Case Study Summary

The challenge

A US-headquartered global professional services firm had three urgent HR priorities: pay transparency and equity, global employee recognition, and harmonised short-term incentives.

They had sponsorship and ambition, but not enough internal capacity to deliver at speed.

What we did

We embedded an experienced HR change project manager who already knew the client, enabling rapid progress. We then led delivery across three programmes:

• Pay transparency and equity: ran the first global pay equity study (c.20,000 staff, 40+ countries), managed suppliers, data, modelling, remediation planning, and Works Council engagement.
• Employee recognition: shaped a single global recognition strategy and supported the selection and contracting of a new digital platform, with full cost modelling.
• Remuneration harmonisation: aligned short-term incentive programmes globally, managed stakeholder approvals and Works Council input, and prepared automation in Workday.

The result

• All three initiatives delivered on time, to tight global deadlines.
• Leaders gained a clear, evidence-based view of pay gaps and a route to closing them, aligned to EU reporting requirements.
• A consistent recognition approach and platform foundation were put in place, supporting stronger engagement and retention.
• Short-term reward became simpler and more consistent worldwide, improving mobility and competitiveness.