Compensation decisions are getting harder, not easier.
Agencies are competing for talent in a market that has been tight for years. At the same time, revenue growth is moderating in many places, benefits costs keep climbing, and more agencies are trying to do more with the same headcount by improving workflows and technology.
That is exactly why Agency Compensation 360 exists.
Catalyit CEO Marit Peters walked agency leaders through Agency Compensation 360 and the bigger idea behind it: stop making emotional compensation decisions, and start making data-driven, philosophy-led decisions that protect your culture and your long-term financial health.
Below is a complete breakdown of what Agency Compensation 360 is, what it includes, and how to use it to build a clearer compensation strategy.
Agency Compensation 360 is a member-benefit benchmarking experience for Big “I” agencies that turns compensation and workforce questions into interactive analytics.
Instead of a static report that becomes outdated quickly, Agency Comp 360 is designed as a live, filterable dashboard where you can drill into data by things like:
State (including comparisons across states)
Community type (urban, suburban, rural)
Agency size and revenue bands
Roles (account managers, producers, operations, HR, marketing, and more)
Pay components (salary, commissions, bonuses)
Benefits and PTO practices
Flexible work practices
Outsourcing trends and costs
Marit’s point was simple: the power is not in a flat PDF. The power is in interacting with the data.
Most agencies are familiar with benchmarking sources like Reagan Consulting, Best Practices, and MarshBerry. Those can be useful, but Marit called out two practical issues agencies run into:
Many reports are limited in depth, especially when you need role-level detail.
Static reports go obsolete fast, especially in volatile hiring markets.
Agency Comp 360 was built to support how agencies actually make decisions today, with filters, scenarios, and real operational context.
Agency Comp 360 is intentionally locked down for privacy and data protection.
To access the analytics and enter data, you must be:
A Big “I” member in a participating state
A principal or manager, or an authorized person assigned by leadership
Verified through a vetting process (so it is not open access just for fun)
This privacy-first approach matters because the dataset includes detailed compensation inputs, while still protecting anonymity through minimum respondent thresholds.
One of Marit’s most important takeaways was about a pattern showing up across the industry:
Newer employees, often 1 to 3 years in the industry, can be out-earning more experienced peers.
Why it happens:
Agencies felt pressure to fill seats quickly
Hiring managers made emotional offers to land candidates
Wage inflation happened faster than internal pay adjustments
Why it is risky:
It creates internal inequity between teammates
It strains long-term payroll costs
It hurts trust and culture (even if you think people do not talk, they do)
Marit’s guidance:
Put your data in. Find the inequity. Plan to correct it gradually.
You do not need to overcorrect overnight, but you do need a strategy.
Before you touch the data, Marit recommends answering one core question:
Lead the market
Match the market
Lag the market
This step matters because leaders often say lead the market until they see what lead actually costs.
Marit’s coaching approach is to decide your stance first, then benchmark against data sources second, and then build a realistic plan.
Marit framed compensation as four connected categories. Agencies that only focus on base pay miss the bigger picture.
The dollars and cents. Salary and hourly pay.
Health insurance, retirement plans, employer contributions, stipends, disability coverage, and more.
PTO approach, flexibility, remote or hybrid practices, and how time off is handled in reality.
Training, growth tracks, professional development budgets, and clear expectations for advancement.
This is how you build a compensation plan that is equitable, competitive, and aligned with your values.
Agency Comp 360 also asks forward-looking questions about staffing.
Marit highlighted a pattern that matches what many agencies are seeing in strategic planning:
Many agencies expect modest staffing change even if revenue grows
Technology, process improvements, and outsourcing are being used to drive higher revenue per employee
This is a big reason benchmarking matters. When staffing stays flatter, every compensation decision carries more weight.
Marit asked the room how many agencies formally evaluate talent using a nine-box model (performance vs potential). Only a few hands went up.
Her message was direct:
Be intentional, not emotional
Protect your top performers
Do not let low performance drag culture down
A nine-box approach helps leaders:
Identify who to develop and promote
Identify who needs a role change or coaching plan
Identify who should exit the organization
You can be compassionate and still make performance decisions. Your compassion should include protecting your high performers and the culture they sustain.
Marit strongly recommends agencies consider simplifying and modernizing PTO policies.
Separate sick and vacation policies often punish high performers who do not use sick time, while others game the system anyway. One PTO policy is clearer and easier to manage.
Marit challenged the traditional model where newer employees get the least time off, even though they may be balancing young families and major life demands.
One approach she recommends:
Set a fair PTO standard
Give it to employees on day one, regardless of tenure
Why it works:
It is simple
It is culturally meaningful
It helps with recruiting
It is often less expensive than increasing base pay
Marit shared that when implemented correctly, open PTO often results in employees taking the same or even less time off, because trust and flexibility increase engagement.
Key rule: Monitor it. Track it. Manage it.
Agency Comp 360 shows what percentage of agencies offer common benefits and how they structure eligibility and employer contributions.
If you cannot afford a traditional group plan today, Marit mentioned options agencies use to move in that direction:
Stipends
HSA support
Partial contributions
Eligibility rules aligned to roles and hours worked
The point is not to copy another agency. The point is to make benefits decisions with context and a plan.
Agency Comp 360 includes pay breakdowns by role and tenure bands.
One of the most eye-opening views Marit highlighted was account manager pay by years of experience, where newer tenure bands can exceed mid-tenure bands.
That is the data signal agencies should not ignore:
It can indicate compression
It can indicate inequity
It can indicate panic-offer inflation
Agency Comp 360 helps you spot it early, then build a correction plan over time.
Agency Comp 360 also includes outsourcing insights, including:
Which functions are outsourced most often (IT support and MSPs commonly show up)
Monthly cost ranges agencies report for outsourced services
This helps agencies benchmark outsourcing not only as a cost decision, but as a staffing strategy.
If you do nothing else, do this:
Define your philosophy
Lead, match, or lag the market
Be explicit about what you will lead in (pay, culture, flexibility, benefits, or growth paths)
Enter your data
Use employee codes, not names
If you have more than about 10 employees, use the CSV upload option
Use filters intentionally
Compare agencies like mine (size, state, community type)
Watch for hidden filters you forget you turned on
Find inequities
Pay compression by tenure
Differences across roles (producers vs service team)
Outliers created by hiring pressure
Build a gradual correction plan
Do not overcorrect overnight
Track changes over time
Use bonuses and incentives strategically once bases are stable
Repeat annually
Agency Comp 360 is designed to be updated, not restarted
Once your data is in, future updates are edits, not full re-entry
Marit connected Agency Comp 360 to a bigger strategic shift agencies are living through:
You are no longer deciding do I need more people?
You are deciding people, technology, or both, and how to blend them smartly.
That is why Catalyit pairs compensation insights with tools like the Catalyit Tech Assessment, which is also moving toward deeper analytics and benchmarking.
Compensation is too big to run on gut feel.
Agency Compensation 360 gives agencies a new way to make decisions:
With context
With filters
With philosophy
With a plan
If you are a Big “I” member, take advantage of it. Enter your data, explore the analytics, and use the insights to protect your culture and your long-term financial health.