Karin Buchbinder - Death by Spreadsheet! Using Excel for Compensation

Send us a text Summary: Karin Buchbinder manages the team of compensation consultants at Salary.com. She is also, as it turns out, an Excel wizard. Having developed and implemented solutions globally, she’s familiar with myriad compensation management tools, including Excel. The latest version of Excel may have powerful business tools for managing compensation data, but that doesn’t mean it should be used without its own rules and procedures. In this episode, Karin talks about the pros and cons of using Excel for compensation data management. Chapters: [0:00 - 4:59] Introduction Welcome, Karin! Today’s Topic: Working with Compensation Data in Excel [5:00 - 11:45] The greatest challenges Karin has come across in the world of compensation Many companies still rely on Excel for compensation data Excel’s accessibility and ease of use can lead to compromised data integrity [11:46 - 15:16] How to successfully use Excel for compensation management Avoid overly complicating the spreadsheet; make it intuitive Decisions and assumptions must be well-documented [15:17 - 18:45] Will Excel ever be replaced as the go-to compensation management tool? It will be difficult to replace a free, widely-accessible tool Recent versions of Excel have introduced powerful tools like Power BI [18:46 - 19:33] Final Thoughts & Closing Thanks for listening! Quotes: “One of the largest challenges [I’ve come across working in compensation] is that a lot of companies and organizations have their processes done in Excel. . . . [The problem with this] is data integrity because that spreadsheet will get handed down from one person to another . . . with no parameters around the integrity of the data.” “I think people don’t make that connection [that their compensation spreadsheet is a system of record]. You need to have the assumptions written out and documented.” Contact:Karin's LinkedInDavid's LinkedInProduction by Affogato MediaPodcast Manger: Karissa Harris To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/ Produced by Affogato Media