Benchmarking Global Compensation Across Six Markets for Competitive Talent Acquisition
Role: Multiple Roles
Service: Compensation & Benefits Search
Location: South America, The US, Europe, Israel, China, Australia
When a global company was preparing to expand their operations across six key markets, they faced a critical challenge in establishing competitive compensation packages. They needed clarity on whether their current employees would be paid up to market rate, and wanted to ensure they could give competitive salaries for new hires across South America, The US, Europe, Israel, China, and Australia.
With the new EU pay transparency directive coming into effect in June 2026, having accurate compensation benchmarking data has become even more critical for companies operating across European markets.
This assignment was unique because it was truly global, not just one specific role. It included some tough locations, and some of the roles were quite low level positions, making it super complex.
The Challenges
- Global complexity – Multiple markets with varying compensation structures across six different regions
- Role diversity – Including some quite low level roles alongside more senior positions
- Low engagement rates – starting conversations around compensation is often a barrier.
- Tough locations – Some markets presented particular challenges for data collection
The Search Strategy
Our team used multiple approaches to identify and attract potential participants across all target markets. We sent out salary surveys and reached out via LinkedIn messages to see if professionals would be willing to have career conversations, focusing on networking and building genuine conversations with relevant professionals.
However, we quickly discovered the reality of compensation research - people were hard to reach, and we experienced a 5-10% response rate. This low engagement made data collection challenging and required persistence across multiple touchpoints.
The Result
Despite these obstacles, the search took approximately 4 months to complete across several roles and markets. The extended timeframe allowed us to gather reliable data, though we noted that salary information changes very quickly in today's market - making timely execution crucial.
The client received the comprehensive compensation benchmarking they needed to make informed decisions about their global expansion and talent acquisition strategy, positioning them competitively across all target markets.
Why the Client Chose LCR
- Established relationship – We had worked with this client before, building trust and understanding of their needs
- Strategic approach – The client wanted to complete compensation benchmarking before starting their hiring process, demonstrating confidence in our comprehensive service offering
- Global expertise – Our ability to handle complex, multi-market projects across diverse locations and role levels
