S8 E4: Compensation Clarity: The Trust Builder No One Uses with Matt McFarlane episode artwork

EPISODE · May 12, 2025 · 1H 1M

S8 E4: Compensation Clarity: The Trust Builder No One Uses with Matt McFarlane

from I Hate It Here · host Hebba Youssef

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: MONEY. 💸 And who better to talk about money with than compensation guru Matt McFarlane? In this episode, we’re ripping apart everything you think you know about fair pay.  Why do employees feel stiffed? Are pay gaps accidental or systemic? And why the hell is talking about salary still taboo? We’ll also be discussing why fair pay is still a myth at most companies, how to handle founders who treat compensation like a dark art, and what actual pay transparency looks like (hint: it’s not just publishing salaries). Choosing the wrong HR platform is rife with regrets: losing a top performer, promoting the wrong person, or failing to engage your team when the business needs it most. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose between investing in people programs and consolidating your tech stack. With Lattice, you can have both. Visit ⁠⁠lattice.com⁠⁠ to learn more. Multi-state compliance is a nightmare—but SixFifty makes it easy. Get instant answers to employment law questions, generate a compliant multi-state handbook in minutes, and stay ahead of changing laws with automated updates. Visit ⁠⁠SixFifty.com⁠⁠ to learn more! 0:01:57 - One Truth About Work Matt Wishes More People Understood 0:03:20 - What Being Paid Right Actually Means, and Why Companies Get it Wrong 0:06:58 - What “I Don’t Feel Like I’m Being Paid Fairly” Really Means 0:08:50 -  Why is Talking About Pay Such a Taboo Topic at Work? 0:11:49 - Should Employees Know What Their Coworkers Make? 0:14:36 - Are Pay Gaps Intentional, or a Result of a Broken System? 0:19:56 - If Matt Could Change One Thing About Compensation, What Would It Be? 0:22:36 - Dealing With Founders Who Don’t Want to Define Anything Compensation-related 0:27:50 - What Role Should Managers Play in Pay Equity? 0:34:03 - What Does a Truly Fair, Inclusive, and Modern Compensation Philosophy Look Like? 0:39:47 - One Thing Matt Nerds Out About When It Comes to Compensation 0:41:25 - How Matt Would Rewrite the Unwritten Rules About Money at Work 0:47:45 - A Conversation About Money That Matt Wishes He Had Earlier in His Career 0:52:00 - What Workplace Money Utopia Could Look Like in the Future And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/   And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out  https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content! Follow Matt: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewmcfarlane/ Follow Hebba:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 12, 2025

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: MONEY. 💸 And who better to talk about money with than compensation guru Matt McFarlane? In this episode, we’re ripping apart everything you think you know about fair pay.  Why do employees feel stiffed? Are pay gaps accidental or systemic? And why the hell is talking about salary still taboo? We’ll also be discussing why fair pay is still a myth at most companies, how to handle founders who treat compensation like a dark art, and what actual pay transparency looks like (hint: it’s not just publishing salaries). Choosing the wrong HR platform is rife with regrets: losing a top performer, promoting the wrong person, or failing to engage your team when the business needs it most. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose between investing in people programs and consolidating your tech stack. With Lattice, you can have both. Visit ⁠⁠lattice.com⁠⁠ to learn more. Multi-state compliance is a nightmare—but SixFifty makes it easy. Get instant answers to employment law questions, generate a compliant multi-state handbook in minutes, and stay ahead of changing laws with automated updates. Visit ⁠⁠SixFifty.com⁠⁠ to learn more! 0:01:57 - One Truth About Work Matt Wishes More People Understood 0:03:20 - What Being Paid Right Actually Means, and Why Companies Get it Wrong 0:06:58 - What “I Don’t Feel Like I’m Being Paid Fairly” Really Means 0:08:50 -  Why is Talking About Pay Such a Taboo Topic at Work? 0:11:49 - Should Employees Know What Their Coworkers Make? 0:14:36 - Are Pay Gaps Intentional, or a Result of a Broken System? 0:19:56 - If Matt Could Change One Thing About Compensation, What Would It Be? 0:22:36 - Dealing With Founders Who Don’t Want to Define Anything Compensation-related 0:27:50 - What Role Should Managers Play in Pay Equity? 0:34:03 - What Does a Truly Fair, Inclusive, and Modern Compensation Philosophy Look Like? 0:39:47 - One Thing Matt Nerds Out About When It Comes to Compensation 0:41:25 - How Matt Would Rewrite the Unwritten Rules About Money at Work 0:47:45 - A Conversation About Money That Matt Wishes He Had Earlier in His Career 0:52:00 - What Workplace Money Utopia Could Look Like in the Future And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/   And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out  https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content! Follow Matt: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewmcfarlane/ Follow Hebba:  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

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S8 E4: Compensation Clarity: The Trust Builder No One Uses with Matt McFarlane

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This episode was published on May 12, 2025.

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Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: MONEY. 💸 And who better to talk about money with than compensation guru Matt McFarlane? In this episode, we’re ripping apart everything you think you know about fair pay.  Why do employees feel...

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