The counteroffer
A key engineer gets an outside offer, and suddenly your salary logic is being discussed openly. It turns out there isn't much logic to discuss.
Total Rewards · Compensation · Incentives
Pay decisions don't wait until you've hired a compensation team.
The Rewards Practice helps small and mid-size companies get pay, incentives, and reward strategy right — the expertise, without the full-time hire.
20+ years in-house EMEA & LATAM Compensation · Incentives · TR strategy
Where it shows up
You'll recognize the moment.
The bonus nobody can explain
The plan pays out. Half the team is confused about why they got what they got, and the other half is quietly comparing numbers.
The new hire above the loyal ones
The market forced your hand on one offer. Now three people who've carried the company for years know they earn less than someone who started Monday.
The salary range question
An applicant asks for your pay range, as EU transparency rules now entitle them to. The honest answer is that you don't have one yet.
None of these are payroll problems. They're design problems — and design problems can be fixed, without hiring a full-time compensation manager.
The regulatory clock
EU pay transparency is no longer a someday problem.
"Why is my salary lower than my colleague's, in a comparable role?"
The EU Pay Transparency Directive is now being written into national law across the member states. Pay ranges for applicants, no more salary-history questions, and employees' right to know how pay is set apply to companies of every size — and gender pay-gap reporting follows for companies from 100 employees.
The burden of proof has flipped, too: when pay looks unequal, it is no longer the employee who must prove discrimination — it is the employer who must show the difference rests on objective, gender-neutral criteria.
This is where it bites small and mid-size companies. Sound familiar?
- Salaries set one negotiation at a time
- Roles that grew organically and now overlap
- Promotions decided pragmatically, not by framework
- Bonus logic that differs from department to department
- No salary bands, and thin documentation behind decisions
None of that is misconduct — it's simply how small companies grow. But under transparency rules, informal becomes indefensible. The fix is structure, and structure can be built.
Start with a transparency-ready audit →How I help
One practice. Three ways in.
Every engagement starts where you are. Learn on your own, get advice when you need it, or hand the problem over — across the full breadth of Total Rewards, from pay structures to incentives to reward strategy.
Self-serve
Learn
Start free. Buy once — no subscriptions.
A practical newsletter, ready-to-use toolkits, and short training for HR teams. For when you want to build the understanding yourself, at your own pace and budget.
See the Learn tier →On call
Get advice
An expert in your corner, without a project.
Mentoring for the person who handles your comp questions, and an advisory retainer for the decisions you'd rather not make alone. Honest answers, direct access.
See the advice options →Hands-on
Get it done
Hand the problem over.
A fixed-fee rewards audit, scoped projects, or a fractional Total Rewards partner a few days a month. Senior delivery without the headcount.
See the delivery options →How it works
Most clients start small. That's the point.
You don't need to commit to a project to get value. The typical path looks like this — and you can stop at any step.
Step 1
Read
Subscribe to the newsletter. Decide for yourself whether the thinking is useful.
Step 2
Try
Use the toolkits or join a training cohort. Get working tools, not theory.
Step 3
Audit
Put your pay structures and plans through a fixed-fee review. Know exactly what to fix, and why.
Step 4
Partner
Keep the expertise close — through a retainer or a fractional Total Rewards seat.
Fixed fees wherever possible. No open-ended day rates, no scope surprises — the same discipline I bring to reward design.
Behind the practice
Twenty-plus years inside global companies. Now available to yours.
I'm Maria Buscsei, a Total Rewards leader based in Austria. I've designed and run compensation, incentives, benefits, and reward strategy in-house across EMEA and LATAM — and I've seen exactly which parts of that toolkit smaller companies actually need, and which parts they can happily skip.
More about me →Not sure where to start?
Book a thirty-minute intro call. We'll find the smallest engagement that solves your problem — sometimes that's just the newsletter.
Book an intro call