--- title: "Tech & AI Compensation Bands" canonical: https://www.renatovaldes.com/workbook/compensation/ description: "Build global compensation bands for Engineering, Product, Research, Design and Marketing, including budgets, geography and frontier-AI market pressure." author: Renato Valdés-Olmos updated: 2026-09-11 --- # Build pay bands and make decisions you can explain. Take the approved level, place it in a band, check it against dated market evidence and cost the change. Every proposal ends with a budget check, an approver and words the manager can say out loud. For CFOs, Finance and EPD leaders setting pay in startups and technology companies. Portfolio support teams can use it to help founders establish their first consistent bands. **Format:** 42 pages, 14 sections, printable PDF and editable spreadsheets. **Price:** $39. **Free sample:** [Read chapter two without an email address](https://www.renatovaldes.com/workbook/compensation/#sample). ## What it helps you do - **Price the approved level.** Map the calibration result to a band and keep the performance decision closed. - **Test the whole proposal.** See the position in band, annual increase, remaining-year cash cost and any exception still waiting for a policy decision. - **Approve the cycle.** Run the budget and equity checks, record Finance and People sign-off and prepare the manager’s explanation. ## What is included Band table, compensation records, equity checks, budget planning and approvals, plus market references, salary history, market decisions and a worked budget example. ## Where to start Agree the policy and budget assumptions with People and Finance. Review the dated geographic references, approve your base-pay inputs and work through the budget example before entering live proposals. ## Practical questions ### What do I receive? You can read the workbook on this site and download a printable PDF and editable .xlsx templates. The set includes all three. No physical book is shipped. ### Do I need the other workbooks? This workbook applies the six-level standard defined in Leveling. Start with Leveling, or get the set, if your team has not adopted that standard. ### Will this work with our HRIS and AI tools? Yes. Map the spreadsheet fields into your HR system and use a stable employee ID. Keep private notes out of the approved record. An AI client or MCP connection can read the exported JSON through your own file or drive connector, check for missing fields and prepare drafts. A person still approves every level, pay decision and development commitment. ### Why not use the framework built into our HR package? You may be able to. HR software handles forms, permissions, workflow and storage well. This set helps the leadership team decide what the fields mean, which evidence counts and who may make an exception. If the package can preserve those choices and keep assessment, pay and development separate, configure the process there. ### What if someone regularly does work from another discipline? First decide whether the work is an occasional contribution, a temporary acting assignment, a sustained hybrid role or a role transfer. The shared level records decision authority; it does not force identical pay across disciplines. Price the actual sustained role with matched market evidence, check the required craft with the relevant functional leader, and document any temporary or permanent differential. A title should not be used to discount work the company has made part of the job. ### Does Compensation include salary guidance by geography? Yes. The September 2026 reference includes 71 public salary and total-compensation ranges across 33 selected geographies, with dedicated coverage for Asia, Africa and Latin America as well as the Bay Area, New York, the US and Europe. Coverage varies by role. It also explains how to handle frontier-AI offers that break an existing band. Every range carries a source and date. Total compensation, advertised salaries and wages are kept separate; matched base-pay inputs still need approval before budgeting. ### What does the budget model cover? Base-pay increases for existing employees in one currency, plus an explicit employer on-cost rate. Compare annualized and remaining-period costs with separate limits. Bonus, benefit changes, hiring, departures, foreign exchange and equity need separate costing. The workbook explains how to record the scope and approvals. ### How do I get access? After checkout, an email goes to the address you paid with. Its private reader link opens the complete workbook. You can also open the reader from this page and enter the access key from the email. The sample remains a separate public chapter. ### Can I use it with my team? A single purchase covers one person, with sharing permitted with your own manager and managers who report to you while running a cycle. The $499 team license covers one leadership team or function at one company. Company-wide, multi-division or portfolio-company use needs an enterprise license. A single purchase can be credited toward the team license. Read the license. ### What if we need an enterprise rollout? Enterprise licenses start at $2,500 for company-wide, multi-division or portfolio-company use, procurement requirements and an agreed rollout scope. Contact me with the organizations, approximate audience, countries and timing for a quote. ### Can I get a refund? Read the complete sample chapter before buying. Because the workbook, PDF and editable files are delivered immediately, checkout asks you to acknowledge that the purchase becomes final when digital access begins. Duplicate charges, persistent access failures, material differences from the description and mandatory legal remedies remain covered. Read the access and refund terms. ### Are updates included? Every revision of v1 is included and sent to the address you paid with. Your purchase does not subscribe you to the essay newsletter. ### Can I get a company invoice? Stripe sends a receipt after purchase. Reply to it with your company name and tax number if you need a company invoice. Any applicable tax is shown at checkout. View the current product page, cover and free sample at [www.renatovaldes.com/workbook/compensation/](https://www.renatovaldes.com/workbook/compensation/).