About Pay is a podcast focused on compensation.
Join Pequity CEO Kaitlyn Knopp, as she talks with some of the biggest names in business about salary, equity, and their comp philosophies.
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How to Negotiate Compensation Packages Without Overcomplicating the Process
When Stephen and Kaitlyn were on the comp team at Google, they managed thousands of offers. To make it work, they had to build a system that kept compensation decisions within range and allowed the talent team to move fast with smooth negotiations.
In this podcast , they share their tactics, including similar to ones they used at Google—and how your team can handle compensation package negotiations without overcomplicating the process.
They cover:
- The pitfalls to avoid, like prioritizing “getting candidates in at all costs”
- Real stories—from helipad requests to Big Tech soda stipend wars
- How they scaled from manual approvals to automated systems
Perfect for anyone in compensation, recruiting, or HR leadership.
23 Jun 2025TRANSCRIPT
How to Advance your Career in Compensation & Total Rewards
Compensation Director Alexis Martinez and CEO Kaitlyn Knopp discuss career advancement strategies within compensation and total rewards, sharing personal stories and actionable tips for listeners in this interview.
11 May 2025TRANSCRIPT
How to Model Pay Increases Based on Compensation Philosophy and MRPs.
Compensation experts discuss aligning pay increases with a company's compensation philosophy and using market reference points to structure merit increases, promotions, and pay equity adjustments.
27 Mar 2025TRANSCRIPT
How Compensation Teams can Leverage AI
Kaitlyn Knopp interviews Swati Bakshi and Supriya Bahri about how compensation teams are leveraging AI to streamline workflows, improve analytics, and adapt team skill sets in compensation programs.
11 Dec 2023
'Twas the Night Before Comp Cycle
This episode discusses how Pequity's software and support team assists HR professionals and managers in navigating the compensation cycle, ensuring a smooth and efficient process for planning, approvals, and employee communication.
10 Aug 2023
Pay Transparency and Equity
Chief People Officer Donald Knight and Director of People Rewards Tisha Petty-Wilson from Greenhouse Software discuss pay transparency, compensation, and equity practices in both onsite and remote work environments in this interview.
3 Feb 2023
Assume Everyone Knows Everyone Else's Salary
Prefect COO Sarah Moses discusses pay transparency and compensation philosophies with Kaitlyn Knopp, exploring fair compensation practices and geographical considerations for distributed companies in this interview.
19 Jan 2023
A Unique Compensation Model
CEO Jessica Schaefer discusses Bevel PR's unique compensation model with Kaitlyn Knopp, emphasizing performance-based pay, equity's impact, and adjusting models for optimal agency outcomes in this interview.
12 Jan 2023
Measuring Outputs Not Inputs
Roxanne Petraeus, CEO of Ethena, discusses how military compensation structures and remote work impact performance and company culture in a conversation with Kaitlyn Knopp, revealing insights on compliance and compensation.
29 Dec 2022
Equal Pay And Opportunity For All
Pequity Co-Founders Kaitlyn Knopp and Warren Lebovics reflect on 2022 by answering listener questions about their company's origins, ideal customers, and even their unusual mascot.
15 Dec 2022
This Is What We Pay, And Why
Susan Alban, Chief People Officer at Renegade Partners, shares her experience as a people leader and discusses salary negotiation and pay transparency laws in an interview with Kaitlyn Knopp.
1 Dec 2022
The Internship Space Leads to the C-Suite
Ahva Sadeghi, CEO of Symba, discusses the importance of paid internships in bridging the wealth gap and offers advice for building equitable internship programs in an interview with Kaitlyn Knopp.
17 Nov 2022
Be Fair and Be Who You Are
Kaitlyn Knopp talks with Fri Forjindam about her career in the entertainment industry—first as an actor, and now as Chief Development Officer at Mycotoo, an entertainment development company. Topics include:
Pay disparity in the creative fields, and the impact of #MeToo
The importance of "value stacking," and how we can leverage our unique experiences
Mycotoo's unique approach to the intersection of business and creativity, and how it creates a system for equal pay and equal billing
To learn more about Mycotoo's projects visit Mycotoo (https://mycotoo.com/).
Pequity is the leader in intelligent compensation software founded on the principles of fair pay and opportunity for all. To learn more visit Pequity (https://pequity.com/).
3 Nov 2022
The Long Term View Approach
Kaitlyn Knopp talks with Tom Tang, Chief People Officer at May Mobility, a leader in the autonomous vehicle industry, about his experience as a people leader. Topics include:
Why May Mobility does not negotiate offers—and how that benefits their candidates
How May Mobility is growing rapidly within a challenging economic climate
The true costs to paying over market for talent
To learn more about May Mobility, visit maymobility.com (https://maymobility.com/).
Pequity is the leader in intelligent compensation software, founded on the principles of fair pay and opportunity for all. To learn more visit pequity.com (//pequity.com).
20 Oct 2022
Most People Are Negotiating Offers
Kaitlyn Knopp talks with Richele Middlebrooks, Director of Talent Acquisition for Grocery Outlet about how grocery retail has changed since Covid-19, what goes into comp behind the scenes, and how personal values are impacting total rewards. Topics include:
The relationship between comp and talent acquisition, and why transparency is key.
How to combat counter-offers and close talent.
Ways Grocery Outlet regularly evaluates internal pay equity and compression.
To learn more about Grocery Outlet visit Grocery Outlet (https://www.groceryoutlet.com/https://www.groceryoutlet.com/).
Pequity is the leader in intelligent compensation software with the founding principles of fair pay and opportunity for all. To learn more visit Pequity (https://pequity.com/).
6 Oct 2022
Your Time Is Valuable
Kaitlyn Knopp talks with Whole30 CEO and Co-Founder Melissa Urban about her new book, The Book of Boundaries, quiet quitting, and what a healthy workplace looks like. Topics include:
Why Whole30 pays interview candidates
How to negotiate for more than money
Why systemic change starts at the beginning- and why bandage solutions don’t work
To learn more about Whole30 visit Whole30.com (//Whole30.com).
To order The Book of Boundaries visit MelissaU.com (https://www.melissau.com/) or wherever you buy books.
Pequity is the leader in intelligent compensation software founded on the principles of fair pay and opportunity for all. To learn more visit Pequity (https://pequity.com/).
22 Sept 2022
You Shouldn’t Be Paid in Passion
Pequity CEO and Co-Founder Kaitlyn Knopp talks with Basecamp Outdoor Co-Founders Ali Carr and Jenna Celmer about the outdoor industry and how Basecamp is breaking down barriers. Topics include:
What pay transparency looks like for outdoor companies
How remote work is democratizing the outdoor industry
Why 70% of Basecamp members are women- and what that means for the future of the outdoors
Basecamp Outdoor is an online community connecting thousands of individuals in the outdoor, active lifestyle, and action sports industries. To learn more visit Basecamp Outdoor (https://www.wearetheoutdoorindustry.com/).
Pequity is the leader in intelligent compensation software with the founding principles of fair pay and opportunity for all. To learn more visit Pequity (https://pequity.com/).
17 Jun 2022
Introduction | About Pay
About Pay is a podcast focused on compensation.
We talk about how people are paid — through salary, equity, and bonuses. We talk about what people are paid, in new offers, promotions, and transfers. We even discuss compensation philosophies, and the psychology behind why companies pay the way they do.
If you want to learn more about pay, join host Kaitlyn Knopp, as she talks with some big names to see what they think about pay.
About Pay is produced by the good people at Pequity, an employee compensation software company.
Inside a recent episode
How to Negotiate Compensation Packages Without Overcomplicating the Process
Published 3 Sept 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] If you are bucketing a number of different jobs under one range, and so you're looking across levels and saying, the type of work is similar enough and the level of that work is the same. So we'll have wider ranges to accommodate all these different jobs. That's one approach. Another is to take very precise market reference points for a specific job and build around that market reference point. Different ways of looking at it. I think if you want to have nice tight spreads, especially for really hot jobs, that's great. If you tend to have a lot of jobs that pay somewhat similarly and you don't want to get into the exercise of false precision, you don't need to be as precise, then wider ranges can be better for you. 60%, 70 % range spreads. […]
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