisions about where to invest compensation dollars and where those resources could be put to better use.”

Budget Overruns and Fragmented Data Complicate Pay Decisions

Additional findings highlight the financial and operational challenges surrounding compensation decisions:

- Budgets exceed forecasts: Although 83% of respondents are highly confident in their ability to forecast compensation spending 12 months ahead, 45% reported finishing above budget.

- Compensation data remains fragmented: 63% of respondents consult at least three systems, spreadsheets, files, or other data sources for a typical compensation decision. Nearly half (48%) frequently encounter conflicting compensation information across systems and stakeholders, while 51% say approved compensation decisions are often reopened or corrected because of data or process issues.

- AI adoption highlights the need for better-connected compensation processes: While 79% of respondents use AI-assisted tools for at least one compensation activity, those using AI report more frequent data conflicts and manual intervention, underscoring the importance of addressing fragmented data and workflows alongside AI adoption.

Market Pressures Outweigh Candidate Quality in Salary Recommendations

The report also included a controlled hiring experiment, which found that external market pressures had a greater influence on salary recommendations than candidate quality alone. A difficult-to-fill position increased average recommended salaries by $3,029, while a competing offer increased recommendations by approximately $3,000. Describing a candidate as “exceptional” rather than “solid” increased recommendations by just $860.

Together, the findings underscore the need for companies to connect compensation spending more directly to business performance. By bringing pay data, decisions, and approvals together, organizations can better understand where their compensation dollars are going, whether those investments are delivering results, and how to make more effective spending decisions in the future.

Download The Pay Intelligence Report:
https://www.beqom.com/resources/pay-intelligence-report

Methodology

The survey collected responses from 202 full-time US professionals involved in management, HR, and compensation decision-making. Respondents ranged from middle managers to senior leaders and owners/executives and represented organizations across a range of company sizes.
70 respondents also completed a controlled hiring experiment designed to test how candidate quality, labor-market difficulty, and the presence of a competing offer affected salary recommendations.

About beqom

beqom is the market leader in compensation, built on explainable, human-controlled Intentional AI, helping global organizations make intelligent pay decisions. beqom’s PaySuite is the industry’s only complete global Pay Intelligence platform, unifying compensation, performance, pay equity, and transparency into a single platform. Anchored by Intentional AI, it ensures every reward strategy and execution is connected, compliant, and controllable. Headquartered in Switzerland, beqom enables organizations to act locally, scale globally, simplify compliance, and turn compensation spend into a measurable business outcome. Trusted by over 400 global enterprises, including 40+ S&P 500 and Fortune 100 companies, beqom governs pay for over five million employees worldwide. By delivering fair, transparent compensation, beqom helps organizations attract, retain, and inspire top talent to drive business growth. Learn more at www.beqom.com.

Lauren Fairbanks
S&G
+1 212-729-6120