Omg it’s the second half of the year.
Mid-year is always a good time to check in on the goals you set for the year. Are you on track with them, or have they changed?
I set out with some pretty ambitious goals for 2025. Here they are:
$500k AUD in revenue
Across service delivery, content partnerships and products.
Marketing
25,000 LinkedIn followers (~17,000 currently)
10,000 newsletter subscribers 👀 (~3,300 currently)
10,000 podcast downloads (actually dunno)
Like I said, ambitious.
I’m well on the way with the revenue one, which is crazy to realise as I look at it on this page. The marketing ones were clearly way too ambitious, and a good reminder that something can be so ambitious it actually isn’t motivating — which is kind of how I feel about them. Good reminder.
I’d love to know: what is a goal you had for 2025 and how is it going?
Side note: thanks to those who voted in my poll on a newsletter series around ‘how to become a HR consultant’. I ran it on LinkedIn too and the results were similar (but more votes) and gives me great direction for where to take it, when I kick it off (watch this space!).
It’s been a couple of weeks now since the format change, so I’d love to get your feedback on it (plz plz plz vote — it means a lot).
Are you enjoying the format of 1x interview and then 1x long form article?
Ok, ciao for now ✌
Matt
Know a Head of People handling startup compensation 🙋 why not forward this to them for some instant karma?
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As Chief People Officer at Mews, Naomi Trickey has overseen a period of explosive growth — from 600 to over 1,300 employees across 18 countries. Her career spans decades in tech, with leadership roles in high-growth SaaS environments, plus a Non-Executive Director role at Griffin where she chairs the People and Governance Committee. She brings a rare blend of operational acuity and cultural empathy to the table, making her uniquely qualified to answer a difficult question: when exactly does compensation break, and what do you do when it does?
What You'll Learn
Spot early warning signs that your comp model is no longer fit-for-purpose
Why granular salary bands can undermine long-term thinking
How inconsistent processes kill internal mobility
Tactics to separate performance from pay conversations effectively
Why spreadsheets are your compensation enemy at scale
The power of cultural rituals to surface comp issues early
How customer-success skills can supercharge your rewards team
Why clarity is the bedrock of compensation trust
Key takeaways:
Comp breaks not gradually, but at clear inflection points. Naomi argues there's a tipping point where fast-growth startups must pivot from flexible, hacky systems to structured compensation frameworks. At Mews, they reached this after doubling headcount two years in a row. Without clear processes, growth stalls under the weight of internal inconsistencies.
Lack of consistency kills internal mobility. When Naomi joined Mews, only a few teams had performance and pay processes — and each one was different. While localised systems might work for isolated teams, they break down when applied org-wide. "You can't have internal mobility when different parts of the org are operating in different ways."
Granular salary bands drive transactional behaviour. Some teams had highly specific pay bands that created a sense of linear progression. But Naomi warns this approach can backfire, promoting short-termism instead of genuine development. "It drives very short-term behaviour around pay and performance."
Internal trust starts with clear and consistent frameworks. Employees lose faith when promotions or raises seem arbitrary. By building standardised processes and clear job grades, Mews aims to make progression transparent and equitable. "One of the main purposes of these frameworks is to establish trust."
Culture amplifies your comp signals. Naomi describes Mews' weekly all-hands, "The Boost," as a cultural anchor point. Its live Q&A segment, "Hammer Time," puts executives in the hot seat. While intense, it's a vital forum where employee concerns about pay and fairness get aired in real time.
Spreadsheets are not a compensation strategy. Early-stage companies often manage comp in spreadsheets, but Naomi is blunt: "The endless points of failure they create are unacceptable." Mews is transitioning to a system and investing heavily in data architecture and analytics to support smarter decision-making.
Customer-success DNA makes reward teams more effective. Naomi hired a Director of Total Rewards with a customer success background — a trend she noticed among other CPOs. The rationale? These hires intuitively understand stakeholder management, which is critical when rolling out complex comp programs.
Growth needs structure, but structure must evolve. Naomi is clear that building compensation infrastructure isn't a one-and-done project. "There's always tension between growth and structure." As needs change, so too must the philosophy, tools, and processes underpinning pay.
Transparency needs enablement. With increasing regulatory pressure, transparency is no longer optional. But Naomi cautions that simply publishing salary bands without manager training is a recipe for confusion. "Managers need to be supported before their Slack lights up with 4,000 questions."
Positivity isn't fluff — it's a strategic tool. Handling tough compensation questions in public forums requires intentional presentation. Naomi emphasises grounding, calmness, and authenticity. "Smiling, taking a breath, welcoming people into the room — these are really simple things that create an environment where people feel heard.
Where to Find Naomi Trickey
Here’s three things that may also be of interest to you.
Compensation Tools and Resources: Resources and tools for giving you what you need to build your own startup compensation practices.
Startup People Summit: A 1-day, virtual event & community giving you everything you need to build and scale your people practices. 31 July - 9am-4pm AEST.
