Bargains Are Bunk:
The Truth About Pay

Compensation isn't a math problem. It's a truth-telling problem.

This week, Des and Ashley sit down with David Turetsky — 35+ years in compensation, U.S. patent holder on performance-driven pay tech, former VP at ADP, and the brain behind HR Data Labs. He's seen every comp shortcut, every salary band workaround, and every excuse HR has ever used to underpay someone. And he's not interested in being polite about any of it.

If you're a recruiter who freezes up when comp comes into the conversation, this episode is for you. If you're an HR leader who's been quietly recycling the same broken pay practices for a decade, this one is especially for you.

Desiree: Welcome back to Talentless, the podcast where we talk about talent acquisition without the corporate spin. I'm Desiree Goldey, here with Ashley King, and today we have someone I've been wanting to get on this show for a while. David Turetsky has been in compensation for over 35 years. He holds a U.S. patent on performance-driven pay technology, he was a VP at ADP, and he now runs HR Data Labs. David, welcome.

David Turetsky: Thank you so much for having me. I've been looking forward to this conversation.

Ashley: David, we're going to start with the uncomfortable truth. Compensation is broken in most organizations. Not a little broken. Like, structurally broken. Where does that start?

David Turetsky: It starts with avoidance. Organizations don't want to have the hard conversation about what something is actually worth, so they wrap it in process. They create salary bands with ranges so wide they become meaningless. They tell recruiters "negotiate within the band" without giving recruiters the data to actually negotiate intelligently. And then they wonder why they have pay equity problems three years later.