We take off where other firms finish

2023 Say on Pay Reports

S&P 500 and Russell 3000 Failure Rate & Pay Vote Analysis

Positive vote results continue well into the 2023 proxy season for the S&P 500 and Russell 3000.

May 18, 2023

2022 Say on Pay Reports

S&P 500 and Russell 3000 Failure Rate & Pay Vote Analysis

Our year-end report recaps proxy voting results and trends for 2022.

January 12, 2023

2022 ESG + Incentives Reports

S&P 500 Analysis

Moving forward, we anticipate that ESG metrics will continue to become more prevalent among S&P 500 companies before hitting an eventual plateau.

October 19, 2022

Executive & Director Pay Design

2021 Equity Grant Practices at IPO

Addressing Equity Grant-related Issues

We analyzed 431 companies with an initial public offering (IPO) in calendar-year 2021 (excluding SPAC mergers). Here are our findings.

September 27, 2022

2021 Say on Pay Reports

2021 Russell 3000 Average Vote Stays Consistent with Prior Years Despite an Uptick in Failures

The historically high S&P 500 failure rate is likely to remain through year-end, while the Russell 3000 failure rate has stayed steady since June.

January 27, 2022

Merit Budget & Employee Retention Survey

FY22 merit budgets

We conducted a pulse survey covering planned FY22 merit budgets and ongoing employee retention challenges and actions.

January 19, 2022

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Metrics in Incentives

Across the S&P 500

Our research in 2021 indicates that 28% of companies included DE&I as a metric in executive incentive design. This report evaluates the level of specificity disclosed around DE&I metrics for a representative sample of those companies.

January 6, 2022

Executive & Director Pay Design

CEO & Executive Compensation Practices

In the Russell 3000 and S&P 500: 2021 Edition

The study offers total compensation figures as well as details on base salaries and incentive-related elements of a typical compensation package.

September 29, 2021

2021 ESG & Incentives Reports

Evolution towards prominent ESG structures into plan design

2020 had a profound impact on corporate governance and responsibility, with the pandemic shining a spotlight on health and safety and the national focus on racial justice drawing sharp attention to diversity and inclusion in corporate America.

August 2, 2021

June 17, 2021 The Conference Board

Director Compensation Practices

in the Russell 3000 and S&P 500 – 2021 Edition

Corporate boards of directors face a more acute set of challenges in setting their compensation than they have in recent years. Until recently, a primary focus was the risk of shareholder litigation challenging allegedly excessive director compensation. That concern has receded as many companies have taken steps to mitigate the risk of lawsuits.

Executive & Director Pay Design

Human Capital Management Proxy Disclosures

Given growing stakeholder focus on Human Capital Management (HCM), we sought to understand how companies would approach the HCM disclosure within proxy statements this year. Our study of a sample of proxies filed in December 2020 and January 2021 offers an early proxy season preview of HCM disclosure practices.

February 28, 2021

May 16, 2023 NACD/Directorship

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Recent Articles & Resources

Think Twice Before Granting Retention Awards in a CEO Transition

It’s only natural for boards to worry about retention in CEO transitions, whether hiring from inside or outside. When making retention award decisions, boards should consider the following.

ESG & Human Capital ManagementExecutive & Director Pay Design

Attracting Tech Talent to Non-Tech Companies

5 Ideas for Boards & Management

Non-tech companies often need help when hiring and keeping tech-savvy talent. Semler Brossy’s leadership group recently discussed what strategies non-tech companies could use to build their tech organization.

May 11, 2023 QuickTakes

Do Responsible Special Awards Have to Be an Oxymoron?

Boards have a growing interest in special equity awards to fend off recruiters and partially compensate executives for target pay that was not fully realized. Are special awards a good solution?

April 17, 2023

March 20, 2023 Corporate Board Member

Reinforcing Your ESG Commitment

As with other operational or strategic metrics, adding ESG metrics to incentive plans can be a signal of importance and a sign of commitment.

February 20, 2023 WorldAtWork

Design Thoughtful Scorecards for ESG Measures in Incentive Plans

For companies that are early in their ESG and HCM journey and considering a link to incentives, a scorecard may be a good starting point to help address some of the issues that come along with setting ESG and HCM goals.