Creating a compensation round

Compensation round (comp round) is a compensation review process with start and end dates, to which a comp tree (compensation tree) and comp elements (compensation elements) are attached. They rely on a data core. You can create and manage your comp rounds as well as link specific comp elements and budget inside them.

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Compensation rounds are available under Workbench > Compensation Management > Compensation Rounds. Access to Workbench depends on your role within the platform. This feature is available for users with the Configuration, Compensation Admin, and Global Compensation Admin professional roles.

The Compensation Rounds section in PaySuite includes summary tiles: Comp rounds, with the total number of rounds, as well as Draft, Pending draft, Ready, In progress, and Closed tiles, which specify the number of rounds in each status.

The page also displays a list of compensation rounds with names, codes, types, start and end dates, owners, statuses, and available actions, which we describe in more detail in Managing compensation rounds.

The following figure illustrates Compensation Rounds:

Compensation Rounds page

To create a compensation round, follow the steps below.

Step 1 - Round details

First, click the Create comp round button in the upper-right corner of the compensation round list. The comp round creation form is opened at step 1: Round details, as shown below:

Round details step

To specify round details, proceed as follows:

1. Fill in the basic details of the comp round:

   • Enter a name for the new comp round in the Name field.

   • Enter a unique code in the Round code field.

   • Enter a description for the comp round in the Description field. We recommend that you state in this field the purpose of the comp round to avoid any confusion if you create several comp rounds in your system.

   • If required, select additional owners in the Comp round owners field by typing their name in the search field and then clicking the name of the relevant person in the search results. If you don't add additional owners, you will be the only person who can manage the comp round.

2. In the Round type section, you may choose compensation components to include in the round.

   • If you check the Salary box, the Salary configuration subsection will appear, with comp elements to choose from the Comp element drop-down list.

   • If you check the Bonus box, the Bonus configuration subsection will appear, with bonus plans and comp elements to choose from the Bonus plan and Comp element drop-down lists.

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To use the Bonus feature, ensure that all relevant bonus plans are in the Ready status within the Compensation Management section before initiating configuration.

3. The Currency section allows you to choose the Comp round currency, Exchange rate type, and Effective date.

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Key dates.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 2 - Key dates

In the second step, you select a data model that will be used within this comp round. You also set key dates. The following picture presents this step:

Key dates step

To complete this step, proceed as follows:

1. In the Data model section, select the Data model from the drop-down list and choose the Freeze date and Cut-off date.

2. In the Compensation round timeline section, choose the Start date and End date of the compensation round.

3. In the Bonus plan period section, define the Period start date and Period end date for bonus calculations. This section is available only if you checked the Bonus box in the first step of the creation form.

   

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   Remember that the defined bonus plan period must align with the established KPI due dates to ensure accurate bonus calculations.

4. In the Effective dates section, specify the date when the compensation adjustments – Salary and Bonus plan – will take effect. The Bonus plan option is available only if you checked the Bonus box in the first step of the creation form.

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Population.

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The data model is created in Workbench > Data Management > Data Modeler. To learn more about creating a data model, see Working with a data model.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 3 - Population

Once you have entered the basic information and key dates for the comp round, you need to define its target population; in other words, the managers and workers who will be able to select this comp round. See the Population step below:

Population step

To improve clarity and efficiency, there is the Populations panel on the left, which lists compensation types:

• Salary – a dedicated selection for the salary review population

• Bonus STI – a separate selection specifically for the STI bonus population, displaying the associated bonus plan name for easy identification

Both types include the overview of your population definition with three tiles:

• System populations – with the number of populations selected for the comp round

• Included – with the number of workers you added manually

• Excluded – with the number of workers you excluded manually

In the Select system populations section, from the Population drop-down list, select the relevant existing population criteria that apply to your needs.

You may also add workers in the Manual worker selections section. To do it, proceed as follows:

1. Click Manage workers and select Include worker or Exclude worker from the drop-down list. A pop-up window will appear.

2. In the pop-up, check a box next to the name of your chosen worker and click the Include selected or Exclude selected button.

   You will then see the included/excluded workers in the table in the Manual worker selections section. The table allows you to search for workers using the search bar. You can also delete a worker from the included/excluded list by clicking the icon next to the worker's name and selecting Delete.

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Define hierarchy.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 4 - Define hierarchy

In the Define hierarchy step of the comp round creation form, select the hierarchy configuration from the Hierarchy drop-down list: Line Manager, Matrix Manager, Communication Manager, or Compensation Manager.

You will be able to see the preview in the Hierarchy preview section, as illustrated in the following figure:

Define hierarchy step

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Team planner view.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 5 - Team planner view

After having added populations, you can configure which columns and features your managers and approvers will see in the final comp round.

To customize the Team planner view, proceed as follows:

Column configuration

1. In the Column configuration tab of the Team planner view, locate columns that you want to configure. You can search them directly in the search bar or filter them by Category, Entity, or Type. For your convenience, you can show or hide disabled columns using the Show disabled toggle next to Filters. The Preview grid button allows you to preview the column names, grouping, formatting, and colors of the Planner for a Draft round, as shown in the picture below:

   

   Preview grid

   The following illustration presents the Compensation grid configuration table:

   

   Compensation grid configuration

   To change a column's placement, drag the selected column by the far-left side of the table row and drop it.

2. To add the column to or remove it from the comp round:

   • Use a toggle in the Visibility column to enable or disable individual columns, or

   • Check several boxes, click Bulk options above the table, and select Enable or Disable from the drop-down list to enable or disable multiple columns at once. There is also the Delete option, but it only applies to custom or calculated columns.

3. To add custom columns or create a group of columns, click the Create button in the top-right corner of the Compensation grid configuration table and choose the relevant option from the contextual menu:

   • To add a custom column, select Custom column. A drawer will slide from the right side of the screen. Enter a Column name, add the Code, and choose the Type (Decimal, String, or Date) from the drop-down list. You can add a Help tip that will be displayed as a tooltip on hover. You may also select a Column color. Click Apply to save your changes.

   • To add a calculated column, select Calculated column. A drawer will slide from the right side of the screen. Enter a Column name, add the Code, and choose the Type (Decimal or String) from the drop-down list. You may select a Header color and define Decimal precision. You can also toggle on the Enable currency option to choose the currency source: Data model, All currencies (for which the Currency field must be selected), or Comp round currency. Finally, add a Non-conditional or ConditionalFormula. Click Apply to save your changes.

     

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     Calculated columns allow you to configure advanced calculations using formulas directly in the compensation round. See our Advanced calculations article for details.

   • To add a column group list, select Groups. A new pop-up window will appear. Click the New button located in the Group list section, type the name of your custom group, and accept the name by clicking the green icon on the right. To add a column to your group, click the Add column button and select it from the searchable drop-down list using the icon. To remove a column from the group, click the icon next to the column name. In the pop-up, you can additionally select a color for the group.

4. You may also configure the existing columns. Click the icon and then select Edit.

   • For the Data model category, in the Configure column drawer, you can:

     • Change the name for the field in the Display name bar.

     • Add a Help tip.

     • Change the Column color.

     Click Apply to save your changes. If you want to go back to your previous settings, click Cancel.

   • For the Comp element category, in the Configure column drawer, you can:

     • Change the Column color.

     • Select Decimal display precision from the drop-down list.

     • Define when managers must add notes during proposals in the Required notes section.

     • Change the name in the Display name.

     • Add a Help tip.

     In the Calculated field section, you may:

     • Select the Reference field.

     • Enable the Increase amount and Increase % columns. These columns will later help you calculate by how much the original amount was increased.

     • Enable the Guaranteed amount column. This section will show the minimum pay amounts that are legally or contractually required for certain workers.

       For the enabled columns, you can change the Display name and add a Help tip.

     Click Apply to save your changes. If you want to go back to your previous settings, click Cancel.

   • For the Bonus category, in the Configure column drawer, you can:

     • Change the Column color.

     • Select Decimal display precision from the drop-down list.

     • Define when managers must add notes during proposals in the Required notes section.

     • Enable the Target bonus section by clicking the toggle.

     • Enable the Prorated target bonus section by clicking the toggle.

     • Enable the Calculated bonus section by clicking the toggle.

     • Enable the Bonus amount section by clicking the toggle.

     • Enable the Guaranteed amount column. This section will show the minimum pay amounts that are legally or contractually required for certain workers.

       For the enabled columns, you can change the Display name and add a Help tip.

5. Additionally, you can configure the conditional formatting for the column. Click the icon and then select Conditional formatting. A conditional formatting drawer will appear on the right side. To create a conditional formatting rule, proceed as follows:

   • Click the Create rule button. Add the Rule name and Description. Choose a Background color. In the Rule configuration section, click Add criteria. Choose a Value type: Fixed or Formula. For a fixed value type, select a Criterion and Operator from the drop-down lists, and enter a Value. For a formula type, select a Criterion and Operator from the drop-down lists, and write your Expression formula using the Expression builder. Click the Apply button to add your rule.

   • After a rule is created, it will be visible in the drawer. Remember that you can prioritize rules by dragging and dropping them, with higher rules overriding lower ones when their configurations overlap. This is shown in the image below:

     

     Conditional formatting rules

6. For the Comp element category, you can configure how proposal values are prepopulated and managed for each compensation element in the round. To do so, click the icon and then select Proposal management. The following Proposal management drawer will slide from the right side of the screen:

   

   Proposal management drawer

   The drawer allows you to Enable proposal management with a toggle. Then, you can choose one of two options:

   • Use an existing value: a calculated or reference field. In this option, you select the source field from the drop-down list and confirm by clicking Apply.

   • Calculate using a formula, meaning that you generate the proposal value through advanced calculations. In this option, you create a custom Non-conditional or Conditional formula and confirm by clicking Apply.

Planner add-ons

In the Planner add-ons tab, click the toggle to enable or disable the visibility of the Budget widget. If the widget is enabled, it will be displayed at the top of the page for compensation managers during planning.

Planner add-ons also include the Worker compensation history option for compensation admins. After you click Edit, a drawer will slide from the right side of the screen. There, you can configure compensation elements and the number of events available in the worker's compensation history. To do so, use relevant toggles, choose your values from drop-down lists, and click Apply.

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Actors & round access.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 6 - Actors & round access

The Actors & round access step allows you to specify who will be able to access the compensation round. To select your actors, check a box next to the relevant role, for example, HRBP, Comp manager, or Comp manager + 1, as presented below:

Actors & round access step

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Eligibility.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 7 - Eligibility

In the Eligibility step of the comp round creation form, you can define rules that will exclude ineligible workers from the comp round. By default, all individuals within the specified population are eligible, as noted in the following figure:

Eligibility step

To create eligibility rules, proceed as follows:

1. Click the Create + button in the upper-right corner of the Eligibility panel on the left or click the + Create rule button under the Eligibility rules section in the middle part of the page. A new window is now displayed.

2. In the Rule details section, add the Rule name and Description.

3. In the Compensation elements section, from the drop-down list, select comp elements that will use this rule.

4. In the Rule configuration section, add condition blocks to configure the rule. Click Add block. Toggle to choose if the block should be related to All or Any. Select a Criterion and Operator from the drop-down lists, and enter a Value. Click Add condition to add more conditions to the block. You may copy or delete your criteria by clicking the and icons.

After creating the eligibility rules, you can see them listed on the left side of the page. To search or filter them, click the drop-down list at the top of the panel, select your filters or type the name of the rule in the search bar, and Apply.

To disable a rule from the list, change the state of the toggle by clicking it. Once the rule is disabled, the toggle will change its color to gray.

To duplicate or delete a rule, click the icon and select the Duplicate or Delete option.

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Budget.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 8 - Budget

In the Budget step of the comp round creation form, you can define rules that will distribute your budget.

To manage your target budget per compensation element, proceed as follows:

1. Click the +Set target budget button in the comp element tile at the top of the page to set your compensation element. A pop-up window appears.

2. Enter your Target budget amount in the field, as illustrated in the picture below:

   

   Budget step

3. Click Select target to save your changes.

4. To edit or delete any of the compensation elements, click the icon and select the Edit or Delete option.

To define the budget rules, proceed as follows:

1. Click the Create + button in the upper-right corner of the Budget rules panel or click the + Create rule button under the Budget rules section in the middle part of the page. A new window is now displayed.

2. In the Rule details section, add the Rule name and Description.

3. In the Compensation element section, from the drop-down list, select comp elements that will use this rule.

4. In the Rule configuration section, add condition blocks to configure the rule. Click Add block. Toggle to choose if the block should be related to All or Any. Select a Criterion and Operator from the drop-down lists, and enter a Value. Click Add condition to add more conditions to the block. You may copy or delete your criteria by clicking the and icons.

5. In the Outcome section, define the outcome of the created rule. Using the buttons from the Expression builder, create the Expression formula.

After creating the budget rules, you can see them listed on the left side of the page. To search or filter them, click the drop-down list at the top of the panel, select your filters or type the name of the rule in the search bar, and Apply.

To disable a rule from the list, change the state of the toggle by clicking it. Once the rule is disabled, the toggle will change its color to gray.

To duplicate or delete a rule, click the icon and select the Duplicate or Delete option.

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Additional step for bonus calculation - Bonus calculation equation

This step is only available if you enabled the Bonus option in the first step of the form. Here you can preview and review your formulas.

The following figure presents the Bonus calculation equation step:

Bonus calculation equation step

From the Bonus plans panel on the left side of the page, select the bonus plan.

Check previews of expression formulas in the Achievement calculation and Calculated bonus sections.

Review the target bonus formula in the Target bonus section:

• Select the currency source: Data model, All currencies (for which the Target bonus currency field must be selected from the drop-down list), or Comp round currency.

• Build a new expression formula in the Expression builder.

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Guidelines.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 9 - Guidelines

In the Guidelines step of the comp round creation form, you can define rules that will serve as the guidelines for your comp round. The illustration below shows this step:

Guidelines step

To create guideline rules, proceed as follows:

1. Click the Create + button in the upper-right corner of the Guideline rules panel or click the + Create rule button under the Guidelines section in the middle part of the page. A new window is now displayed.

2. In the Rule details section, add the Rule name and Description.

3. In the Compensation element section, from the drop-down list, select comp elements that will use this rule.

4. In the Rule configuration section, add condition blocks to configure the rule. Click Add block. Toggle to choose if the block should be related to All or Any. Select a Criterion and Operator from the drop-down lists, and enter a Value. Click Add condition to add more conditions to the block. You may copy or delete your criteria by clicking the and icons.

5. In the Minimum outcome section, define the minimum outcome of the rule. Using the buttons from the Expression builder, create the Expression formula. Toggle to block save if the chosen criteria will not be met.

6. In the Maximum outcome section, define the maximum outcome of the rule. Using the buttons from the Expression builder, create the Expression formula. Toggle to block save if the chosen criteria will not be met.

After creating the guideline rules, you can see them listed on the left side of the page. To search or filter them, click the drop-down list at the top of the panel, select your filters or type the name of the rule in the search bar, and Apply.

To disable a rule from the list, change the state of the toggle by clicking it. Once the rule is disabled, the toggle will change its color to gray.

To duplicate or delete a rule, click the icon and select the Duplicate or Delete option.

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Guaranteed amounts.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 10 - Guaranteed amounts

In the Guaranteed amounts step of the comp round creation form, you can set the minimum or fixed value that must be honored during the compensation round. See the following illustration of this step:

Guaranteed amounts step

To define guaranteed amounts, proceed as follows:

1. Click the Create + button in the upper-right corner of the Guaranteed amounts panel or click the + Create rule button under the Guaranteed amount rules section in the middle part of the page. A new window is now displayed.

2. In the Rule details section, add the Rule name and Description.

3. In the Compensation element section, select an option from the drop-down list.

4. In the Rule configuration section, add condition blocks to configure the rule. Click Add block. Toggle to choose if the block should be related to All or Any. Select a Criterion and Operator from the drop-down lists, and enter a Value. Click Add condition to add more conditions to the block. You may copy or delete your criteria by clicking the and icons.

5. In the Guaranteed amount section, define the guaranteed amount for this rule and how you want to provide the amount. The guaranteed amount will be reflected in the local worker currency. Using the buttons from the Expression builder, create the Expression formula.

After creating the guaranteed amount rules, you can see them listed on the left side of the page. To search or filter them, click the drop-down list at the top of the panel, select your filters or type the name of the rule in the search bar, and Apply.

To disable a rule from the list, change the state of the toggle by clicking it. Once the rule is disabled, the toggle will change its color to gray.

To duplicate or delete a rule, click the icon and select the Duplicate or Delete option.

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Workflow.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 11 - Workflow

In the Workflow step of the comp round creation form, you can design, manage, and adapt workflows to fit various review models.

From-scratch workflows

You can build your custom workflow from scratch, as presented in the picture below:

Workflow built from scratch

To configure the step:

1. Click the step field in the middle of the page. The following drawer will slide from the right side of the screen:

   

   Workflow steps drawer

2. Add the Name of your workflow step.

3. In the Actors & permissions section, select your actor from the drop-down list:

• HRBP

• Comp manager

• Comp manager +1

Check your Step actions boxes:

• Approve

• Reject

In Field permissions, choose Actions: Read (view only) or Write (edit/propose values).

You can add another configuration by clicking the Add configuration button.

To duplicate or delete your configuration, click the icon and select the Duplicate or Delete option.

4. You can also activate Time-based progression using the toggle and choose the Step end date. This option sets a deadline for the step. Workers who have not been moved by the end date will automatically advance to the next step on the following day.

5. Click the Apply button in the lower-right corner of the drawer.

Once you are back in the Workflow section in the middle of the page, you can add more steps. To do so, click the icon. Alternatively, click the icon and select Add step above or Add step below. On the right, you will see the same drawer as the one described above.

You can also delete a step by clicking the icon, selecting Delete, and then confirming with the Delete button in a dialog box.

Templates

Our comp round creation form also allows you to configure workflows using two predefined templates:

• Hierarchy-driven – this workflow follows a predefined approval hierarchy, with proposals reviewed and approved in sequence. See an example:

  

  Preview of a hierarchy-driven workflow

• Collaborative – this workflow enables parallel collaboration, with stakeholders submitting and updating proposals until the deadline. It can look like this:

  

  Collaborative workflow

To select your template type, click Templates in the upper-right corner of the Workflow section. Then, click the Preview template button located under the description of your chosen template. A pop-up window will be displayed with a preview of your template. Click the Apply template button. When a confirmation dialog appears, click Apply template again.

You can now configure your template by following the To configure the step:.

Click Next in the progress widget on the right side of the form to move to the next step of the comp round creation process: Validation.

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Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Step 12 - Validation

In the Validation step of the comp round creation form, you can generate a report that will allow you to view and check your round configurations.

To generate a report, proceed as follows:

1. Click the Generate report button. A pop-up window will appear.

2. Enter the Name of the report.

3. Click Generate. The report will automatically appear in the following list of reports:

   

   Validation step

4. You may search for a report using the search bar at the top of the list or sort your reports by selecting options from the drop-down list.

5. To inspect a report, click the icon in the list of reports and select Details. A drawer will slide from the right side of the screen, including details of the round. You can add notes to the report by navigating to the Notes tab in the drawer and clicking the Add notes button.

6. To download a report:

   • Click the icon in the list of reports and select Download, or

   • Click the Download report button in the Details drawer described above.

   A pop-up window will be displayed. There, Select fields to be included and set a Password for your document. Click the Download button to save the report on your local device.

   

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   Note an informational banner at the bottom of the pop-up window, stating that the file export is filtered based on your access permissions. This means that the downloaded report contains only the worker data you are authorized to see.

7. To rename a report, click the icon in the list of reports and select Rename. When a confirmation dialog appears, write your new Name and confirm by clicking Rename.

8. To delete a report, click the icon in the list of reports and select Delete. When a confirmation dialog appears, confirm by clicking Delete.

   

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   Click Save & exit in the upper-right corner of the application to simply save your changes and finish the creation later on.

Click Publish in the progress widget on the right side of the form to publish your compensation round and finish the comp round creation process.