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FNDN
• Building startup compensation practices that clear, fair and competitive.

FNDN Series
• Insights and interviews showcasing startup people and compensation excellence.

Startup People Summit
• The 1-day virtual summit delivering the playbook on modern practices for building and scaling your startup people practice.

How to Become a HR Consultant
• Sharing every detail of taking a business from zero to $500k in revenue per year.

Matt McFarlane

In 2023 I left my job. In 2024 I started a HR consultancy. In 2025 I earned more money than I've ever made in my life.
 
If you're questioning whether the traditional career path is right for you, you're increasingly not alone.
 
Ever since starting my business, I have had People professionals reach out asking me how they can do the same.
 
I wrote a piece at the end of 2024 that is still my most read thing ever.
- Ten's of thousands of reads
- Dozens of emails and messages
- Who knows how many calls.
 
So I decided to take this as a sign that more people are either doing this, or interested — but they want to know how.
 
I don't have the playbook btw.
But I know what I did to get where I am today.
 
I know what worked for me, and I'm about to start sharing that in deeply transparent detail — down to every dollar I spend and earn. Where, when, and why.
 
My latest newsletter is here, and it's called 'How to Become a HR Consultant'.
 
The first edition to follow-up that original piece is coming out Sunday.
 
Get it hot off the press here: https://lnkd.in/gCrNXM-n

Building startup compensation practices 👉 Compensation Philosophy + Job levels + Salary bands.

Here's every salary I ever earned, and the 2 things it taught me companies get wrong with how they pay.
 
Job 1: HR Assistant — $50,000
Job 2: HR Coordinator — $57,000
Job 3: HR Coordinator — $60,000
Job 4: HR Business Partner — $68,000
Job 5: People & Culture Advisor — $66,000
Job 6: Senior People Operations Advisor — $95,000
Job 7: People & Culture Manager — $88,000
Job 8: People & Culture Director — $165,000
Job 9: Head of People — $150,000
Job 10: Senior Director of People Operations — $170,000
Job 11: Director of People Operations — $200,000
Job 12: Senior Director of People Experience — $230,000
 
When I reflect on these roles and the salary I earned, I think of two things.
 
1. Money definitely isn't everything (I took pay cuts for jobs).
 
2. I wouldn't have achieved the heights in salary I did, if I didn't change employer — frequently.
 
Time and time again, I see companies get this wrong by doing the following things:
They don't realise that salary gets people in the door, but growth keeps them there.

Their pay practices for current people doesn't keep pace with the pay practices for new people.
 
I took lower paying jobs because I felt like I'd stagnated. 

'One step back, two steps forward' was my thinking.
 
I also took jobs because I got fed up with 1-2% pay increase year-on-year, when the market (and my value) were moving faster.
 
The two work in tandem.
 
Money isn't everything, but that doesn't mean you can take your eye off it.
 
What role does salary play for you in your career?

Here's the roadmap every Head of People needs to grow their compensation practices and scale their startup (incl. some free resources).
 
Compensation is easily one of the most critical enablers of your business, which means it's a critical focus for you as Head of People.
 
Here is the maturity model you can follow for growing your compensation practices and scaling your company.
 
<50 people:
 
You're likely not in need of a lot of structure, but you do need to know the salary you have to offer to get people in the door.
 
– Here's 20+ free compensation benchmarks to start pricing those roles: https://lnkd.in/gnHDSVt3
 
50-100 people:
 
You're starting to mature and you need to define how you want to pay as an organisation.

You need a compensation philosophy to define your market position.
 
– Here's 20+ compensation philosophies you can use as inspiration for yours: https://lnkd.in/gSSHpyqV
 
– Need help actually building it? Here's the only playbook you'll need: https://lnkd.in/gNNch7m4
 
You need a job level framework to help you define and plan your org.
 
– Read how to develop one here: https://lnkd.in/gZZkPDVU
 
🪴 100-250 people:
 
Time to get serious about how you benchmark, and use something more robust to find the right salary.
 
– Here's every benchmark provider you need to know about: https://lnkd.in/gWNcYWN6
 
– But there's a lot, so if you need help actually choosing one, here's the playbook for that: https://lnkd.in/gQuMuMc4
 
🌲 250+ people:
 
You're getting to the meaty part of compensation management, with a significant cohort and higher expectations.
 
Time to consider getting out of spreadsheets and leveraging software that can help you administer compensation fairly and accurately.
 
Consider the following tools:
• Some of the vendors in the previous step handle compensation management, like Ravio or Pave
• HRIS like HiBob have a great integrated compensation module
 
Or, use a point solution like:
– CandorIQ, or
– Stello Inc.
 
Which stage are you at and what has been most important for you?

My brain on

31st Dec: health and wellbeing should be a priority next year
1st Jan: why aren't you a millionaire yet? time to hustle b*tch

It's the start of the year. If you're like most of us, you're starting to think about what you get paid and how to have that conversation with your manager.
 
Just in time for 2026, I jumped on the This is Work podcast with Shelley Johnson to chat about everything to do with:
- Your pay,
- Your benefits, and
- How to actually have a conversation about your value (oof)

We tackle a heap of other topics too, including job hugging (what even is it?), why it's dangerous for employee and companies alike, and crucially, what everyone can do about it.
 
We also talk about why pay conversations are such a drag and how to make them that much more manageable.
 
If you're questioning your worth, or your employees are questioning theirs AND you want to know how to deal with it, this will be worth a listen.
 
And you're in luck, This is Work is on YouTube and Spotify, so if you tire of seeing my face (understandable) you can switch to my dulcet tone's, instead.
 
Spotify: 
https://lnkd.in/giZY9pAB 

YouTube: 
https://lnkd.in/gPwtG5fh

Skills based compensation is becoming more popular, but there’s one skill I’m yet to see, and its paid more than AI engineers.

Put your hand up if you know how to fold a fitted sheet? 

That’s right. You don’t. 

And if you think you do. You don’t. 

But the people with this skill set are arguably worth top 1% compensation. 

Check this out. 

I’d pay $100 for someone to fold my fitted sheet. 

That takes them max a minute (probably 10 seconds realistically) 

$100 a minute 
x 60 minutes an hour
x 38 hours per week
x 52 weeks a year 

= $12.48 million per year. 

So stop trying to climb the corporate ladder like a schmuck. 

Learn how to fold a fitted sheet.

If you're a People person and in Melbourne (or going to be) on the 12th of February, I'd love to meet you IRL.
 
I'll be speaking at HiBob's launch of In Good Company — a community for those in the People profession, spanning all geographies and industries.
 
You'll also be treated to a fireside chat with Elise Morris and Jodi Rosenthal, discussing the key trends shaping the People profession (and how to adapt).
 
So if you're in Melbourne on the 12th, register here: https://lnkd.in/gmVsXhh3
 
If you're not in Melbourne but interested in the community, check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gbUWzCZu
 
Hope to see you there!

Me coming into that meeting on Friday afternoon

There's 7 steps you can use to improve your problem solving by 430% and productivity by 500%. Oh, and it has absolutely nothing to do with AI.

You've heard of it before, but I doubt you often *actually* get there.

It's called being in flow state.

And in the upcoming edition of the FNDN Series, legendary flow state practitioner Dave Murphy is breaking down exactly how you can get there.

Dave has helped companies like Blackbird, Boston Consulting Group and TikTok leverage flow state for their success.

And I can attest to this myself. 

Creating an environment that enables flow state is exactly how I've built a solopreneur business that earns me double what my last salary was.

I credit a lot of that to the things Dave is going to cover in this edition.

Head over to FNDN Series to subscribe, and it'll be in inbox for you to read over your Sunday morning coffee.

One of the things I’ve inadvertently started this year is resetting my YouTube feed to only insightful or helpful videos. 

A couple of weeks ago I switched from my personal account to my work account, and suddenly my whole feed was almost entirely videos about things like:
- improving productivity, or 
- using AI better, or
- being healthier. 

All stuff I want to be focus on improving. 

So now I’ve set myself a goal. How long can I stay on this account only. 

Can I fill my time by learning something instead of doomscrolling or mindless entertainment?

Can I watch deeper videos instead of shorts (this one will be the hardest). 

Don’t get me wrong, I know this probably sounds business wanky, and fuelled by a mix of start of the year energy and hubris, but I’m keen to see if I can keep it rolling. 

How long do you think I’ll last?

Jessica Z.

G'day. 

Before connecting: I love getting to know new people (and a connection request without us having previously met is fine) but please write a short note on 'the why' you'd like to connect. I get quite a lot of invitations without comment or context, and I am sorry to say they are likely to be overlooked.

I’m Jessica Zwaan, and I organise my thoughts by thinking and then writing down the bits that feel helpful - to me, and hopefully to you reading this. One of my favourite things to write about is how humans organise themselves into “work”: the mess, the meaning, and all the strange systems we build to make sense of it.

Outside of writing, I help companies notice what they’re doing (not the aspirational version, the real one) and redesign it so people can move with more meaning and less friction. It’s part anthropology, part product thinking, part structured nosiness.

Sometimes the work becomes a book.
Sometimes it becomes a new way to design work.
Sometimes it becomes a tool, a ritual, a way of seeing things differently.

I also write poems for fun, blogs, non-fiction, and occasionally stand on stages to talk about it all. Mostly, I’m just looking for ways to make life make more sense for myself (and, if I can, for anyone else I meet along the way).

Chief Operating Officer

Happy New Year! As I step into 2026 I'm hitting 2 years with the incredible team at Talentful as their Chief Operating Officer, and I couldn't be prouder of the things we've achieved together over that time.

📈 We've grown astronomically, overcome adversity, and tumultuous economic tides. 

🏆 We've maintained some of the best logos in the world, added a wild roster of others.

🫂 We've developed a team of phenomenal, smart, and capable recruiters doing the best work of their careers.

Almost unbelievably, I'm in my 5th year in the Chief Operating Officer seat now, which has been an incredible experience for me. I feel like I'm learning every day, challenging myself to think broader, deeper, and more creatively. I'm really grateful to my executive teams and boards at both Whereby and Talentful who have been by my side as my career has moved in exciting new directions.

Heres to another year of fun, learning, and new experiences. 🧡🔥✨

Jessica Zwaan

Chief Operating Officer at Talentful. 🪐✨ Helping the world’s most admired companies build world-class teams. Author of 📚 Built for People and 📚 Purpose and Work

It's an exciting day for me! 😭 

I don't think I'll ever get sick of opening the first box of freshly printed books. As always thanks to Kogan Page Publishing and the team who have supported me so much since we first started working together over 5 years ago now on Built for People.

Message me for a special discount code on Kogan Page's website!

Last week our whole company at Talentful participated in a company-wide Hackathon. ⁉️ None of us are engineers ⚡ , but all of us are passionate about how we can use technology, and particularly AI and Automations, to create world-class products that benefit our teams and clients.

Some of the projects were truly unbelievable... I didn't know folks could do so much in only a day! Alex Lown and I had a little moment of awe when we realised the level of ambition we had in the room with us. 

🤖 Here are some of my favourites (and it's a LONG list, so leaving anyone out feels almost criminal!)

Web-based AI Voice Agent
This team built a voice-driven widget that acts as a first point of contact for company inquiries. It handles initial questions and automatically briefs internal stakeholders on the conversation. Long-term, this could manage the entire first-stage interview or sync candidate data directly into an ATS. 

Delivery Intelligence and Client Insights
This tool takes messy, raw delivery data and turns it into a searchable Sana library. It identifies what actually works by organising insights into reusable "plays" and performance themes. Instead of losing knowledge when a project ends, the agent captures historical and real-time data so teams can replicate successful strategies across different clients without starting from scratch!

Hiring Manager Co-Pilot & Proxy
Solves the bottleneck of the "busy hiring manager." It functions as a proxy for niche tech and science roles. You feed it job descriptions, kickoff notes, and calibration profiles, and it provides the specific domain context needed to screen candidates accurately.

ScreenBuddy: Candidate Review Co-Pilot
This team built this in Sana to help recruiters who feel overwhelmed by high candidate volume. It standardizes how people prepare for screens and validate them afterward. By surfacing specific risks and evidence-based recommendations, it cuts down on subjective "gut feeling" hires and keeps the evaluation process consistent across different roles.

HiveMind: Centralised Knowledge Hub
The problem: fragmented client context. When information is scattered across different tools, onboarding slows down and clients feel the friction. This solution in Sana creates a single source of truth and pairs new hires with "onboarding buddies" supported by a living knowledge base. It’s designed to get people up to speed and delivering impact faster!

My second book "Purpose and Work" is released next month if you can even believe it (I cannot!) 😭🧡

I am so excited to hear what y'all think, this has been a really fun and challenging project for me, and I'm so proud of the outcome.

Pre-order your copy here: https://lnkd.in/eNs4Nk2a

One idea I keep coming back to is the Employee Base Audit.

It's adapted from customer-based audits that Peter Fader worked on for decades...Here's the framework:

👀 Look across your employees today. How do they actually differ in behavior, contribution, and engagement?

⏳ Look at employees over time. How do different hiring cohorts evolve? Who grows? Who plateaus? Who turns out to be a hidden gem?

🚫 Stop relying on averages. All the signal lives in the spread. Not all employees (just like not all customers) are created equal.

⚡ Combine qualitative and quantitative data. Surveys matter, but only when you anchor them in real behaviour, tenure, role, and context.

When you analyse survey results through a cohort lens, patterns emerge fast:
→ People hired during hyper-growth experience the company differently than those who joined pre-Series A
→ Teams that went through a reorg respond differently than teams that didn't
→ Remote hires report engagement differently than office-first employees

Lumping all of that together hides the signal.

The goal isn't to label individuals as "good" or "bad." It's to understand patterns. To make better people decisions over time. And to bring the same rigour to talent that we already expect everywhere else in the business.

I spoke with Peter Fader from Incompass on The Modern People Leader podcast about exactly this: how his Customer Base Audit framework translates into people analytics that you can actually act on.

That's the work that gives me a lot of joy right now!

Go listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/d95HMdG7

I'm really excited that it's only a few WEEKS before my new book is published! AHHHHH.

If you're interested you can purchase on pre-order on Kogan Page's website or wherever you like to buy books :) 

Pre-order here: https://bit.ly/4ppE2G9

📢 Upcoming February publication: Purpose and Work by Jessica Zwaan.

Perks, benefits, and pay are not enough to build a motivated, productive workforce.

Written for senior business leaders and people professionals, 'Purpose and Work' is a practical guide to creating purpose-driven teams and designing organizations where people want to work. With interviews and examples from HV Capital, Unmind and Wonderbly, it shows how to make purpose a real driver of performance.

Key takeaways include:
• Why purpose and meaning predict engagement and performance
• How to build a culture where purpose shapes daily behaviors
• Ways to improve attraction, retention and wellbeing through purpose
• Practical steps to turn work from a commodity into an experience people value

This is essential reading for leaders ready to build cultures where people thrive and business results follow.

📖 Pre-order your copy today: https://bit.ly/4ppE2G9

#Leadership #OrganizationalCulture #EmployeeEngagement #PeopleStrategy #FutureOfWork

I used to want to be good at everything as quickly as possible.

Yikes.

Over the last few years I've come to realise that the aim isn't to be "good" at something, it's just to find joy in figuring out what it's about.

👉 When you first start something new this means figuring out why people like whatever it is and why it has an avid community. Be it dance, climbing, classical piano, water colour painting, spreadsheets, math.

👉 Then, once you figure that out (usually it means you will like something about it too!), it's about figuring out what the technique is. Maybe it's a foundation in ballet, maybe it's knowing more about light and shadow, maybe it's about understanding the technical aspects of presenting data.

👉 Finally, you'll discover a desire to figure out what you can do to be faster, better, stronger, more articulate. 

The joy in figuring out how to do hard things in any domain is when you realise that just getting to step 2 or 3 makes you "good", or, at least, better than 95% of people probably exploring it who never got further than trying once and giving up. (Not that I think "good" is always the aim, but if that's your goal - go you!)

Most people never really get past the first stage because they're anxious about how they look, or annoyed they aren't naturally gifted, or just get bored and loose curiosity.

You might not ever be the best at it. 

You may never feel naturally gifted.

However, I promise if you keep finding the joy in figuring it out, you'll be miles away from where you were in no short time. And, as a bonus, having fun doing it.

I hope 2026 is the year you find joy in new things!

Calling all Aussies!! 
HiBob is launching In Good Company in Melbourne! 🇦🇺

While I won't be there in person (Australian roots, but can't make it this time), my colleague Matt McFarlane will be representing and he's keen to connect with fellow People folks.

If you're in Melbourne on February 12th, this is one you won't want to miss:
✨ The official launch of In Good Company: HiBob's new community for People professionals across all industries and geographies
🎤 A fireside chat with Elise Morris and Jodi Rosenthal exploring the key trends shaping our profession and how to stay ahead of the curve
🤝 Great networking opportunities with peers who get what we do

The team would love to meet you there. 

Register here: https://lnkd.in/gmVsXhh3

Not in Melbourne but interested in joining the community? Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gbUWzCZu

#PeopleAndCulture #HRCommunity #InGoodCompany #Melbourne

Open article: In Good Company | HR Community Forum by HiBob by community.hibob.com

In Good Company | HR Community Forum by HiBob

I see a lot of people teams collect more and more survey data and still feel stuck. ⁉️ 

The issue isn’t the surveys.

It’s how we use them.

A score on its own doesn’t tell you much. An average tells you even less.
What actually matters is context.

When you look at survey data through a cohort lens, patterns start to show up fast.

People hired during a growth spike experience the company differently than those hired two years earlier. Teams that went through a reorg respond differently than teams that didn’t. Lumping all of that together hides the signal.

That’s why cohorts matter. And I spoke to Peter Fader from Incompass (and the lovely The Modern People Leader team!) about how this interacts with his idea of the Customer Base Audit (which we've called the Employee Base Audit).

This new view lets you see:
🧡 who feels a certain way
🤔 when that experience was shaped
⁉️ and what decisions likely drove it

When you layer surveys with real data like tenure, role, and hiring wave, HR stops guessing and starts learning.

That shift is what turns people data into something you can actually act on.

Go listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/d95HMdG7

Open video: Build: The Employee Base Audit with Jessica Zwaan & Pete Fader (Incompass Labs) on open.spotify.com

Build: The Employee Base Audit with Jessica Zwaan & Pete Fader (Incompass Labs)

Ever wanted to ask me anything about People Ops as a Product?! Next week’s The Modern People Leader Build AMA will feel a little different!

This one will be completely unscripted and 100% driven by your questions sent over to me!

Where does People Ops as a Product fall apart in practice?
What actually changes day to day?
And how do you know it’s working?

That’s what this live MPL Build AMA is designed to explore.

I'm going to answer all of your People Ops as a Product questions live.

📅 February 5
​🕐 60 minutes | Live on Zoom
​👉 Save your spot to join live​ here: https://lnkd.in/eHZy-Y4p

​(You’ll be able to submit a question when you register)

Open article: Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: MPL Build AMA: So You’re People-as-a-Product Curious?. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. by 16f0ca76.click.convertkit-mail2.com

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: MPL Build AMA: So You’re People-as-a-Product Curious?. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

I'm really excited to see the publication of my new book finally out! What a big month for me. But it's not the last big month, as I move into a few months of ✨ 📚 book launch events in the US and UK📚 ... watch this space! 

If you're interested in coming along to an event and hearing more, drop your name into the thread (or tag a friend). 

✨ Managers who care deeply about aligning their team with a more fulfilling sense of connection to their work
✨ People Leaders who want to build authentic companies
✨ Founders of mission-driven, and high-growth startups 
✨ Anyone out there who wants to learn more about the connection (and history!) of Purpose and Work!

🎉 New February Book Release: ‘Purpose and Work’ by Jessica Zwaan📚

A practical guide to designing purpose-driven organizations where people thrive.

Want to boost engagement, performance and retention through meaning at work?

‘Purpose and Work’ shows senior business leaders and people professionals how to move beyond perks and pay to create workplaces rooted in purpose. Drawing on real-world examples from companies like HV Capital, Unmind and Wonderbly, Jessica Zwaan shares actionable strategies to embed purpose into culture, leadership and day-to-day operations.

Learn how to:

• Design teams and organizations where people feel a strong sense of meaning
• Embed purpose into everyday behaviors, processes and decision making
• Improve employee wellbeing, engagement and performance at scale
• Attract and retain top talent by aligning company purpose with employee values

📘 Invest in your people strategy and buy your copy today: https://bit.ly/3LGMOkJ

#PurposeAtWork #Leadership #PeopleAndCulture #EmployeeEngagement #FutureOfWork

Planning 2025 strategy decks? Setting OKRs? Staring at a blank slide about culture metrics?

Quick reminder that In Good Company (https://lnkd.in/eABmBe9K) has some brilliant human beings (thought leaders, practitioners, people who’ve been in your exact shoes) waiting to help. For free. No catch. Those people include Matt McFarlane, Hebba Youssef, Myself... just to name a few!

Drop a question about:
👉 Which KPIs actually matter to your EMT
👉 How to frame culture initiatives for skeptical executives
👉 Whether your comp philosophy communication makes sense
👉 That gnarly org design problem keeping you up at night
👉 Almost anything People & Culture related

No sales pitch, no catch. Just practitioners helping practitioners.

Consider this your sign to stop Googling “best employee engagement metrics 2025” at 11pm and ask someone who loves to help our community! 🧡

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The Battle

Matt McFarlane

Jessica Z.

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Matt McFarlane's LinkedIn Performance

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