Editor's Note: Follow the Money

It was Deep Throat who famously told The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to "follow the money" to get to the bottom of the break-in at the Watergate Hotel back in 1972. Turns out to get the bottom of it, they ended at the top—as in President Richard Nixon, who resigned as a result of the investigation two years later. We also "follow the money" in this issue of Consulting magazine as Business Writer Eric Krell takes us inside the world of compensation and benefits and Rewards Consulting. But before we get your hopes up too much, our path of legal tender won't lead to any arrests or resignations (Spoiler Alert!), and it will probably not be nearly as gripping a read as "All The President's Men." However, there's plenty to get excited about as we finally shine a spotlight on the often overlooked and under appreciated Rewards Consulting. In the story, Krell highlights eight key questions that Rewards practice leaders say they frequently field from CEOs and senior HR directors at their client companies. As HR functions strive to keep rewards strategies and practices aligned with their rapidly evolving workforces they encounter numerous, interrelated challenges. Among the biggest challenges facing them: How does data analytics impact a firm's compensation structures? It's an interesting question and the answer, as it often does, lies in a deep dive into the data. And it's already happening: Through the use of analytics, many companies are leveraging existing company data to improve the alignment between employee preferences, compensation and reward offerings, and employee retention and performance. As HR functions advance on their digital transformations, they can learn from how marketing functions leveraged data analytics to undergo a similar shift. Marketing deploys advanced data analytics to improve the customer experience, and HR functions need to do the same to strengthen the employee value proposition when it comes to compensation. In other words, just follow the money. Joseph Kornik Publisher & Editor-in-Chief [email protected]